tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11200066491600217492024-02-19T06:29:59.896+01:00The Omnipotent EyeA blog about roleplaying games. I talk about old school, and new school. I talk about ways to tell stories, explore new worlds and have fun with your friends. I love many games but Tunnels & Trolls by Ken St. Andre has a special place in my heart. It reopened Pandora's Box, again.
<br><br>
Tunnels & Trolls is a trademark of <a href="http://www.flyingbuffalo.com">Flying Buffalo Inc.</a>
<br><br>
<i>In memory of Dave Arneson.</i>AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comBlogger654125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-48123220480170602018-08-03T20:33:00.000+02:002018-08-04T10:56:28.214+02:00Long overdue closing down messageFriends.<br />
<br />
I guess if you see this in you notifications or feed reader you will be quite surprised. This blog have now been dormant for a long time, and much water have flowed under the OSR bridge. Frankly, I think we are in a different world now. The OSR design principles won, and the movement died.<br />
<br />
For those interested in the "old ways" a lot of interesting information have come to light, and for those who liked the DIY ethos there's no stopping. It's a new world.<br />
<br />
I had lot of fun, and many plans that will never come to fruition. Maybe it's for the best.<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading, and thanks for the good conversations.<br />
<br />
I will leave this blog here, but have now in effect disabled comments.<br />
<br />
Fight On!AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-75953466705004255912016-05-21T10:43:00.001+02:002016-05-21T10:43:52.600+02:00The curious anger against The Forge I read a post earlier this week that was one of those that makes you wonder what world the poster lives in. The thrust of the argument was that The Forge has ruined indie publishing, and that the theory discussions there were pretentious, and that Ron Edwards hates old school.<br />
<br />
The last point is fairly simple, as Ron have posted a lot publicly about games he has played and what he has liked or not. That he wrote a essay about D&D and used the words "brain damage" doesn't prove much. I have myself used those words when talking about alignment, many times. I have played with Ron, read his actual play posts about e.g. T&T, and know how ridiculous that claim is. But, even if it's true, what does it matter? How does Ron and The Forge threaten <i>you</i>?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I wonder, why do <i>some</i> people who feel affiliated with OSR sensibilities feel so threatened by The Forge and its inheritance? I can understand how an approach to gaming that focuses on <u>actual play</u> to see how it works, can feel theoretical underpinnings and that kind of talk to be pointless. Let's disregard for the moment to what extent a theoretical conversation means you do not play. I know I found some of the jargon sometimes obscured the experience of play, so I see <i>some</i> point with that criticism.<br />
<br />
But, apart from that, what is so threatening? Is it the thrust towards cooperative storytelling, where the DM no longer reigns supreme, the big threat? I know some people don't care for player narrative powers and just want to explore the world and roll dice. I can sympathize with that approach as well, even if I don't see it as a threat. <br />
<br />
This leaves me wondering.<br />
AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-23631127781607880082016-05-03T18:26:00.001+02:002016-05-03T18:26:51.564+02:00Covenant Items from Midnight for BRPI've started to play a basic BRP based fantasy game at home, and the first adventure we did was a small crypt crawl. Naturally they found a magic sword.<br />
<br />
Before you start to groan, let me tell you the kids have already started to ask for dragons and maybe a demon or two. They want fantasy to feel fantastic.<br />
<br />
So, what can you as a GM do with the proverbial magic sword to keep it fresh and interesting? Well, I remembered the <a href="https://rpggeek.com/rpgsetting/1379/midnight">Midnight</a> campaign setting for D&D 3rd ed. It might be a little to grim for children, but there was a few rules ideas in there I could steal. I'm thinking of Covenant Items.<br />
<br />
Covenant Items are magic items that "grow" with the wielder. It's a neat solution to the question of what to do with the simple +1 sword when you find a +2 one.<br />
<br />
Since we play in the Kingdoms of Kalamar, this sword is blessed by Brovandol, of the Knight of the Gods, and thus its powers are themed to that.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>+5/+10 - Lvl 1 - Countermagic</li>
<li>+10/+20 - Lvl 1 - Sharpen</li>
<li>+15/+30 - Lvl 2 - Protection</li>
<li>+20/+40 - Lvl 2 - Countermagic</li>
<li>+25/+50 - Lvl 2 - Sharpen</li>
<li>+30/+60 - Lvl 3 - Protection</li>
<li>+35/+70 - Lvl 3 - Countermagic</li>
<li>+40/+80 - Lvl 3 - Sharpen</li>
</ul>
<br />
The idea is to have the weapon develop with the character, so the first column is how many skills points have been put into the weapon. The first value is for those who like me uses a d6 for skill advancement, and the second if you use a d10 (like modern CoC does).<br />
<br />
Just as a random fact the levels happens to match with the different levels of the Halls of the Valiant, as the church of the Knight is knows as.<br />
<br />
The powers are names of Magic spells from the Big Yellow Tome edition of BRP, and roughly correlate to familiar RQ spells like Bladesharp, Shield and Spell Resistance.<br />
<br />
Now I have adventure hooks and a money sink ready for the character to develop those powers!AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-32794667644791331082016-03-12T17:51:00.000+01:002016-03-12T17:51:02.767+01:00Deep thinking on T&T going onAfter my last few posts, I started to wonder why things were like they were in the rules for T&T and initiated conversations with the creators of the game. There are some quite interesting stories and facts coming out in this conversations, but I'm going to let those run their course before posting. But, just so you know. More posts are coming on the topic.AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-45603715968753980912016-03-07T16:04:00.000+01:002016-03-07T16:04:14.475+01:00Mix and match T&T rules - Rules for gearFinally, after dissecting multiple editions of the game, I get so mix and match up the rules for the perfect experience. According to me. I would agree with critics who claim the game is taking too long with big dice pools, and I have my own issue with the lack of money sinks. I think these can successfully be handled, together.<br />
<br />
<i>Less dice - faster combats</i><br />
For me, two things should be done to the game as written in the latest edition. My first suggestion would be to scale back the number for dice for all weapons. The older editions had smaller numbers and I see nothing to be gained by bigger numbers on both armour and weapons. One big benefit of this would be a game that runs faster. It's not hard to add at max 6 to 6 and so on, but every little step counts. Worth noting for those who like big pools of dice is a trick I learned Hero and D6 system players using, is to block the dice up in sums of ten, i.e. sort out those 5 + 5 and 6 + 4 matches and then you can quickly count those groups times 10. Supposedly it speed things up a bit. I'd just use less dice.<br />
<br />
<i>Ablative armour - money sink and more tactical combat</i><br />
In my games I've found that after a short while, everyone have gotten the best armour they can buy. This is very similar to how D&D works in older editions. Check the price list in the B/X edition and you'll see what I mean. In D&D there's the possibility to save money to build that hold of yours at 9th level, but in T&T the only thing you have to pour money into is spells. The other option is to have a very developed system with an open market of magic items in general, but since that would make them feel less magical I don't like that option. <br />
<br />
The solution would be to go back to ablative armour. If you take a hit, the armour absorbs the damage and gets reduced at the same time. An interesting option would be to take a page from dT&T and allow a LK roll to see if the armour holds up. But, in line with my first point, I'd limit that to a special occasion. Allow a <b>LK</b> roll to see if the armour absorbs <i>all</i> damage a round, and then it's wasted. For good.<br />
<br />
<br />
This relates somewhat to character abilities, like Warriors and armour. That's the topic for the next post...AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-68707174317103722142016-03-05T17:59:00.000+01:002016-03-05T18:38:40.289+01:00Combat capabilities through T&T editionsThe next part of my walk through of T&T editions will be a closer look at some miscellaneous rules that pertain to combat, and that might exacerbate or alleviate some of the issues you might have.<br />
<br />
Having talked about the hardware, it's time to look at how the classes/types work in combat. In T&T you have those wielding swords, and those wielding magic. There is the middle ground, the rogue wizard, but I will leave it out of the discussion as there's nothing new for that type of character. But, it's worth noting how opposition works, because the monster have their own rules.<br />
<br />
<b>Warriors</b> <br />
