Remember the last post? I did find something yesterday that made me want to post a follow up.
Have you scratched your head about dice pool based systems? Those really drive me crazy when it comes to probabilities.
When AEG once printed the Game Masters' Guide to 7th Sea, designed by John Wick, they included something really nice, a table of probabilities.
If you own a copy of the GMG, turn to page 203 and you'll see the probabilities of reaching the different Target Numbers with different sized dice pools.
A big Thank You! to AEG for that table!
I wish every game designer included such a table in their game.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
What's the probability?
That is one of my most common questions. I very often wonder just that. What's the probability of something happening? I'd like to tell before rolling dice about probabilities. I one took down the math books for some basic high school mathematics, and even though I had once studied that I couldn't make head or tail out of it.
I have posted about my Wednesday game before, and the great fun of playing 3:16. One reason it have been fun is that one of my players, who usually don't complain about dice or luck, in the session last week rolled amazingly bad!
Imagine rolling 20-something d20 rolls a night, and having 14 of those turn up a 0!
That guy missed a lot, but when he managed to roll under 8 for his Fighting Ability check, his kill number were impressive. His ability to roll high was consistent. In a game system where you should roll low, but higher than the opposition, his rolls where hilarious. Of course I had him narrate all his failures.
But, what's the probability?
Apparently poker buffs don't talk about luck, they talk about "variance". The same guy who rolled all those zeroes told me, that some have kept statistics on all their hands to calculate "variance". Even though it should even out, they have decided that there seem to be such a thing as luck. Everything should even out, eventually, right? The question is how close to infinity you have to get.
But, rolling 14 0 out of 20 something rolls? What's the probability of that happening? Amazing. I love dice.
I have posted about my Wednesday game before, and the great fun of playing 3:16. One reason it have been fun is that one of my players, who usually don't complain about dice or luck, in the session last week rolled amazingly bad!
Imagine rolling 20-something d20 rolls a night, and having 14 of those turn up a 0!
That guy missed a lot, but when he managed to roll under 8 for his Fighting Ability check, his kill number were impressive. His ability to roll high was consistent. In a game system where you should roll low, but higher than the opposition, his rolls where hilarious. Of course I had him narrate all his failures.
But, what's the probability?
Apparently poker buffs don't talk about luck, they talk about "variance". The same guy who rolled all those zeroes told me, that some have kept statistics on all their hands to calculate "variance". Even though it should even out, they have decided that there seem to be such a thing as luck. Everything should even out, eventually, right? The question is how close to infinity you have to get.
But, rolling 14 0 out of 20 something rolls? What's the probability of that happening? Amazing. I love dice.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Bad writing and a personal style in game book writing
A while ago, my oldest FLGS shut down. It was sad to see them go, but at least I got a few good deals from the shutdown sale. One of the books I bought was the WoD game Hunter. I got it for a song, which was as much as I was prepared to give. Conspiracy and horror are two themes I'd like to incorporate in my gaming, and Hunter was for me an attempt to do something remotely interesting in the moribund World of Darkness. Reading it I discovered something about the medium of game books, the text, and its qualities or lack thereof.
To put it simple, I felt the text in Hunter was badly written. Being on a conspiracy/horror trip, I also re-read some of Unknown Armies, and realized how amazingly well written that game is. It made me think of the voice of the author.
For those of you who have not read UA, I can only say that this is the game that made me scared. It didn't tell me how to run a scary conspiracy-horror game, it made me cringe. Very good stuff. Now, if you like your game to be unpersonal, and just a textbook, you will hate it. It's a game where the voice of the author is very clear.
Contrast that with DragonQuest. It's very matter of fact, even dry, and with the SPI case system it feels methodical to the point of being absurd. It's very precise, but maybe not that engaging. I think this is the style that most gamers prefer, especially in the old school camp.
Hunter was, for the lack of a better way of putting it, waffling. Many things are said over and over again. It lacks some focus and feels more like it's trying to describe a feel than either trying to evoke it or help you evoke it.
