Building a Better D&D?

I don't know how many of us in the OSR/RPG blogosphere have seen it, but there is an ongoing(?) examination of the D&D game rules going on at Building a Better D&D.  I stumbled across this site months ago but lost track of it until recently.  I am sure many of you will find something of use in many of the 54 entries.  Thoughts? 

[Mobile Post] Swords & Wizardry: Complete Arrived

After I posted about getting Swords & Wizardry: Complete through a trade, my wife arrived home withe package in hand.  I have not done an extensive read through yet but my first impression is that Swords & Wizardry: Complete is a near perfect match for the hybrid D&D/AD&D game my buddies and I played in our youth. I will write more as I read more...

The Top 7

I stumbled across the top 7 role-playing games meme that was going through the gaming blogosphere recently.  I have read the following posts about their respective top seven games:

 

Gnome Stew

Rather Gamey

Harvester

Tower of Zenopus

The Other Side

 

This type of stuff always interests me because it gives an inside look at what other people in the hobby were doing at the same time.  The summer of 1980 was when it all started for me.  I received the Holmes Basic Set and the three AD&D hardbacks from my uncle David.  I have played a ton of games since then but I am not going to do a separate list for games I played and games I ran.  Both lists would basically be the same but the games would occupy a different spot in both lists. 

 

1. AD&D: My buddies and I actually started off with Holmes and followed the references to the AD&D books I also owned.  We really liked the additional rules and restrictions offered up by AD&D.  It was pretty common for us to use D&D stuff with AD&D; it did not matter because it was all Dungeons & Dragons as far as we were concerned.  No one game got more play time from our group than this one.  I never moved up to 2E but I did game a little with 3E.



 

2. Palladium Role-Playing Game: Out of all of the stuff that has come and gone in my collection this is the one item that I wish I still had more than anything else.  This is the one game that made us all stop playing any form of D&D to play it instead.  It almost seemed like an upgrade to AD&D with the similarities in the rules systems; that made it easy to use stuff between the two systems also.I have the second edition around here somewhere but it just has not grabbed my attention like the original.     

 

 

 

 3. D&D: It all started with the Holmes Basic set but over the years AD&D got much more play out of our group.  We were under the mistaken impression that using AD&D meant we were playing a more "sophisticated" game.  I know, the folly of youth and all that jazz.  If I was starting a new campaign today I would probably just go with Moldvay or Holmes and some of the fan expansion material. 



 4. Talislanta: I stumbled across the second edition of the Talislanta Handbook and Campaign Guide on a random trip to the local game store.  We were instantly intrigued by the out of the ordinary races and campaign setting.  I always liked using one of the Gnomekin character options.  As cool as some of the more recent editions have been, I still feel like the slimmer manuals from that time were better at capturing your imagination.

5. Villains & Vigilantes: This was the first and in many ways still the best supers game I ever played.  V&V seemed to emphasize fun more than anything else.  This was the first game that had us actively building connections and relationships between various character and stories in the campaign. My old V&V folders are somewhere in storage with a ton of character write ups.  I would like to find them someday and post some to my blog. 

6. Marvel Super Heroes: I played quite a bit of the old Marvel Super Heroes game from TSR but I was not a big fan of the basic game.  It was cool because it was Marvel but I always felt like it was a little "too basic" in presentation.  When the Advanced Set was released, I became a big fan of the rules.  In fact, we used them for doing things other than supers.  There was a short GI JOE campaign that added a list of MOS options to the character creation process.  We had stats for a ton of the official characters also.  We also did a Transformers campaign. 

7. Nightlife: I do not remember much about this game other than we played several sessions.  I know it was one of those "monsters in the modern world" games but that is about it.  I believe it was released several years before White Wolf began the World of Darkness.  It remains the only horror type game that I have ever played but I would definitely like to try Call of Cthulhu.

There you have it - the top 7 games I have participated in as a player or game master.  I may be late in posting it but I made it.  

 



Leather Bound AD&D

There is a good chance that others are already aware of this but over at the Goodman Games there is a thread started by oldschooldm that shows off his customized AD&D library. He took the Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, Monster Manual, Fiend Folio, and Dieties & DemiGods and bound them together in a huge leather bound tome.  There are a few pictures of his leather bound AD&D included with this post but if you want to see more just follow the link to the thread above or go to the image gallery. 