Let's start with the Warriors. In the first two editions, the only thing a Warrior got was their adds from high stats. Then from the T&T Supplement and on to the latest edition, they get the ability to use their armour extra effectively. So, twice the value for absorbing hits. This kind of coincides with the first serious bump in dice for weapons. From the unofficial 6th unto the latest edition Warriors have also gotten a boost by adding extra damage. I think the +1/lvl kind of makes sense as the armour suddenly absorbs more from 5th ed on, but 1d extra damage per level as in 8th ed just sounds ill thought out. They mention in a side bar it was questioned in play testing. That should have told the game developers this was a bad idea.<br />
<br />
<b>Wizards</b><br />
The magic wielding class have been very uniform through the editions. All first level spells have been available for all wizards, and apart from the 7th ed era where they needed to make a Saving Roll to cast, they have been able to lob spells freely, paying for then by WIZ or STR points. From 5th ed they have been upgraded combat wise with the ability to not only use 1d weapon, but 2d weapons. Then they also got the ability to use adds from high stats, which they were forbidden before. Interestingly, before that switch they had the benefit of being assigned hits last.<br />
<br />
<b>Monsters</b><br />
How about the opposition then? Monsters can be stated out like characters, or they can use the more basic method of just having a Monster Rating. The basic idea is the MR gives the dice rolled, and the adds you add to that in combat. From 5th ed on you use the same amount of adds for each combat round, and before that the monsters used to loose steam as the fight progressed, loosing dice and adds. Interestingly enough, before 5th ed. the rules stated that monsters thrived in darkness and got double their rating in darkness! As sometimes is the case, the British edition adds in a line about rolling the dice off MR to generate the amount of hits a monster can take. Feels a bit odd if you already have the MR, right?<br />
<br />
<b>So what does this all mean?</b><br />
I think we can see how the power of the classes have increased in lockstep with the die ratings for weapons and armor. There are some quirks on top of this, like the Wizards being last to take a hit, that I had either not noticed or just plain forgot. There was one quite interesting note in the editions before the 5th about monsters on deeper levels. I guess they game expanded out beyond the dungeon. But, that suggestion was to multiply the dice the monster rolled by the level to make it easier on the GM when rolling many dice. It seems like the rules writer and developer somehow changed their minds about big dice pools being a hassle.<br />
<br />
It's not very far fetched to think that if you feel the present edition is cumbersome, just roll scale back all the numbers! In my next post I will consider that, and some other options. <br />
<br />AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-80523048160296926372016-03-02T13:00:00.000+01:002016-03-02T14:39:45.140+01:00A bucket full of dice - how the dice have changed in T&T through the agesLike I wrote in my last post, it seems the biggest issue people are having with dT&T who have come to the game cold, are the dice pools. Since the basic combat mechanic is you roll all dice on one side of the conflict, add it up and subtract from the sum of the other side, you will roll a lot of dice. There ways to either roll fewer, or to sum them up, but I'm going to focus on the historical perspective.<br />
<br />
So, was the game always like this? Let's take out the old books. I have in my possession the 1st ed reprint, the 2nd ed, the British 1st ed (1st ed with <i>The T&T supplement</i> included), 5th ed, 7th ed, the revised 7th ed and now dT&T.<br />
<br />
Let's take a look at how some of the weapons have looked like through the ages.<br />
<br />
<b>Greatsword</b>
<br />
<table border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>1st</td><td>2nd</td><td>1st British</td><td>5th</td><td>7th</td><td>8th</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3d+3</td><td>3d+3</td><td>3d+3</td><td>6</td><td>6</td><td>7</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Bastard sword</b>
<br />
<table border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>1st</td><td>2nd</td><td>1st British</td><td>5th</td><td>7th</td><td>8th</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3</td><td>3</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>5</td><td>5</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Great axe</b>
<br />
<table border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>1st</td><td>2nd</td><td>1st British</td><td>5th</td><td>7th</td><td>8th</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4d+3</td><td>4d+3</td><td>4d+3</td><td>5d+3</td><td>5d+3</td><td>7</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Can you also see a trend here? I could take more examples, but I think the point I'm trying to make is clear. The game has become more unwieldy because of dice inflation.<br />
<br />
It kind of reminds me of how D&D grew out of proportions in 4th ed. where the hit points of both player characters and monsters were in the hundreds! The game wont feel more epic if <i>all</i> numbers are raised, it will only take longer to play. I think WotC proved that for all of us who played that edition of D&D. But, wait! Did T&T raise <i>all</i> numbers? Let's look at some armor.<br />
<br />
<b>Plate</b>
<br />
<table border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>1st</td><td>2nd</td><td>1st British</td><td>5th</td><td>7th</td><td>8th</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10</td><td>10</td><td>10</td><td>14</td><td>18</td><td>16</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Scale</b>
<br />
<table border="1">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>1st</td><td>2nd</td><td>1st British</td><td>5th</td><td>7th</td><td>8th</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>8</td><td>8</td><td>10</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Even though the Plate armor is not increasing all the way, we see the trend here as well. The fact is, the situation is more complex than it seems. In the earliest editions, armor was ablative! That 18 points of damage reduction you get in 7th ed is even better than the 10->18 step looks like!<br />
<br />
So, the damage dealt have increased, and the damage absorbed by armor have increased. You could try to figure out the relation between those, but I will just state that in that increase you have also increased another thing. The time it takes to resolve a combat.<br />
<br />
In my next post I will take a look at some other rules that have changed during the years, and in the final post I will serve up my take on how I would use the rules in my game. AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-56929940299831201692016-02-29T13:00:00.000+01:002016-02-29T13:00:19.472+01:00Some thoughts on the latest T&T editionSo finally did the big book arrive! The Kickstarter campaign was not really the most pleasurable experience you could imagine, but it no shit-storm either. It was overdue, long overdue, and sometimes you wondered why. But, here it is at last. Let's read.<br />
<br />
I own multiple editions of T&T, from the reprinted 1st ed, the 2nd ed, the British 1st, 5th ed, 7th ed, 7th ed revised and now the 8th AKA dT&T. I have some seen some trends and changes from 1975 to today, and I was actually worried about some of those carry on into the latest edition. The worst fears were not realized, luckily. But, some things have clearly been changing for better or worse.<br />
<br />
My biggest complaint, which seems to mirror most of the play reports I've seen from peoples who have come to the system cold, is that there's too much arithmetic and too many dice. While it's not hard to add 1 and 4, or 6 and 6, it becomes more cumbersome to add 1 and 4 and 6 and 6 and 4 and 3 and 2 and 2 and 4 and 6 and 6 and ...<br />
<br />
Have you tried any wargames lately? I have found that what makes a hex and chit game workable for me today with family and commitments outside gaming is mostly the amount of counters. I figure it's the same thing for a miniatures game. The more you have to handle during your turn, the longer it takes.<br />
<br />
So, doing simple things multiple times is time consuming? Great insight, Sherlock!<br />
<br />
Well. I have some data I want to talk about, and a suggestion to make those problems mentioned less acute. Stay tuned.AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-82020824520350378042015-10-28T21:06:00.002+01:002015-10-28T21:06:47.057+01:00Newbie friendly games - using probabilityMy last post was inspired by how my friend had a horrendous strike of
unluckiness, which made his game nights less than fun. He is after all a
seasoned gamer and while an experience like that might sour him on a
game, it would not make him run screaming from the hobby. But, how about
someone who never played a RPG before? Maybe it is actually more newbie
friendly to use a game with a bell curve instead of a flat probability
when introducing new people.<br />
<br />
So would I use any of the games mentioned in my last post, or the systems mentioned in the comments to introduce a newbie?<br />
<br />
<b><u>The Fantasy Trip</u></b><br />
This
game has one big drawback, it's out of print. If you want to get it,
you will have to search on eBay and be a bit lucky to get a complete set
in nice condition. Luckily there are clones and derivatives out there.