So, how do you want your game?
I know that for some people the idea of a narrative voice in a game is the first step towards the kind of game where Story is king and player initiative is stifled.
On the other hand there are indie games where the designer is very clearly present in the text and at the same time it's clear that the game is yours now, and otherwise it wouldn't work.
Reading Unknown Armies I'm beginning to feel that a strong voice in a game both helps me get excited about running the game, and it helps me connect to the rules and their intent. Slipping into the first mode of heavy handed attitude is bad writing. Maybe gamers who hate, say, White Wolf games would actually like it if bad writing weren't so common.
I'd love for more games to be like Unknown Armies, creeping me out and making me dying to give that game a spin and creep out my players.
Still, I think I will try to slog through Hunter and make something out of it, because there are good ideas buried in there.
To put it simple, I felt the text in Hunter was badly written. Being on a conspiracy/horror trip, I also re-read some of Unknown Armies, and realized how amazingly well written that game is. It made me think of the voice of the author.
For those of you who have not read UA, I can only say that this is the game that made me scared. It didn't tell me how to run a scary conspiracy-horror game, it made me cringe. Very good stuff. Now, if you like your game to be unpersonal, and just a textbook, you will hate it. It's a game where the voice of the author is very clear.
Contrast that with DragonQuest. It's very matter of fact, even dry, and with the SPI case system it feels methodical to the point of being absurd. It's very precise, but maybe not that engaging. I think this is the style that most gamers prefer, especially in the old school camp.
Hunter was, for the lack of a better way of putting it, waffling. Many things are said over and over again. It lacks some focus and feels more like it's trying to describe a feel than either trying to evoke it or help you evoke it.
So, how do you want your game?
I know that for some people the idea of a narrative voice in a game is the first step towards the kind of game where Story is king and player initiative is stifled.
On the other hand there are indie games where the designer is very clearly present in the text and at the same time it's clear that the game is yours now, and otherwise it wouldn't work.
Reading Unknown Armies I'm beginning to feel that a strong voice in a game both helps me get excited about running the game, and it helps me connect to the rules and their intent. Slipping into the first mode of heavy handed attitude is bad writing. Maybe gamers who hate, say, White Wolf games would actually like it if bad writing weren't so common.
I'd love for more games to be like Unknown Armies, creeping me out and making me dying to give that game a spin and creep out my players.
Still, I think I will try to slog through Hunter and make something out of it, because there are good ideas buried in there.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
I'm not alone in thinking alignment languages are silly
(edited: fixed line breaks, Arrgh!)
Question:
So if I may, where did the idea for aligment tongues come from? Do you see them as fully fleshed out languages?
Answer:
"As D&D was being quantified and qualified bu the publication of the supplemental rules booklets. I decided that Thieves' cant should not be the only secret language. thus alignment languages come into play, the rational being they were akin to Hebrew for Jewish and Latin for Roman Catholic persons.
I have since regretted the addition, as the non-cleric user would have only a limited vocabulary, and luttle cound be conveyed or understoon by the use of an alignment language between non-clerical users.
Cheers,
Gary"
(from Dragonsfoot)
Question:
So if I may, where did the idea for aligment tongues come from? Do you see them as fully fleshed out languages?
Answer:
"As D&D was being quantified and qualified bu the publication of the supplemental rules booklets. I decided that Thieves' cant should not be the only secret language. thus alignment languages come into play, the rational being they were akin to Hebrew for Jewish and Latin for Roman Catholic persons.
I have since regretted the addition, as the non-cleric user would have only a limited vocabulary, and luttle cound be conveyed or understoon by the use of an alignment language between non-clerical users.