+1 Or Not?

(I have a confession to make.  My name is Charlie and I have Gamer ADD; I have seen a few bloggers expressing similar thoughts since I started blogging and following blogs written by others.  I need to get back on track and get focused again.  I will still post on a variety of subjects other than just gaming but I need to develop some structure and get a routine established.  Maybe it will come quickly or maybe it will come slowly but it begins here with this post.)

 

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A Sword +1 is quite possibly one of the most common magic items ever handed out by Dungeon Masters in the (A)D&D game.  The name is not very intriguing but it does the job.  Many campaigns work perfectly fine using that labeling and there is nothing wrong with that. 

 

I have used the "+x items" as is without modification but I have wondered if there is a better labeling method.  For instance, what if the +1 to hit was replaced with "heightened accuracy", "greater accuracy", "true aim", or something similar for a bonus to hit?  Another example could be replacing the +1 to damage with "greater penetration", "minor sharpness", or something else similar to those listed?

 

I think it is interesting to consider but I also wonder how you would handle the higher bonuses.  If a +1 is "greater accuracy" or "sharpness" then what would the higher bonuses of +2, +3, +4, and +5 be labeled?  How would the low end and high end of the bonus range be labeled in a manner that would make sense and be more in touch with the feel and tone of the campaign?

 

Has anyone reading this tried anything like this?  If so, did it work well?  Did you keep using it or change back?

Recovered Treasures...

I was digging around in the attic at my parent's house this weekend and found the following old gaming products:

 

[BECMI D&D]

Basic DM's Rulebook

Expert Rulebook

Companion Players Book

Companion DM's Book

Master Players Book

Master DM's Book

B1: In Search of the Unknown

X1: The Isle of Dread (original cover, iirc)

X1: The Isle of Dread (updated cover with a T-Rex on it)

 

[AD&D]

Dungeon Masters Adventure Log

I1: Dwellers of the Forbidden City

N2: The Forest Oracle

 

[Spelljammer]

Lorebook of the Void

Concordance of Arcane Space

Lost Ships

 

Not a bad find at all but there are a few missing items.  I could not find the Players Book for the Basic set or the rest of the contents of the Spelljammer boxed set.  I do happen to have the complete Moldvay version - Basic & Expert books - so the missing players book from BECMI is not that big of a concern.  Back in the day I looked at Spelljammer but I honestly never tried it.  The premise sounded good but all of us sorta thought it was goofy.  I would have liked to have found everything from it to see what I think of it now.  Oh well, maybe next time...

 

A is for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

***********Just for the sake of clarity - the theme for my A to Z postings is gaming in the 1980's with my friends.*************

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

It just makes sense that AD&D is one of the subjects of my A - Z posts, doesn't it?  It (and the Holmes Basic set) are what introduced me to the role playing hobby.  It was the summer of 1980 when I received the  PHB, DMG, MM, and the Holmes Basic from my uncle David.  He had been a player of the original rules and had bought these revisions and played for some time before handing them down to me.  

I was pretty excited by these books because I was a fan of all things fantasy and now I had the opportunity to play out my own adventures similar to Conan, King Arthur, or the animated version of The Hobbit that the local PBS station played pretty regularly at the time. I do, however, admit that some of that stuff was pretty confusing for an 8 year old and took the assistance of my uncle to fully understand.  Once the concept was understood, we played pretty obsessively taking any free moment we could to sneak in some game time. 

The common rules at the time were usually a mish-mash of AD&D with D&D and some house rules thrown in for good measure.  Our group was no different from the norm.  I probably have many of our house rules in one of my old gaming notebooks somewhere.  Rules that I particularly remember are ignoring the class/level limits for demi-humans and a +1 to an Ability would allow you a score of 19 in our games.  Maybe it was not "balanced" but we had a blast and THAT is what's important.

AD&D was the mainstay of my gaming group for many years.  It started with just my brother Mark and me but quickly expanded to my friend Jamie.  Over the years other players would come and go.  Some of the most notable additions were Ray and Neal (brothers) and Travis.  Other games might temporarily hold our interest but AD&D was the most played game until most of us graduated in 1991. 