My favourite is <a href="http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/fenwayfive">Heroes & Other Worlds</a>, which is an attempt to take some cues from B/X D&D and fuse it with TFT.<br />
<br />
As
most of you know, fantasy is the most popular setting for RPGs and TFT
fits the bill. Also, there are only a few stats (one extra in HOW) and
it's fairly easy to make a character in a short amount of time. Nothing
weird, nothing fancy, just swords and sorcery.<br />
<br />
<u><b>GURPS</b></u><br />
Even
though it's not as visible as it used to be, this is still a game
supported and published. Since it's a generic system it can be used for
whatever setting, making it easy to run a game set in whatever setting
you newbie favours. The flipside of the coin is that a adapting a
generic game to a specific setting will take some work.<br />
<br />
Character
generation can be overwhelming, to say the least. Since there are so
many options it's very easy to get analysis paralysis. Then, even if you
as the GM do your homework, and you use a template system, the game is
detailed enough to cover <i>any</i> eventuality. That can <i>very</i> easy bog down a game. But, it's extremely versatile.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Traveller</u></b><br />
In
my basement I have a big box with nothing but Traveller books. Science
fiction is not a popular as fantasy, but considering how popular Star
Trek or Firefly is, it's not exactly weird or exotic. There have been a
ridiculous amount of stuff published for this game system, and many
different editions of rules available.<br />
<br />
Mongoose Publishing is a company that I would generally advice people to stay away from. They have a <i>terrible</i> track record of games with <i>awful</i>
layout and abysmal quality control. But, their little black book of
Traveller is really neat. It takes the classic Traveller and packages it
in a very sweet package.<br />
<br />
There is one thing that's
less than ideal of Traveller for newbies. Since it uses a life path
system where you take terms in different careers, and you can get thrown
out of said careers on a bad dice roll, you never really know what kind
of character you will get. As a mini game on it's own, it's quite fun.
But, I imagine it could be less than ideal if you as a player had your
eyes set on a specific kind of character with a specific set of skills. <br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Tunnels & Trolls</u></b><br />
Everyone who looked at the
text on the top of this page, or followed the blog, might know I have
warm feelings for this game. It has some neat features, like a generic
resolution and stunt mechanic. It also have a slightly comedic, or at
least less than totally serious, attitude which I personally like.<br />
<br />
If
there's something this game does less well is probably the fact that it
uses really big piles of dice, especially in later editions. Thus it
can take some time to gather all the dice, roll, sum and subtract. It
can be a bit slow.<br />
<br />
<b><u>HERO System</u></b><br />
Everything
I said about GURPS is valid for HERO, even more so. This is
ridiculously adaptable. But, compared to TFT and GURPS which have a
small set of stats, this game's character sheet can be intimidating. If I
have to choose between GURPS and HERO, I'd choose the former, as it's
as clunky to make a character, but it's more smooth in play.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Over the Edge</u></b><br />
I
have played this game system twice. Once was in the original setting,
and once was a free adventure for Harn I found online and ran with the
OtE system as I did not own Harn, and I did not really fancy it anyway.<br />
<br />
In the original, and <i>very</i>
weird, setting this system is just right. You have so much oddity to
keep straight that the game system has to be very light and narrative.
If it has a problem, it is probably the same as Fate. Both game system
suffer from the fact you can make a Trait/Aspect out of anything, and
that can make you stumble before you understand how it works in play. <br />
<br />
It's
a quite expressive system and I think the fact you can just ask a
potential player to describe in a few words what they envision, and then
put dice to that is a big win.<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>The D6 System</u></b><br />
Most players of this system have
probably used it for Star Wars. I have only played it once, and then it
flowed very freely and the action was exciting. Since then I've read how
the piles of dice can be cumbersome, and that there are some rules that
are fiddly. The latter case would be the target numbers, that can be
chosen from a range, but probably just works best if you just have a set
interval of 5.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Conclusion</b></u><br />
So would
I use these games to introduce a newbie to rpgs? Well. I think the fact
these games all use multiple dice, and thus probably have a more even
spread of successes, yes that is a point in their favour.<br />
<br />
Would
I use one of the more generic ones, like D6 System, GURPS, HERO or OtE?
