Reviews of newbie friendly old shool games

I just read this review of Swords & Wizardry, the white box edition. The idea to review games that really tries to bring in new gamers while touting the old school horn is interesting. I note that the reviewer mentions nothing of the bad production quality or the uneven cut, like my copy. Damn, how lucky I got the bad copy. :(

At that site is also a review of Tunnels & Trolls! Having thought a bit about the 7th ed box I think agree with the reviewer, for a newbie this box don't work as is. Some better adventures and maybe some more thoughts about what kind of setting it can be used for. It's a bit hard to place T&T. It's solidly old school, with no setting. But, there's an implied setting which is even mentioned by name, Trollworld. That makes it resemble the newer games with a over supported setting. It would be a good thing to either drop Trollworld or explain how it differs from ye old medieval game world.

Good reviews all!

Gaming Library: DragonQuest

I no longer remember when I first heard of DragonQuest. Did I even then balk at the ugle practice of capitalizing that Q in the middle of the name? I don't remember. I do remember the cover illustration, though. It's one of those that linger, like the one from the AD&D DMG with those big doors being opened (yes, the orange spine printing. I never much cared for the earlier printings). It somehow spells adventure to me.

The first thing you notice when you open up the DQ rulebook is how it's written. Anyone who have ever read a wargame from SPI or Avalon Hill know how it looks. First there are definitions of terms, then there are definitions of procedures. The latter are numbered, and there are more often than not sub cases to the general rule.

In DQ a rule is numbered, and then in bold is stated the main issue, which is then expanded upon in more text not in bold. After that there's usually another sub case, like 3.4 Using Skills or something like that. This makes for very precise, but slow reading. Everything counts and is accounted for. Oddly enough the have managed to make this kind of confusing, since already in character generation you have references to rules in the other end of the book. Sure, they are all numbered nicely, but it makes for slow reading. Add to that the level of detail and it becomes very slow indeed. Written in a more conversational tone, the rules could probably be much shorter. It kind of feels like AD&D. Presentation and organization of rpg rules have become much better the last 20 years.

I have already touched upon the quaint mix of classes and skills. There are more odd things, like the fact that your character have an aspect, which is an astrological influence upon the life of the character. When you get +20% to all rolls at, say, spring equinox it kind of matters! I guess you figured out from that statement that it's percentile based system. Roll d100 and compare to your stat, multiplied with a difficulty number, is the general way to resolve things. Unless you have a skill.

This leads us to the next thing that I get as a general impression from this game. There are quite a few calculations done. There are even a equation reference on the GM screen! Most of it is done before play, but that all and every procedure involve a stat or two, multiplied by different values every time feels a bit jumbled. It makes sense in the end, but sometimes e.g. I wish a rank would give a consistent bonus every time invoked.

Ranks are important. They are basically the level at which you have bought skills, abilities and weapon training. Almost everything you do gets a bonus depending on how many ranks you have. You can even raise your stats that way, even though it's expensive.

Combat is something I've heard was complex, but apart from the initiative rules (does this sound familiar?) which demand that you know which characters are standing in adjacent hexes, it's not that fiddly as long as every value is pre calculated. It's even probably usable without minis if you drop the weird initiative rules. Roll attack (with modifiers) subtract defence (with modifiers) and if you hit you roll damage, and subtract how much armor absorbs. Yes, armor absorbs hits, that's how it work.

Magic is also fairly straight forward. You spend fatigue points and roll dice to activate, just like skills and stat rolls. Interestingly enough, you can buy ranks in spells and rituals as like any other field of knowledge. The list of rituals are well known, especially the summoners which can browse a long list of diabolic entities they might want to summon. Very 1980-ies. Like I discovered, and posted about, there are no lists of magic items in this game. I applaud that, and the fact that the aspect system could be used to creatively add adventures, and journeys to magically charges places, to better enchant your items.

All in all I think the game looks quirky but strangely inviting. If I had a bunch of somewhat more curious gamers around than I presently have, I'd love to take this baby out for a spin. It says something that I had the hex paper out and started to sketch out some wilderness as I was reading the rules. Something about this game demands it to be played.

The Gaming Library: Knockspell #2

The latest pile of loot arrived from Lulu last week. Knockspell #1 came out earlier this year and was nice enough, but this issue looked to be even better. I can summarize it simply by saying, yes it's better than I thought - buy it! Matt Finch and team have surpassed issue number one.

I will be taking a closer look at this issue, and focus on how well I think the material in this issue can be used by a Tunnels & Trolls gamer like myself. Knockspell is primarily a magazine for OSRIC and Swords & Wizardry, but I play neither and have enjoyed this issue a lot.