At this point, several of us joined the Army and went our separate ways.  I gamed a few times in the 8 years that I served but it was mostly a drought of gaming.  I know that Ray and Neal have not gamed since high school, Jamie has gamed - we are trying to get a group together - and I am unsure of the rest of the group.  Unfortunately, my original rpg collection met the fate described in this post earlier on my blog.  I would love to have some of these games now or even get a gaming group together.  I think it's about time to get the band back together for one last adventure.  Maybe I'll grab a copy of OSRIC and make a few phone calls...

 

A Peek at Perilous Journeys 1

My initial post about Perilous Journeys was just my way of drawing attention to the free download of the game. I've decided to take a closer look at Perilous Journeys in pdf form.  I will be purchasing a print copy after the holiday season calms down.  

Before I begin looking at Perilous Journeys I feel it is important to explain my experience with Lejendary Adventures.  I stumbled across the Lejendary Adventure players manual in a FLGS one day and immediately purchased it after I noticed the name "Gary Gygax" and skimmed through the book.  I was pretty excited because it looked like a simple and straightforward skill based game using percentile dice for resolution.  Unfortunately, I just did not "get it" at all. 

I made multiple attempts at character creation and never went further with the rules.  My biggest problem was that I came away with a different understanding each time I read the rules.  I agree with others about the language or writing style being biggest stumbling block to understanding the LA system.  I disagree about the use of nontraditional role-playing terms.  I have no problem understanding that Avatar is equal to player character, Order is basically equal to class, and on down the line with the rest of the terms.  I believe the use of these unique terms is a plus and helps set the tone as something different from the previous work of Gygax.  

I am no stranger to the works and style of Gygax.  I read and understood the AD&D works, Cyborg Commando, and Dangerous Journeys. After reading through the character creation process in LA repeated times I grew very frustrated with the rules.  At first they seem pretty simple to follow but using them left me utterly confused.  I downloaded the quick start and that seemed to help a little but I was unable to bridge the gap between the quick start and the core rules.  

Ultimately, I came away from the LA rules disappointed.  I got the impression that a smooth rules-light game was waiting to be discovered with the rule book. I also felt that the writing style did not facilitate the understanding of the rules.  I must point out that this is not a dig against Gygax.  I am just saying that the rules as presented did not work for me. 

As a quick aside, I just wanted to point out that I thought it was interesting that both Arneson and Gygax stepped outside the realm of D20 based gaming and explored percentile based games with Adventures in Fantasy and Lejendary Adventure.  

How did I find Perilous Journeys?  I frequently check the threads at Dragonsfoot; specifically, the General Discussion, AD&D, Workshop, Lejendary Adventure, and Simulacrum Games forum.  I was checking the forums one day and came across this thread bringing attention to a new game with a design similar to LA.  After a download and a little investigation of the rules, I decided to bring attention to this game by taking a closer look at it in my blog.

Basic Details

I am taking a look at pdf version of the Perilous Journeys core rule book.  The document is black and white with illustrations and weighs in at 129 pages.  The artwork does a good job of capturing old school adventuring and there is an overall absence of dungeonpunk characters and monsters found elsewhere.  That gets a big thumps up from me because I really dislike a lot of the modern art in 4E.  I assume the only thing missing from the pdf version is the front and back cover.  The cover of the print version is displayed below.

Preface

The preface states several important things that form my impression of where this game is headed with the rules.

• PJ is a skill based game that attempts to mimic the feel of OD&D but not the mechanics.
• PJ has streamlined and flexible mechanics that will not hinder play of the game.
• PJ has broad skills that allow the customization of characters.

This sounds an awful lot like what I heard about LA but that is a good thing.  If Perilous Journeys delivers for me in the ways that LA could not then I will be a very happy gamer.

Terminology

The next section is a list of the common terms used in Perilous Journeys.  Usually I just quickly skim through these in other rule books to see if anything unfamiliar catches my eye.  I actually read every one of these definitions and found them very satisfactory in their explanation of the respective term.  The terms and labels used in Perilous Journeys should be familiar to most people that have played just a few role playing games.  The few new terms are explained in a clear manner that causes no confusion to the reader.  

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That concludes the beginning of my examination of Perilous Journeys.  Fatherly duties call at the moment but I will continue with this later.  The next part of the rules is about character creation.