No, probably not. I think fantasy is popular for a reason, and even
though it's the game on the list I am least familiar with, I lean toward
TFT/HOW.<br />
<br />
You would maybe expect me to champion
T&T, but I think that maybe for once I have to agree with those who
think the names of the spells are less suitable. Also, the free flowing
stunt system of SR are not very easy to handle even by seasoned gamers.<br />
<br />
So,
who knows. Maybe I get to try to use one of these systems to bring new
gamers to the fold. Maybe I actually will try to use TFT/HOW! Today I
started to read HOW and I really felt like I wanted to play it. We'll
see.AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-62409307933123447582015-10-13T21:38:00.000+02:002015-10-13T21:38:16.497+02:00The value of bell curvesA while back I started talking to some friends about starting up a regular game again. To fill some time, after realizing that it would need some discussion to find a game everyone agreed on, we picked a game we had played before as a starter. <a href="http://gregorhutton.com/boxninja/threesixteen/">3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars</a> was that game.<br />
<br />
For those who have not played this game, I can summarize a key point of the rules system. All rolls are one 1d10, roll under but high is good, against a Trait. I guess you see what this means. Right. No bell curve.<br />
<br />
We started to play and since it is very much driven by black humour and creative narration by the players, it worked quite fine with some cynicism and beer. But, after a few sessions a pattern started to emerge. One of my players rolled really shitty. Like some of us say, he storked it, repeatedly. The thing is, he rolled maybe 10 dice rolls a night and missed all but one. Even after changing dice, we are not superstitious, he kept rolling like that in session after session. It just was not fun any more. In the end the game was not just a chore, it was actively un-fun to roll dice for him.<br />
<br />
Now, I guess you have all heard of games where the narrative is as much in the hands of the players as the GM? You would imagine that maybe that would alleviate the problem, maybe? The problem here is that 3:16 is just such a game. I as the GM could only limit the stiffness of the opposition, and the players still had to sit there and narrate the hell out of repeated failures. Kind of sucks after a while.<br />
<br />
We decided to fade to black after a few missions, and now I had pitched a new game which all seemed to like. It was all down to the weird imagination of Ken Hite, since who can resist a game with both nazis and the Midgard Serpent? Savage Worlds it was.<br />
<br />
I guess you see one thing that differs from 3:16? In Savage Worlds you roll multiple dice, and if you fail you can spend a token and roll again. Once again you roll multiple dice. Multiple dice, i.e. more chances to succeed, since you get to pick which to use.<br />
<br />
That choice of game system was intentional.<br />
<br />
As you probably know, there are more than one way to skin a cat. The cat I wanted to skin was player enjoyment. While I do not subscribe to the school of design that say encounters should be "balanced" and that the players are entitled to this or that, I do believe game system matters for how much fun you can have.Clearly linear probabilities do have some potential to screw up your game night.<br />
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Savage Worlds and Fate are two game systems that have decided to let you have all that wild and intense fun you get by rolling dice, but have also included some way to take the edge of Those Nights(tm). I think that is good game design for a game for modern adults, for whom game night is time you clawed back from all the necessities of family, work and other obligations. Narrative control is one thing, but getting to describe your failure yourself over and over again does not make it more fun. Maybe the first time. I think some game mechanic that works as a "safety net" should be in your mind when you design a game for my kind of gamer.<br />
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Are there other ways? Let's go back to those dice, and our subject line.<br />
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I know I am not the first one to notice that some games are really swingy, and D&D with its d20 based to hit roll is one of those. As those of us than own a AD&D 1st ed DMG know, there are more ways to roll dice, and one of them produce a bell curve. Such a probability distribution skews towards the middle, making it harder to get those extremes. On the other hand, it also makes it likelier to get above that first hump of lower target numbers. Is this possibly the way to increase player enjoyment? I will leave off dice pool systems, since I find the probabilities of those headache inducing, instead focusing on rolling multiple dice and adding them before comparing to a target number.<br />
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Strangely enough, there are few games I can think of where you roll multiple dice of a similar kind and add them, as a basic mechanic. Sure, it's used for damage, but more seldom for other things. Off the top of my head I can only remember five game systems that use this, and two of them are closely related.<br />
<ul>
<li>The Fantasy Trip (TFT) - roll 3d6</li>
<li>GURPS - roll 3d6</li>
<li>Traveller - roll 2d6</li>
<li>Tunnels & Trolls (T&T) - roll 2d6 for Saving Rolls, in combat roll weapon dice and add stat bonus.</li>
<li>HERO - roll 3d6</li>
</ul>
Maybe these games are actually kinder to gamers who just want to succeed once in a while?<br />
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<i>Next topic</i>: Are these thus newbie friendly games? <br />
<br />AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-42924821432783221092015-10-11T20:29:00.001+02:002015-10-11T20:29:09.160+02:00Thanksgiving, pumpkin pie and Back to Future!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSRsiODHqZj9dC0XPMLPBext9NVLKYuKN1POhSLjCm32mqvS0oDQBoxWH8Oi66P_Wi2hsbG43b205hCmej-qsA4FbPpV4mZVQ3XtmsZMUQcdV7Wu8qQqRj3UpGSVifI7haXuhvHbcUmYw/s1600/canadian-flag-640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSRsiODHqZj9dC0XPMLPBext9NVLKYuKN1POhSLjCm32mqvS0oDQBoxWH8Oi66P_Wi2hsbG43b205hCmej-qsA4FbPpV4mZVQ3XtmsZMUQcdV7Wu8qQqRj3UpGSVifI7haXuhvHbcUmYw/s320/canadian-flag-640.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Thanksgiving turkey and then some pumpkin pie looking at <i>Back to the Future</i> with the family. Quite a good day!<br />
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Soon some more gaming topics as well on this blog.AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-83797181214291560332015-10-01T21:47:00.002+02:002015-10-01T21:47:55.162+02:00Happy Birthday, Dave!In case you did not know it, today is the birthday of the guy who invented many of the concepts we might consider central to our hobby. I mean little things like the concept of a individual player character, experience points, dungeons and so on.<br />
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He was also one of the inspirations that made me start this blog (Yeah, I know I have not posted much lately. There will be more one day...)<br />
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Today I raise a glass to the memory of Dave Arneson!AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-17872676957385508512015-01-21T21:06:00.000+01:002015-01-21T21:06:10.699+01:00Ron Edwards talking about how to run old school gamesI just found <a href="http://www.castaliahouse.com/review-the-annotated-sorcerer-by-ron-edwards/">this</a> very good review of Ron's game <a href="http://adept-press.com/games-fantasy-horror/sorcerer/">Sorcerer</a>. It highlights how the core of the game goes back to <i>The Fantasy Trip</i>, and <i>Wizard</i> and some other game mechanical details I had missed. I especially like how the reviewer praises the initiative system for the kind of free wheeling action D&D was always intended for. Maybe something worth importing? Likewise, the GM advice in Sorcerer is definitely worth checking out, especially for someone of old school bent.<br />
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When I got my copy of the new Sorcerer books, I found the annotated edition a bit hard to read, as the flow of the text being interrupted by the annotations. This review, and the fact I got my copy of Ron's new game <a href="http://adept-press.com/games-fantasy-horror/gray-magick/">Circle of Hands</a>, made me want to take it down and read it some more. Maybe I might even play it. AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-28838281457795621652015-01-15T23:05:00.001+01:002015-01-15T23:05:25.047+01:00DragonQuest Combat houseruleI got a comment on my last post, mentioning playing DragonQuest without a battle map. Personally I have nothing against miniatures with my rpg, unless it slows down play. If you count hexes or squares it will slow down play is my experience. Playing online I find it a bit fiddly. So, I always look if I can do without them.<br />
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Thinking a bit about DQ I realized that the big thing is if you are engaged or not, and if you can get engaged after doing a half move. With that in mind, and inspired by the classic Traveller rang band system for combat I present the following:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFJPKZad4B10-zqCV-XJT6qEkORDPj3eSDnhGcHfwYDi3luOeAf9BcpZMMz3S8eWAg3yqUlbXgy_yqYP3U3EK1187avY8JveSmy0f_pNca1SDJ5_VZ5NxLK9hbSpVjdIIdPdOFzBhmw8/s1600/RangeBandsHouseRule.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizFJPKZad4B10-zqCV-XJT6qEkORDPj3eSDnhGcHfwYDi3luOeAf9BcpZMMz3S8eWAg3yqUlbXgy_yqYP3U3EK1187avY8JveSmy0f_pNca1SDJ5_VZ5NxLK9hbSpVjdIIdPdOFzBhmw8/s1600/RangeBandsHouseRule.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