Out of 32 items (and classifieds) in the Table of Contents, I'd say 15 or 16 is usable off the bat for T&T. Some of the other items are a little bit more tied to D&D, but might give some inspiration and idea. The big block of stuff which I personally wasn't all that interested in was the essay about "The Trouble with Thieves" and the different ways of solving the "problem". Frankly I don't see much of a problem. The thief might not be in the holy scripture (OD&D) but it doesn't mean it is not a "proper archetype". Also, nothing makes it impossible for other classes to climb, steal and disarm traps even when you have decided to bring the thief into your game. For those who still see a problem I'll paraphrase the Talent rules from T&T like this. Let everyone have one Trait, which is some kind of thing they do a bit better than anyone else. Then take a mechanic for resolving general questions like that, d% or d6, and give a small bonus for those with the Traits. Everyone else can still try and succeed. Now, if you want a type of character who is good at "skills" give him more or less of these Traits as he progresses in his chosen path as an adventurer. Problem solved.

Anyway.

Some of the 86 pages of this issue is taken up by long and well written essays. Michael Curtis does what he does on his blog, i.e. provides us with nuggets of wonder and mysteries for your dungeons. Allan "grodog" T. Grohe Jr. has a regular column, "From Kuroth's Quill", wherein he discusses dungeon design. I usually find what Allan writes interesting, and he doesn't disappoint. These, and the grandly titled "The Dungeon as Mythic Underworld" by Jason "Philotomy Jurament" Cone, are all mostly about design issues, and how to build adventures filled with that wonder we felt the first time we played an adventure game. That's the kind of articles that makes me dream, and lets my imagination roam.

Those who have talked to me, or read some of my writings, know that I have a soft spot for tables. In this issue we have articles with tables for random thieves guilds, city lairs, spell books and pits and their occupants. Anyone who need a kick of inspiration can use those! Many of the longer articles have tables to help you implement their ideas. There are tables galore! Me like.

Jason Vasche writes a very intriguing article about "Arnesonian" magic based on alchemy. Dave once said that the magic in Blackmoor was based on ingredients, and mixing of those. This is an interesting piece on how to make a system for alchemical magic within the limits of "the Original Dungeon Game". I think ideas that break out of the common accepted mold of how these games of ours are "supposed" to be played is cool. If you consider yourself "old school" remember that in those times they mixed everything fairly wild. The limits were the imagination. Well worth remembering.

I must confess I was a bit taken aback when I saw "Leprechauns - New Monster and Magic Items for S&W". Monster? They are one of the common kindreds, friend! Well, for us on Trollworld they are, anyway. It was really neat to see some items and takes on the Leprechauns, though. Since T&T don't contain any explanation at all about the kindreds, this short article can give some inspiration for those who wants to develop their Leprechaun Player Characters. There's even a magic item called the "Hidey-Hole"!

Frankly, any DM worth their salt should be able to take stuff written for any old fantasy game or retro clone and use most stuff in between them. If you care nothing for how well you can use an article about Leprechauns can flesh out the shorties on Trollworld, you still have lot of good stuff in this magazine. The adventure by Gabor Lux in this issue is written for Swords & Wizardry, but the game stats are so simple they can be converted on the fly to anything.

Last but now least I want to mention a few things about the visual impressions. The cover is in colour and depicts exploration of ruins. What could be more fitting the theme of classic sword and sorcery gaming? Inside it looks very nice indeed. Small touches like the editorial comments on articles and the short author biographies are excellent! This issue have illustrations by Jim Holloway and Liz Danforth, how could it not be good looking!

The Gaming Libray: Buffalo Castle

Today I've decided to take a look at a classic, Buffalo Castle from Flying Buffalo, copyright 1976.

Buffalo Castle is the first of the solo adventures which T&T is so known for. I don't know if this is the first solo ever, according to Rick it might very well be. The designer of this dungeon is Rick Loomis, and it is one of the few adventures by Rick. There's one in a FreeRPG Day booklet as well. Being the first solo it is very charming to see so many of the tropes that later became staples of dungeon designs everywhere. We have odd games of chance that can lower or raise your stats willy nilly, we have teleporters, monsters to fight and treasure strewn for grabbing which look ominously unguarded. Last but not least is my favourite, a grassy plain with a big herd of buffalo! What! That's some castle.

I love this little adventure! I got mine as a pdf in the 7th ed box, and printed it out and played it a lot. Sadly I noticed first afterwards that the original was significantly smaller that letter size, so I only have tiny print in the middle of the page. The illustrations are all drawn for the adventure and they depict some of the denizens of the castle, some treasure and signs you might find, and similar things. They are all done by Liz Danforth and all have that "Danforth feel" and atmosphere her pieces are well known for.