Taking Care of Business...

In a continued effort to get all of my ducks in a row here is a list of goals that I would like to accomplish with this blog:

Short Term Goals

• Complete my examination of Adventures in Fantasy.
• Complete the entries from my Old Gaming Notebook.
• Make one post every day in a single month.
• Post more of my house rules & ideas for AD&D, 3E, Microlite20, RIFTS, and more.
• Post about my campaign world, Toldara.
• Offer draft 2 of MicroToldara for download.
• Offer draft 1 of Classic Fantasy Role Playing for download.

Long Term Goals

• Post about actual play with Adventures in Fantasy.
• Develop ideas from the Old Gaming Notebook into complete games.
• Decide on a set posting schedule and stick to it.
• Get my Toldara co-author (Alex) to participate in some of the blogging.

That's a good start.  This list will be modified and re-posted when appropriate.

[Rant] Charts & Tables - UGH!

I hate charts & tables, I hate charts & tables, I hate charts & tables, I hate charts & tables, I hate charts & tables, and - just for emphasis - I HATE CHARTS & TABLES! Now that I have that off of my chest it is probably time to explain myself.  It's a fact that most every rpg I have played has some sort of chart(s) in the rules somewhere. 

I have no problem with games using LOTS of charts and tables or very few at all.  I have no problem with games referencing charts or tables during combat or character creation.  Some of the games I have played with charts include AD&D, DC Heroes, Marvel Super Heroes, Palladium Fantasy, & Talislanta.  I have no problem coming up with the details of charts or tables that I create. 

So, what is my problem with charts and tables?  It is the physical act of typing in the information and creating the chart or table itself.  It always seems so tedious and I always have bad luck with editing.  In other words, it always winds up being atleast twice as difficult as it should be for me.

Getting the Band Back Together?!

If everything goes right - planets aligning, etc. - and we can clear a night on everyone's schedule there's a good chance that two of my buddies from my high school days (1987-1991) will be doing some role-playing with some other guys rounded up by my cousin.  Technically, it's not the whole "band" - it will only be Jamie and Travis - but it should be cool anyway.  We used to play all sorts of rpg's and video games together back in the day.  It would be cool to game again with these guys.

I met Jamie in the second grade - that's a looooonnnnnngggggg time ago - and we discovered D&D together with the Basic Set.  We played as much as possible and missed a lot of sleep growing up...lol.. We moved on to other games including Car Wars, Gamma World, GURPS, Palladium Fantasy, & Talislanta. 

I met Travis through Jamie.  Travis introduced us to RIFTS.  I still remember looking through the rulebook that first time.  I couldn't help but think of Gamma World and all the fun Jamie and I used to have with that game. 

I'm not sure what we are going to play once we do get a game night organized.  Jamie and I have talked of trying out Castles & Crusades because it would be both familiar to AD&D but the rules are streamlined; I'm not saying the rules are better but they are easier to understand. Of course, we might just dust off an old favorite like RIFTS. I have the RIFTS Ultimate Edition that I have yet to run.  I'm also considering really rules-light such as Microlite74 or something similar.  To tell the truth, the game system really isn't that important but getting the chance to game with some old buddies is what's really important.  Regardless of the system used I'm sure we'll have fun.  First, we all just have to get a free night.

Fingers crossed...

[Adventures in Fantasy] Book of Adventure Pt. 3

After a short detour, I am returning to posts covering AiF. Let's take a look at the remaining chapters of the Book of Adventure.

The first chapter is titled Setting up the Campaign and actually covers quite a bit of information for being only 6 pages long; 2 of those pages are a sample underground map of a dragon's lair and a list of the contents in each room. Obviously, the information contained in this chapter is not as comprehensive as the original AD&D DMG but it will help give structure and reason to the campaign.

The chapter begins with some introductory remarks about a few of the referee's responsibilities before the start of play.  It is pointed out that "there must be a reason for the players to be undertaking the adventure upon which these same players are about to begin". Right off the bat, AiF is concerned with background, motivation, and reasons for adventuring.  I've always heard that the games of this era were pretty weak in this aspect but I am satisfied with what I have read.  The advice is practical and still applies today.