The dividing line down the middle is separating Team A from Team B, or Attackers from Defenders. Well, you get the idea.<br />
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All placed in the green fields are Engaged and play according to those rules for initiative and if you can Trip, Disarm and so on. If you are in the blue fields you are disengaged and far away. Here you can only do ranged attacks, and you need more than half of your TMR to engage. In the areas in between you only need to do a half move to be Engaged.<br />
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That sheet can be printed and laminated and you can write on it, or you can use actual pretty miniatures. But, you skip the analysis-paralysis of counting hexes.<br />
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I think this i how I would try to run DQ if I did run it online.<br />
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If you have any ideas or response, I'm all ears!AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-11590506554985006622015-01-07T21:23:00.000+01:002015-01-07T21:23:47.984+01:00I bet I could use these rules for...Longtime readers of this blog knows I am a nutcase when it comes to collecting some games. I have multiple copies of the 2nd ed. DragonQuest rules in addition to the 3rd ed. copy I own. It's a very old school game, quirky and fiddly like the best of them. I have been charmed by it since I first read it, but have yet to play it. One reason for that is the fact it's designed to be played with a hex map for tactical combat, and that is a bit of a hassle in a Hangout session.<br />
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Now I caught the bug again, since I took down my Kingdoms of Kalamar books. KoK is a fantasy world that is a bit like Greyhawk in that it's medieval fantasy without any special twists. There's nothing to get "weirded out" by like in Tekumel och Glorantha. Just plain fantasy. For some a bit too plain, even.<br />
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What would be better pairing then than to play it in that world using the down to earth and deadly DragonQuest system? I have now spent some days thumbing through books and pondering how it could be done. God knows if I'll ever be able to convince anyone to try it, but it was fun to think about for a few days.<br />
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So, this got me thinking.<br />
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How often have you encountered a book, a film och a tv-series and felt it just <i>had</i> to be turned into a rpg? Quite a few times I'd guess.<br />
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How often have you taken down an old favourite game, like that less than loved rules set you love that don't get the love on the blogs and on g+, and felt it should be cool to use it for, <i>that</i> thing? For me it happens all the time. My version of the classic gaming ADD is strongly connected to that behaviour. Last time I counted I owned 103 different rules system (counting separate D&D editions as different games), so that could be why.<br />
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Maybe it's just me being odd...AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-316199147250095072014-12-29T20:24:00.000+01:002014-12-29T20:24:20.444+01:00Legends of the Wulin - It exists!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiT95VwIRzp_i-MzoGO9n97epzQvvOmmMMGzHZELdpXHletb0unYWmHSPBAIuW0aU8EvUukGSeHzfeUDWjry35ZftS3XGwapEzdqlEzuFodugJJfaH0VxLbBwyCWaBE3hmMpYZi-OFr98/s1600/wulin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiT95VwIRzp_i-MzoGO9n97epzQvvOmmMMGzHZELdpXHletb0unYWmHSPBAIuW0aU8EvUukGSeHzfeUDWjry35ZftS3XGwapEzdqlEzuFodugJJfaH0VxLbBwyCWaBE3hmMpYZi-OFr98/s1600/wulin.jpg" height="400" width="296" /> </a></div>
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A very elusive game for those of us who are crazy about wuxia is <i>Legends of the Wulin</i>. Eos Press made a game a few years back called <i>Weapons of the Gods</i>, based on a comic I have never been able to track down. The next step in the evolution of that game system have been mentioned in hushed whispers, but sightings are few and far between. The publisher does not even sell the game from their own website!! I went so far as to pledge for a Kickstarter where one of the bonuses on a higher pledge level was not only the board game the crowd funding campaign was all about, but also a copy of the hard to catch RPG. Now it's mine! Noble Knight Games suddenly had a copy, and I grabbed it as fast as I could! Yah! </div>
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Nothing is so sweet to a collector as finding that thing you have been looking for. The system looks interesting, but a bit fiddly. It's very clearly made by someone who knows a thing or two about Chinese culture, and the visuals are quite impressive with glossy paper and a lot of art. This baby increased the shipping weight and <u>costs</u> quite a bit!</div>
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Now it's mine. It will be interesting to see how it stacks up compared to Tianxia.</div>
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AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-48735904781349289752014-12-25T13:00:00.000+01:002014-12-25T13:00:19.395+01:00Playing in Tekumel, with FateI have been quite curious about Tekumel a while now. More and more Tekumel texts have assembled on my sagging shelves, and I have decided to take a dive into the deep end and run a game in the new year. Bethorm arrived and I blogged about my impressions. Having read a bit more in it I'm now pretty clear I wont run that game. It's a bit too fiddly for me. But, the game system I have been using lately, Fate, might do the trick.<br />
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Fate is a very different game. Different from almost all other traditional games I've been playing for all these years. Trying to adapt Fate for Tekumel I've found one of the reasons for that. If you were to become enamoured by Savage Worlds or GURPS and wanted to convert your old game to that new system, is would mainly be a question about how to map the different systems to each other. Magic works in one way in the original system, and then the question is how to make the target magic system to behave that way. Fate is different. I have found that when I started to do a "generic" conversion it felt a bit rough in places. It turns out that the game you want to play will strongly influence how you do it.<br />
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My first idea for a Tekumel game centred around a clan house. I figured it would be easiest to keep the game within one clan, within one location and centre is around interaction between clan siblings.<br />
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It turned out to be harder than I thought to model this by figuring out how to make the rules for the usual cabal of magic-user, cleric and fighters. I dived deep into the intricacies of Tekumel metaphysics and magic and suddenly I had a game where magic way more complicated than anything else in the game. But, magic was not intended as the big focus of the game! I found out it is very easy to use the so called "Fate fractal" to take that literally and recursively deep into a tailspin of complexity.<br />
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That was when I realized what I wrote above, the game you want to play will strongly influence how you do it. Fate is a game system that change depending on how you handle it. Once again I had been fooled. Once again the strangeness of it all had exposed how I had approached the game I was planning with an approach that the rules was something I brought to the game, not something that adapted to the game. I wonder if I will ever feel comfortable with that!<br />
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Now I have a set of Fate rule guidelines for a Tekumelian game, and once I have written it all down from my handwritten notes I will put them up for perusal. AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-88416619228585060792014-12-18T15:38:00.001+01:002014-12-18T15:38:35.104+01:00A solution to echoing empty rooms in a dungeonSome people might remember that I have written before about the empty dungeon. For some people that is not a problem. They like the exploration of the dungeon environment to be a resource management challenge. Personally I like the idea of the challenge, but I have been thinking of "compressing" the experience a bit. If nothing else, it's variation. Right?<br />
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Ken St. Andre posted <a href="http://trollhalla.com/outer-sanctum/2014/11/28/gristlegrim-once-upon-a-time/">this</a> on his blog a while ago. I had opened it in a tab on my browser and did not get around to reading it for real until now. That is a neat idea on how to do the "compressing" of your dungeon.<br />