Cheers,
Gary"
(from Dragonsfoot)
Monday, May 24, 2010
Yet more campaign styles
I have written before about Story Campaigns, Sandboxes and Emergent Campaigns and I still keep my eyes peeled for new ideas and attitudes to campaign development. A short while ago I found this blog post about campaign styles. Check it out. Some interesting nuggets in there.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
R.I.P Ronnie James Dio
It has nothing to do with gaming, but I feel like expressing some of the sadness I feel. Ronnie James Dio is dead, and it so much feel like a part of my personal history have passed on. I think of the 1980-ies often these days.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
I have too much choice
I have been thinking the last week about how much I want to start a new game. We have been getting regular sessions going every Wednesday with indie games, lately it's been 3:16, and since it is a game with a time limit I have been thinking of what's up next.
My biggest problem have been to pick one game. I have too much to choose from! Quite a problem to have, eh?
My latest idea, which might be void and null tomorrow, is to use the big fat tome of BRP to play in second age Glorantha. It would feel kind of fitting to use that game system, since I have only tried the seriously broken Hero Wars, and BRP was after all born as a gloranthan system.
Why I'm not thinking of using MRQ? Well. I don't own it, and I need any more to choose from, do I?
My biggest problem have been to pick one game. I have too much to choose from! Quite a problem to have, eh?
My latest idea, which might be void and null tomorrow, is to use the big fat tome of BRP to play in second age Glorantha. It would feel kind of fitting to use that game system, since I have only tried the seriously broken Hero Wars, and BRP was after all born as a gloranthan system.
Why I'm not thinking of using MRQ? Well. I don't own it, and I need any more to choose from, do I?
Monday, May 17, 2010
No whitebox yet
With growing desperation I notice that more and more reports are coming in of arrivals of the Swords & Wizardry whitebox. It's not like I desperately need a new game, but still.
I keep watch by the mailbox.
I keep watch by the mailbox.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The dread curse of cthulhu
Very recently I got my copy of Horror on the Orient Express in the mail, after finding a complete copy on . This is the first time I've spent a three digit sum on a game. Am I crazy? I call this the Dread Curse of Cthulhu.
CoC was for a long time my favourite rpg. Now, I had never played it outside of a convention context, and had never played in any of the well regarded campaigns from Chaosium. The only thing I'd played were the "let's do something special since it is a convention"-scenarios. It's surely more fun to do something different than the regular kind of play, but I had never tried that "regular play". I still have very little experience.
Now when I have some money and are entrenched in not only the playing, but also collecting part of the hobby, I have been focusing on buying some of those great and well regarded campaigns. The bizarre thing is, that I have bought them with the express purpose of not reading them! I would love to have played in a regular, long term, Call of Cthulhu campaign. Instead I buy some of the best, and expensive stuff there is because I have the money, but not the group to play! That is the Dread Curse.
I'm very thankful to have gotten the opportunity to play in the Beyond the Mountains of Madness campaign last year. Without that I would feel very odd today, looking at yet another procurement. One of my goals for this year is to maybe finally play some CoC, but I have realized it's time to bite the bullet. I will take my place behind the screen, as the Keeper of Arcane Lore.
Maybe that will beat the Curse. Maybe.
CoC was for a long time my favourite rpg. Now, I had never played it outside of a convention context, and had never played in any of the well regarded campaigns from Chaosium. The only thing I'd played were the "let's do something special since it is a convention"-scenarios. It's surely more fun to do something different than the regular kind of play, but I had never tried that "regular play". I still have very little experience.
Now when I have some money and are entrenched in not only the playing, but also collecting part of the hobby, I have been focusing on buying some of those great and well regarded campaigns. The bizarre thing is, that I have bought them with the express purpose of not reading them! I would love to have played in a regular, long term, Call of Cthulhu campaign. Instead I buy some of the best, and expensive stuff there is because I have the money, but not the group to play! That is the Dread Curse.
I'm very thankful to have gotten the opportunity to play in the Beyond the Mountains of Madness campaign last year. Without that I would feel very odd today, looking at yet another procurement. One of my goals for this year is to maybe finally play some CoC, but I have realized it's time to bite the bullet. I will take my place behind the screen, as the Keeper of Arcane Lore.