The next part of the chapter deals with the sample fantasy campaign of Bleakwood.  It serves as an example of how to generate some details of the adventuring world.  The example includes a calendar with months named, season, corresponding dates to Julian calendar, weeks, day, and also the names of the years.  With names such as "Valkyrie", "Week of Fire", and "Year of the Dragon" it helps to set the mood and tone. 

The next section of the chapter is Setting up an Adventure.  I am happy to say that the information continues to be very clear and practical.  Instead of just giving instructions on how to draw a map this section details the Dragon's Lair by covering such topics as the eating habits of creatures (how and when), number of creatures, how these creatures avoid disturbing the Dragon, the lairs of the creatures, and the dangers facing the player characters. The referee is then shown how to lay out the underground and how to list the details of the matching descriptions with contents, function, treasure, and guards or creatures. The example is wrapped up by covering tricks and traps such as trap doors, sliding walls, sloping passages, stairways, and chances of getting lost or disoriented.  The next two pages show the map of the Dragon's Lair and the Location list.

That's the details of the Setting up the Campaign chapter and I already have a much better impression of this section of the rulebook in contrast to the player's portion.  I have always heard that Arneson "wasn't a rules guy but was one hell of a referee".  If this chapter is any indication then I would say that's a very fair statement.  The rules are serviceable but lack clarity while the GM advice is clear, practical, and makes me want to grab my graph paper and get to mapping!

Next: I continue to look at the Book of Adventure.

[House Rules] Alternate AD&D Ability Score Generation Methods

I promise I am returning to AiF posts soon...

I am somewhat fortunate to have a co-worker that is also a role-player.  We often discuss games at break or lunch.  During one of the recent coversations we discussed different methods for rolling ability scores during character creation in (A)D&D.  I thought the two methods we discussed could prove to be fun so I thought I would share.

18D6 & Split
Each player rolls 18D6 for the ability scores.  The player then splits them into 6 groups of 3D6 and chooses which score gets assigned to each ability. 

9D6 Physical, 9D6 Mental
Each player rolls 9D6 for the physical ability scores.  The player then splits the 9D6 into 3 groups of 3D6 and assigns each score to one of the physical abilities of strength, constitution, or dexterity.  Each player rolls 9D6 for the mental ability scores.  The player then splits the 9D6 into 3 groups of 3D6 and assigns each score to one of the mental abilities of intelligence, wisdom, or charisma.

Both of these methods give the player a little more control of the character creation process.  It should make it a little bit easier to qualify for some of the more difficult classes to qualify for in AD&D.  It just seemed like a fun change.  I'm going to give it a try sometime.

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edit 1 - fat fingers.

[House Rules] AD&D Ability Scores

I am taking a break from my Adventures in Fantasy posts to do this real quick.

Note: The following better suits the detailed approach of AD&D instead of the looser approach of D&D.

I like to tinker with the rules of the various games I play.  The game I have probably house ruled more than any other is AD&D.  I have always wanted to look into expanding the list of abilities but I have never given it a serious effort.  I think it could work.  I honestly do not know if it would be worth the effort but I think it might be worth a look.  Since there are 3 physical and 3 mental abilities with a total of 6 abilities I would want to maintain the same sort of balance when adding the new abilities. I would suggest adding 2 abilities to the core six of Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.

Agility (AGL): Agility would represent something like total body control and also set the modifier for AC.  This would mean Dexterity now represents hand to eye coordination and actions requiring fine manipulation.  Some of the thief skills would now be affected by Agility and some by Dexterity.

Composure (COM): Composure would represent something like mental endurance, coping with stress, and the ability to persevere in the face of terror; similar to Sanity from Call of Cthulhu.

I'm sure that both of these abilities could be added and put to good use.  Composure could be fun to mess with but it could also be done with a saving throw.  I have always thought there should be a split between Dexterity and Agility. I'm not quite so sure it would be worth the effort.  Honestly, I would not want to worry about figuring one or more additional ability scores when using an "official" module or resource.  This is just one of those ideas that cross my mind from time to time but I have never acted upon it.  Maybe one of these days I will.  On the other hand, in my older age with limited free time I would rather play than try to decipher a bunch of unnecessary house rules.  Not that I am opposed to house rules - I plan on sharing some of mine in this blog - but let's use them where they are needed.

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edit 1 - fat fingers.
edit 2 - fixed some awkward wording.