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For those who want the executive summary, the idea is to make each room a index card, shuffle and deal a matrix of cards and those are the levels of your dungeon. Nice idea.AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-10022853690010970212014-12-11T18:01:00.000+01:002014-12-11T18:01:14.915+01:00Old D&D editions and clones - Brave Halfling's Delving DeeperAs some of you might be aware, the delivery of the Brave Halfling boxed set edition of Delving Deeper was a long and miserable story. But, it arrived in the end and it was not a disappointment.<br />
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Now, there are nothing here to really excite me. I must admit that first of all. The game is not like LotfP or Ambition & Avarice. But, it does not try to be. Delving Deeper is trying to be faithful to the OD&D edition, and does a decent job of it. I guess you can split hairs and list all the differences, but let us not forget they <i>have</i> to differ from the original game for legal reasons! If OD&D is your kind of flavour, this is not a bad clone to pick up. When I compare it to the original it feels quite close actually. In some cases more close than e.g. <i>Swords & Wizardry Whitebox</i> (which I will write about at a later date).<br />
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The first thing that strike me is the pretty box. The front illustration is excellent, and filed with action. Nasty monsters fighting dungeon delvers, it's right there on the tin, so to speak. I really like Mark Allen's artwork and I like the uniformity it gives the game. One nice thing is the amount of illustrations in the monster book.<br />
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Having mentioned the books I guess I have to mention that this edition is not three small booklets. It's five books, but in the books "Volume I", "Volume II" and "Volume III" are mentioned, which looks confusing. I like that there's a book for players and one for referees. I'm less thrilled with a whole book of treasures. So often those books are just rehashes of "classic D&D items", i.e. boring retreads of Gary's campaign. A booklet with random tables for generating new content for both monsters and treasure would be my choice. I did say something about this not being intended to be what LotfP is, right? Maybe I should appreciate this for what it is.<br />
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The rules for naval combat, aerial exploration and wilderness exploration are compact but looks usable. Probably the only rules for building fortifications I'd ever use would have to be short! That is the feeling about almost everything in this game. It's to the point, solid and usable. I might actually go for this game for the same reason I go for my BRP book, it's simple and workmanlike, even though it lacks bennies, card based initiative and new exciting mechanics. It almost wins me over by not even trying to be selling itself.<br />
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One little sweet thing included in the box (did I say I love the box?), is the Blackmarsh setting by Robert Conley. Very classic, with a lot of the feel you get from looking at a map of Blackmoor. It guess that is not a coincidence. It became available before the game arrived at my doorstep, so I got it and for a while entertained the idea of playing Heroes and Other Worlds in that setting. That never came to be, but it is a good canvas for adventure. I'm not sure I'm all done with the sandbox settings of Robert Conley yet! Delving Deeper is not a bad rules set for exploring something like that. It's basic, but that's the point.<br />
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Now where do I have my graph paper, pencils and hex paper? <br />
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<br />AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-59282838424139306082014-12-06T13:00:00.000+01:002014-12-07T15:21:26.438+01:00Bethorm - making the first characterWhat a better way to get to know a rules set, and to get a feel for the book than to make a character! I took the dive, and <b>Biyúnu hiViridáme</b> was the result. Here are some thoughts that arose through the process.<br />
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There are eight different sections in chapter three, character generation.<br />
<ol>
<li>Clan</li>
<li>Personal Info</li>
<li>Religion</li>
<li>Attributes</li>
<li>Personal Traits</li>
<li>Skills </li>
<li>Defence Values</li>
<li>Contacts </li>
</ol>
I find it interesting that stats or attributes come first on the fourth step. So, first it starts with your clan. Anyone who knows even a little about Tekumel knows that its social structure is not like your pseudo medieval fantasy at all. The individual is not the central social unit, but the clan. Here is the first step wherein you have to start looking ahead in the book, and then go back again. You have a attribute called Prestige, and it's a sum of your clan influence, and your professional influence. But, you wont know the latter until much later in the procedure. To be fair, this is actually noted in the rules, that you will have to go back and forth a bit.<br />
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The step where you note down your personal information is where the prudes and close minded people who raged about D&D5 and its gender and race inclusiveness gets to go bananas. If you like you can roll on tables to get to know not only the biological sex, but also the gender identity and gender expression of your character. I'm almost disappointed the dice gave me such a middle of the road result.<br />
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Naturally the step about Religion will matter. Tekumel is, like Glorantha, not only a game where the gods are real, but religion affect all social interplay and interaction. This is my first stumbling block. To me, the gods of stability varies from staid and bland to slightly attractive and convincing in their outlook. Nothing really sticks out, and it feels like classic rpg pantheons. Then there's the gods of change, which varies from the grotesque to the repulsive. I have something of a hard time understanding why anyone would worship them. But, it's part of what makes Tekumel attractive, to make sense of its very different social mores. I also note that the author of Bethorm suggest most people are not all that ideologically engaged in their religion. Might make sense.<br />
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When we finally come to the stats it turns out there are not that many of them. Traits and Skills are also very unsurprising. It's a classic Advantage/Disadvantage system, and skills strongly based on their dependent stat. I did find the list of the former fewer than expected, and the latter more numerous than expected. By not focusing too strongly I managed to buy 7 skills.<br />
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Since Defences are bases on your skill rankings, it makes sense you calculate them after you have bought skills. But, I have a hard time figuring out exactly how it's supposed to work. Are your Melee Defense based on the lowest of those skills listen? An average? The highest? Dependant on what you use in a particular situation? This section could have been clearer.<br />
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Finally we have the most involved section, Contacts. Remember how I mentioned Prestige was something you had to go back and forth to calculate? Now you get to do it again, for every contact you buy and stat out. Sure, you can skip on the stat out part for them, but you need to figure out their clan, if they belong to a certain lineage and go all the way to the end of the book to find the listing of professional ranks. I think I managed to get the costs right on my three contacts. This probably is where a newcomer to Tekumel will stumble a bit. What kind of character do you want as a contact? Many different clans? All walks of life, or people who can help you professionally. The GM will have to guide their players a bit there I think.<br />
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After all that, <b>Biyúnu hiViridáme</b> the arrogant and hot headed merchant negotiator novice and worshipper of Hrü'ü was finished!<br />
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There are a few things in the character generation process I find interesting. The first thing you encounter is the clan. Before you even know a thing about your character you will decide what clan she belongs to. Then there's the Advantages/Disadvantages. I'm not sure I like them any more. Back when me and my friends generated characters for Ars Magica 2nd ed. we all thought it was great fun. One legged dwarfs, colourblind and with deadly enemies as well as humongous skill ratings gained from those odd ball flaws. Good times. But, there are some good hooks for role playing in there.<br />
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Finally, though, there are the contacts. It's interesting that those are not a Advantage you buy, but something everyone has. It kind of squares the circle doesn't it? You start with the social context, and end with the social context. If there's one thing character generation does, it is pointing the players in the direction for the playing of the game. This way it's emphasized that a lonely individual in Tekumel is an anomaly. If there's one thing I'm missing, that would be the "Fate fractal", where everything can be thought of as a character, with Aspects and Skills. Since that idea took root in my brain, any kind of social role playing makes me want to add stats and skills to organizations. Maybe it can be done within the confines of Bethorm, I have actually not thought that through until the end.<br />