This solo takes us back to a time when the hobby was very young, and in the introduction Rick Loomis describes the idea behind it as a way to try out T&T and see what it's all about. Incredible enough he also says "or for Dennis Hall, who lives in Alaska and doesn't have enough people nearby to play group games like T&T". Very informal, indeed.

All in all it's a marvellously fun romp. Unlike Keep on the Borderlands it's not very usable as a start of your own campaign, but in the minds of all T&T delvers it compares as the first place where they encountered fame and fortune. Some later solos took the art form in multiple advanced directions, and some of them had both intriguing stories and locales usable for campaign play (like City of Terrors, for example). This on the other hand is at the core just what good old exploring for fame and gold is all about, it oozes fun out of every pore.

I've saved the best for last. Rick Loomis have generously put The castle online, for free! Try it out and have some fun!

Review: Green Devil Face #1 & #2

Green Devil Face is a fanzine, and a community project. "It is intended to provide traditional fantasy RPG referees with game material that can be inserted as-is into their games" is the way editor James Raggi presents it as. I have in my hand the first two issues and here are my impressions:

GDF #1 is a small booklet, A5, 28 pages. The only illustrations are the cover illustations, a medieval one with a knight on the front and a anatomical picture of a posing skeleton on the back. There's one map, which looks like it's done on a computer and it's clear and usable. The grid is a bit too dim, but that might get better now that James have a new printer.

It starts with a history of the module, a short paragraph of background story, and a short note of usage. Then we're treated to a random encounter table before the numbered entries on the map are described in order. Clear, classic and well done. All in all the visual impression is nice and proves how good looking something like a basic fanzine can be these days.

So, time to dive in and read! The first sentence was puzzling for maybe five seconds, and then I started to giggle. I was reading GDF in bed and my wife had already fallen asleep so now I had to supress some of my giggling because soon I felt not only like chuckling, but for some serious guffaws. Everyone get's to be in this one! Well known game designers, bloggers and web forum inhabitants are satired and made fun of. Not one to take himself to seriously, the author himself can be found if you look for him. It's not to hard to find things to make fun of in this hobby, and especially in the old school community there are enough odd balls and crazy people for a work like this. Nothing is mean or downright cruel, but the humor is spot on when it light upon some of our silliness. Considering some outburst of moralism and downright rude attitudes I've seen, I think this is a well done way of handling controversy! We're gamers, so instead of writing endless tirades and arguments we should make our point by writing something that can be played! Top marks to James Raggi for that!

The adventure itself is a classic romp with some odd NPC's that can be interacted with in a limited fashion, weird substances to imbibe and treasure to be found. I do like the fact that almost nothing is what it seems, and investigation is both needed, fun and sometimes fatal! This might be a joke, but it is a very playable joke.

Anyone in the old school community online will get a couple of good laughs out of this one, and as if that wasn't enough you get a very devious dungeon to boot! It's cheap, it's fun and it used to be called Fantasy Fucking Vientnam so what is there not to love?!

GDF #2 is also a small green booklet, A5, 24 pages. It have the same kind of old illustrations, but this time only the back cover is from mideval times, since the front is only a little more than 100 years old.

This issue contains 12 different traps and mysteries. A lot of them are one page, and some more involved are 2-4 pages, with examples of usage and longer description of setup and effect. The quality is overall high, and even if some are more clever than others, they are all intriguing.

The idea of having the trap out in the open, and let the delvers make of it what they will is good. There are item traps, water and darkness. Interestingly enough, I think the simpler traps are probably the best ones. Another thing worth noting is that many traps have ideas for tweaking, so the 24 pages are filled more goodness than first apparent! Many traps are very brutal and will take some careful delving skill to handle. I'd love to encounter stuff like this as a player!

All in all I'd recommend GDF#2 to anyone with a interest in puzzles and traps. James have collected some really good contributions and I really hope he gets some more submissions for further issues. Writeup those traps you have designed and send them off! Published glory await you all.

Impressions of the latest T&T, and a minotaur!

Dyson over at A character for every game have published a T&T character, in his project to post a character for every system he owns. It's interesting to read about his impression of the character generation system.

In case you didn't know it already, I have already published a review of Tunnels & Trolls 7.5 on the web. There you can read about my impressions of the 7.5 ed. You can find it here!

I'll post some more about oddities and their solutions at a later date. I'm right now trying to make sense of magic item creation, for example. More on that.

Enjoy!