Maybe that will beat the Curse. Maybe.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Talislanta!
Through a veil of blue mist did I first behold Talislanta: dreamlike and surreal, as if suffused in amberglow.
Many years ago, I bought a slim volume called The Chronicles of Talislanta. Is is a book which opened my eyes to a new world, literally, and have brought me much fun. It's not uncommon for fans of fantasy rpgs to have heard of Tekumel, but for me the lands of Talislanta is just as weird and mysterious.
The Chronicles is a book totally devoid of rules content. It's just the dreamlike story of the wizard Tamerlin as he travels the lands. The combination of Stephan Michael Sechi's prose and P.D. Breeding's marvellous illustrations is a heady brew. I usually re-read it once in a while to remind myself that fantasy should be strange, surreal and fantastic.
Some have complained that Talislanta is something of a kitchen-sink-setting, and in a way they are right. It's a small island, with a lot of cultures. Many of them are archetypal fantasy and might not break much new ground. But, the way they are presented makes them retain a sense of wonder, which makes me dream. What more could you ask for?
For quite a few years I have now been a member of the Talislanta e-mail list. It have moved around a few times, and now reside on Yahoo. Now I am a moderator and even though I'm not as active as I once was, it still feels like home. One reason is the incredible cool atmosphere there. SMS, as the Creator is known, is very friendly and gladly answers questions and is probably one of the most generous game designers I've ever had the fortune to interact with. Now he have decided to give away all there is of Talislanta, the RPG!
Having been through a few editions, the game have had a few books published for it. For a while now, volunteers have been scanning them all, and SMS is presenting them all for free download at the new Talislanta site! Check it out.
Whatever you feel about the whole of the game, it's rules or the world, this is almost too good a gift to imagine. Go to the site and grab some pdfs, cut some things out and use in your own game. There are quite a lot I think any lover of fantasy would like. Steve have many times talked about his love for the fantasy of Jack Vance, and if you have read his stuff I think you will like Talislanta.
If you happen to meet Tamerlin on your travels, tell him I said hello. Bon voyage!
Many years ago, I bought a slim volume called The Chronicles of Talislanta. Is is a book which opened my eyes to a new world, literally, and have brought me much fun. It's not uncommon for fans of fantasy rpgs to have heard of Tekumel, but for me the lands of Talislanta is just as weird and mysterious.
The Chronicles is a book totally devoid of rules content. It's just the dreamlike story of the wizard Tamerlin as he travels the lands. The combination of Stephan Michael Sechi's prose and P.D. Breeding's marvellous illustrations is a heady brew. I usually re-read it once in a while to remind myself that fantasy should be strange, surreal and fantastic.
Some have complained that Talislanta is something of a kitchen-sink-setting, and in a way they are right. It's a small island, with a lot of cultures. Many of them are archetypal fantasy and might not break much new ground. But, the way they are presented makes them retain a sense of wonder, which makes me dream. What more could you ask for?
For quite a few years I have now been a member of the Talislanta e-mail list. It have moved around a few times, and now reside on Yahoo. Now I am a moderator and even though I'm not as active as I once was, it still feels like home. One reason is the incredible cool atmosphere there. SMS, as the Creator is known, is very friendly and gladly answers questions and is probably one of the most generous game designers I've ever had the fortune to interact with. Now he have decided to give away all there is of Talislanta, the RPG!
Having been through a few editions, the game have had a few books published for it. For a while now, volunteers have been scanning them all, and SMS is presenting them all for free download at the new Talislanta site! Check it out.
Whatever you feel about the whole of the game, it's rules or the world, this is almost too good a gift to imagine. Go to the site and grab some pdfs, cut some things out and use in your own game. There are quite a lot I think any lover of fantasy would like. Steve have many times talked about his love for the fantasy of Jack Vance, and if you have read his stuff I think you will like Talislanta.
If you happen to meet Tamerlin on your travels, tell him I said hello. Bon voyage!
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