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It was fun making a character! To exercise the system I will probably try to make a spell casting priest as well. But, that's all for now.AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-65923034994962117992014-12-03T20:42:00.000+01:002014-12-03T20:42:33.441+01:00Bethorm - first impressions of the rulesToday I had a day off from work, and unusual for me, I managed to plow through a lot of the rules, and made my first character. Here are some impressions.<br />
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After my first positive post about the weird creatures finally being illustrated, it's natural to start off with the visuals. The book is set in two columns, a constant flow of text and the font is sans serif. I'm really not friends with that choice. But, what is worse is the fact that the sections flow into each other. Section 3 is Character Generation, but after all the 3.1 and 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 sections which sometimes feel very cluttered and chopped up, you will find yourself in 4 and 4.1 and 4.1.1 etc without noticing! Add to this the fact that some things are referenced out of order and I find the organization to be less friendly that it should be. Some page breaks would have been nice. <br />
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Here it's worth diving into a few facts about how the book is organized. Before you get as far as character generation, you will have read sections on how to set up a typical campaign and a time line of the world. Then you come to making your character, which starts with clan and lineage before you get to anything else. Here you not only get the to the point step by step procedure, you also get an explanation of what a clan is, how the work and interact. This is interesting.<br />
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It's clear that Jeff has focused on making the setting become clear and understandable by integrating it into the teaching of the rules. I think this is a very good idea for a setting like Tekumel. It really works. Reading through it, you get a good idea of lot of Tekumel concepts and how they relate to a thing you can grasp, the character. It might make the book be a bit wordy when referencing, but as a starter game for Tekumel this is the way to go. Good thinking! I really like that.<br />
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So, the rules and procedures then. Here I found Bethorm to be a bit puzzling. Actually, it made me think a bit of Palladium. Now, I know Palladium Books has got a reputation, but I do not make the comparison with the intention of doing that connection. It's just that the wall of text, interspersed with line art, feels very much like a book from Palladium. Also, there are abilities, calculated abilities which generate points, long list of skills which seems to be a bit odd in its focus and lots of modifiers and fiddly bits. Basically, it feels very <i>old school</i>, and not in the rules lite variety that has become the flavour of choice in OSR circles.<br />
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You will do some calculations, and thumbing back and forth in the rules while doing your character, and running a grapple or a called shot will make you break out the rules and do some thinking before you move on. That's how these rules come across. In theory it looks easy, just roll low on 2d10 and doubles are good/bad crits. Simple, if it weren't for all the details. The proof of the pudding will be trying it at the table, I guess. <br />
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Next I'll post my thoughts on the character generation, how it works and what it emphasize.AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-38444392146558895362014-11-30T13:26:00.000+01:002014-11-30T13:26:53.204+01:00Bethorm has arrived!Yesterday I got to open a package I have been waiting for. Once again there's a Tekumel game in print! Jeff Dee's <i>Bethorm</i> has arrived at my door. <br />
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Tekumel is one of those games everyone knows about as "that weird game you need a degree in tekumelian studies to run". It's often that way with the games that step outside the box. There's nothing so simple as a horse, everything has multiple limbs and are named weirdly. For some of us, that's a siren call of the Strange and the Fantastic not always found the realms of fantasy and science fiction, strangely enough.<br />
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So how is the game? Well, I just got it and I almost never read a game from cover to cover, and when I do it takes me multiple weeks. But, I can give some initial impressions.<br />
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One of the things that always throws me into a sense of dislocation when I read about Tekumel is the weird creatures. I have found multiple hacks online adapting this or that game system to model Tekumel. Sadly, most of them lack one thing really vital to "get" a strange setting and that is illustrations. How convenient Jeff is a visual artist! Guess what? Bethorm contains illustrations of all those weird creatures. This alone is worth a lot to make this game one you'll want to get if you're curious about Tekumel. Finally you can put your copy of Man of Gold aside when a creature is mentioned, look it up in Bethorm and then go back to the novel with a picture in your mind of what's in the story. Really useful.<br />
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Something else useful is that before getting into details like how you make a character or how the game system works, you get a section on how to GM a game in Tekumel. It makes me wonder why not more games start with a section on the "core activities" and a few campaign frames.<br />
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All in all this looks, from a very cursory inspection, to be an interesting addition to the different rules sets that have been available for Tekumel. My only puzzlement from a visual standpoint is why on earth the text is set in a non serif type?<br />
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More impressions will follow as I read on. AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-740910745905250972014-11-21T21:53:00.000+01:002014-11-21T21:53:01.652+01:00Do you as the GM have obligations?Not too long ago we talked on our <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/Gardagens-Varld-Igen">podcast</a> with Swedish rpg luminary Anders Björkelid. He and his friends in the rpg club NisseNytt toured conventions with massive well researched scenarios, and published their fanzine where they pontificated upon our hobby. Anders summarized their attitude to scenario design, and their modus operandi as (paraphrased) "every player deserves an experience and a story, regardless of what they do". This I remembered when I read LotFP last week. James Raggi mentioned something similar, but with the opposite intention. He claims the GM have no obligations to the players. If they complain about being bored you ought to say "Yeah, so what are you going to do about it?"<br />
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So, <i>do</i> you have an obligation to the players, or not?<br />
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I find the idea quite compelling if I go to a con and sign up and pay for a game to be guaranteed a story. If I am proactive and engage I will have fun, but even if I sit back and have a day when I just want to hang out and see what happens, something still happens!<br />
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On the other hand, I know that a game where the players are engaged will be more fun, and it will be easier to run for me if the players are there as co-creators. Maybe we even share narrative control, and it will be more of a interactive storytelling.<br />
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Interactive storytelling is actually one of the key words for what NisseNytt was all about. So how does this tie together?<br />
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I think you as a GM do have an obligation to the players. But, I also think as a player you have an obligation to engage in the game. Middle of the road, wishy washy conclusion, eh?<br />
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Have you, dear reader, read any of the Play Dirty GM advice by John Wick? If you have not, I suggest you do. John is sometimes very polarizing, but he is seldom boring. His way of GMing is all about bringing stuff to the players. But, it's not at all holding hands and telling a story. No, he suggest you hurt the PCs as much as you can, and kick them while they are down. "They will love you for it", he claims. I guess you could say John Wick argues you have an obligation to make life tough for the player characters, so to sweeten the final victory.<br />
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Obviously, there are more than one way to skin this particular cat.<br />
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Maybe this in one of the reasons role playing games are such a powerful tool too express yourself through. It's adaptable to multiple approaches, and none are wrong. I have played in a NisseNytt scenario where I knew there was a story going on, and for me the big thing was to follow along to participate through the viewpoint of my character. I've also played with James Raggi, where he sat back and watched us squirm after presenting us with a extremely messy situation we as players had to sort out as our PCs. Finally, I've also played a session of Dogs in the Vineyard where the game master put me, the player, under more and more pressure to act with my PC as the situation we had become part of spiralled out of control as it began to emotionally engage us as players just as much as our PCs. I was down, and the kicks kept coming.<br />
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I loved all of those situations. So, ask yourself this the next time you sit down behind the GM screen. Do you have an obligation to the players this time?AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-92062595673942155562014-11-16T16:43:00.003+01:002014-11-16T16:43:56.569+01:00Old D&D editions and clones - Lamentation of the Flame PrincessA few years back everyone was publishing games in boxes. Brave Halfling announced a boxed set of Swords&Wizardry, and a crazy American living in Finland announced he was publishing his own game, in a box. I took down my copy of the Lamentations of the Flame Princess box, and re-read it. I love boxed games!<br />
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It's interesting to think about what the intended audience is for a game. It used to be standard procedure to include a short section in the beginning of the rules about "What is a role playing game". Considering how common it seems to be to learn to play from someone else, the uselessness of those sections have of course been debated. LotfP consists of not only two books of rules, one book of GM advice and two adventures, it also includes a booklet called "Tutorial". Four years later I wonder how many read that booklet and learned something from it? I do applaud James Raggi for trying to grow the hobby, but I wonder if that booklet was of any use to anyone?<br />
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The game is clearly based on D&D. There are classes and armor class, and there are spells per level. Very much D&D. There are some nice tweaks to the D&D baseline, like the Specialist class. I have never really understood the big fuzz about the Thief class, but the Specialist feels like a nice take on it. It's customizable and can be the basis for many fantasy tropes and roles. Another invention is a simple and usable encumbrance system. I like that Intelligence is used for spell saves, and not only giving additional languages. I never found all those languages very useful. After someone invented "common" all that bathwater followed after the baby out the window. Maybe it was the other way around. Whatever.<br />
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Then there's the fiddly bits. Lots of fiddly bits. You'll find rules for different combat actions, different AC if you're in melee or in ranged combat and rules for investments and the very old school saving throw system of nonsensical categories from the early seventies in the American mid west. No condition is passed by unmentioned and there are rules for excavating, foraging and lots more. My lasting impression is a little bit like when I read Dark Dungeons or the complete Mentzer sets of D&D. Everything is covered. A more modern comparison would be the revised 3rd ed. D&D. In a way I guess it would make excellent sense if this is a game for a newbie. Whatever you want to know is in there. You're covered, calm down and get on with the game!<br />
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When I get to the Referee book, this impression is kind of reinforced. I think most of the advice is very good. Solid and functional suggestions for how to create encounters, adventures and campaigns. There is one thing that stand out, though. James puts a lot of emphasize on how important it is with NPCs. This I find interesting. Clearly James is very old school in his approach to GM when he suggests extreme detachment and fair adjudication of situations. In alignment with the Story Now moniker, his style is very much Story After. It's a post-modern Story, laid on the events in hindsight. It's taking the game part and simulation part very seriously, but putting an emphasis on the NPC I have not seen in many other old school games. I have played the game only once, with the designer himself as Referee. That scenario was all about interacting with the world and the NPCs. When I compare that to some of his other published scenarios they feel very different, being mostly empty places or mysteries placed in your way to explore and trigger like a bomb.<br />
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My way of running a game is very much by the seat of my pants. I grab a setting book, a couple of pre-made adventures and modify on the fly very much dependent on Story Now or "wouldn't it be cool to throw this in now, given the context?". I find the approach to the game in the rules and in the advice leave me with awe and admiration. But, it does not make my wheels spin.<br />
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This is not a bad game, and some parts are excellent. But having read it, I don't feel <i>engaged</i>. I think my unplanned chaos way of refereeing could use some of the cold analytic approach in the Referee book. Apart from that, I will put this game back on the shelf without any further play. Should the opportunity arise to play with James again, I'd grab that seat in an instant, though!<br />
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...and the box is a beauty!AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1120006649160021749.post-35003272515374691442014-11-10T22:15:00.000+01:002014-11-10T22:15:39.820+01:00Old D&D editions and clones - AD&DWay back in the days, I got to take a peek at the game books used by the older brother of one of my class mates and gaming buddy. It was a hardcover volume, and I still remember to this very day that the illustrations struck me as very silly and amateurish. That book was the 1st ed AD&D Players Handbook.<br />
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Many years later and I talk to a guy who once he got that game started up a game, and the game is still running, even though the game sessions now are a year or so apart, was started in those early days. That coincided with WotC releasing 3rd ed. D&D and I felt inspired, and bought the game. So I guess AD&D has been a game that has influenced me, pushed me toward other games and coloured my perception of things.<br />
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Still, I have never played the game.<br />
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I tried to gather some players some years back when I scrounged up a bunch of Rob Kuntz modules, but never managed to get enough for a whole party. It stayed the un-played edition.<br />
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I took down one of my two copies of the PHB and perused it. <i>Yeah, I have two copies of a game I've never played. I have three copies of the 2nd ed. DragonQuest and I haven't played that either. Why are you looking at me like that? </i>Anyway. I took down my copy of the PHB, and decided to check it out. Fiddly bits. Dozens of fiddly bits. You come to the section on how to make a character, and it starts with how to roll up your stats. Is this power gaming or what? You are told you need superior stats, and oh do you need them. Multiple bizarre little things are calculated off those stats, like how good you are at lifting gates. Some stats are even rolled with both d6 and a percentile score. Involved is the word.<br />
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The thing is, much of this first saw the light of day in the OD&D Supplement I - Greyhawk, and you understand that Gary and Rob must have loved fiddly bits. In their campaign there were so many subsystems and extra house rules added on top of OD&D that the game beneath was barely visible. This is a <i>game</i> for people who love a <i>game</i>, not a tool for creating stories in secondary worlds. <br />
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I actually don't have a problem with lot of rules. I have played MERP, and own more than one edition of Rolemaster. I have both Burning Wheel and Burning Empires, and would even consider running them. But, then there are rules. Let's take a look at Surprise. That section of the rules begin by telling you what surprise is, and then suggests you roll a d6, or a d8 explains that then there's a 1 in 8 or a 1 in 6 chance. Then there's a nice table to show how many time increments difference there is in rolling difference sets of results on those dice. It's both simple and extremely convoluted at the same time. Say whatever you will about Rolemaster or Burning Empires, but they are far more consistent and thus handle the weight of those rules quite differently.<br />
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Sometimes I catch the wonder, the fantasy and the strange beneath the over- <i>and</i> under-explained rules. I see why some of this caught the imagination. There was arcane mysteries to be unlocked in this mysterious tome, and since I love Call of Cthulhu you can guess why that speaks to me. But, I still don't want to run this game. Playing D&D as a game - as a challenge for the players, not their characters - would be a different challenge. Maybe one day, but I would probably chuck much of that Gygaxian cruft. It's just not my style. AndreasDavourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17170806742393291962noreply@blogger.com