Looking Ahead...

I miss the days when this blog was much more active and I'm not happy with the minimal posting I've done over the last several years. I'm at a point where I need to make a decision about what I'm going to do moving forward.  I'm not going to erase the contents of this blog, but I might just shut it down and leave it here in case anyone tis interested in the posts or some of the other content; I do have people still downloading the Adventures in Fantasy character sheet from time to time so that's cool. Some of the things that will affect my decision or my ability to post regularly will be discussed below.

WORK COMMITMENTS

In January of 2024 it will be one year since I accepted a position in the Quality Assurance department of my employer.  Of course, the increased salary came with more responsibilities and more time commitments so that will definitely affect how often I can post on the blog.  Fortunately, the decision to accept this position was the correct one because I do enjoy my job and the challenges tremendously. On top of that, we are in the process of launching two new models of school bus so that will definitely be demanding on my time as well.  I would assume that from December of 2023 to the end of the first quarter of 2024, it will be the most challenging period for us.

SUBJECT OF POSTS

The main subject of this blog will still be roleplaying games and related subjects with various posts about reading, miniatures, fan films, and pretty much whatever else grabs my attention.  I know the OGL drama seems to have settled down, but I think I'm going to look into moving away from using the OGL to post anything.  I'm most likely gong to post nothing but house rules like new races, new monsters, etc. from my campaign but I think I'm going to play it safe and use a different format other than Delving Deeper to post the information. Make no mistake about it, Delving Deeper is still my game of choice and I will always recommend it and my home campaign will be ran using it. I just think for posting stuff in a public area such as this I'm going to use a format inspired by the old gaming products of the past that were "close but not quite D&D".  Maybe I'm being too cautious?  I'm not a lawyer by any means and I don't have the time to commit to writing a new clone from scratch at this point. I did take the time, however, to come up with this new format in a 2 page pdf.  It still needs a little bit of tweaking, but I will post it here in the near future.

POST FREQUENCY

At this point, I think the best estimate I can make for 2024 is committing to post once per week. I can use whatever subject I like so the post may come any day of the week.  I could post for "Miniature Monday" one week and then "Fan Film Friday" for the next.  That does NOT mean I won't pick up the pace at some point but once a week should not be an unrealistic goal. 

REACHING THE DECISON

I plan on evaluating progress every 90 days of 2024.  I've also started bullet journaling for work and for home/recreation so that has helped me quite a bit.  I like having concrete plans on paper that I can look at and track progress. I never used the bullet journal method before, but I used to track things much better and I lost that in my recreational activities, so it fell by the wayside and took a backseat.  Hopefully, I can maintain a healthy and productive work/life balance from now on.  It's not unhealthy right now but it is somewhat lopsided, and I need to correct the course.  Let's see what happens on the road ahead...

A Little Reorganization & Some Thoughts

I have been pretty satisfied with the posting so far in this new year.  I aim to keep the momentum going and add much more content in the upcoming weeks and months.  Here are a few highlights of the reorganization I have done around here and some thoughts about what I need to do from here on out.

It is almost time to revise the About Me tab again.  The final paragraph could use a little bit of updating but I will probably hold off for a few weeks to see if more changes take place.

The Collected Posts tab at the top of the page is gone.  It had grown bloated and messy so I split up the contents.  There is now a separate tab for Adventures in Fantasy and Perilous Journeys instead; of course, the contents of those tabs correspond to their respective labels.  The other information that was previously contained in the tab is still available on the blog but I just took this opportunity to clean up some of the clutter.  

The Adventures in Fantasy tab will see some expansion with posts covering the AiF Restatement project.

The read through of Perilous Journeys is complete but that is not all I have planned for the game.  Expect posts covering new resources such as magic items, new flaws, new edges, and other resources.    

I have added links to two posts focused on religion under the Toldara tab. The other posts covering religion will be added upon completion.  My goal is to offer something more than "there's a religion that people can join" by giving some actual details.  I fully expect a lot more information to be added to this tab over the next year.  There should be plenty of details on a Swords & Wizardry adaptation to come.  

The Projects & Downloads tab has several things listed that I need to get completed.  In no particular order, the SteamCraft character creation reference and the MicroToldara rules are the two I am aiming to complete first.

That is a pretty good summary of what has taken place so far and what is coming up.  The only other additions I can see that I need to mention are that I am going to start posting Steampunk Saturdays at some point and the Robotech Posts are probably going to start with the extras DVDs. 

It is time to wrap this up and get back to reading posts by all of you...

    

Initial Thoughts on the AiF Restatement Project

In my last post I mentioned the Adventures in Fantasy clone project that I am working on currently.  While there have been many clone games, of both the retro and neo variety, this game will not use the OGL as a basis.  I aim to restate the rules in a clearer fashion to the best of my understanding; anybody that has read through this game will understand what I am talking about.  Now, on to some thoughts related to this project.

Why Am I Doing This?

Adventures in Fantasy has been a source of fascination for me.  On one hand, it gives a look at how Arneson would have possibly done things differently; of course, much of that is up for debate with Snider as a co-author when you look at Powers & Perils. On the other hand, the rules read like they were one or two edits away from a much more manageable and understandable system.  I have entertained the thought of doing a Book IV: Book of House Rules for some time but I think a restatement would actually be a better idea.  

Another consideration is the availability of the boxed game.  I have no knowledge of how rare Adventures in Fantasy is but I do know that there are still many role-players that have never seen or even heard of this game.  I was fortunate and bought my copy at a time when the price was less than $20.  I have seen some outrageous prices - around $200.00! - for a copy of a complete boxed set.  Do not misunderstand me on this issue.  I believe that Adventures in Fantasy is definitely a fascinating piece of gaming history but I also think some of the sellers are pricing this game at an unrealistic price.

What Is The Name?

I am currently using the name of A.S.P., or Arneson and Snider's Percentile-Based, Fantasy Adventure Gaming Rules for this project.  The name is not that catchy but it gets the point across and will be okay until something more suitable comes along.  I have received some excellent suggestions from Havard in this thread over at The Comeback Inn.  I suspect I will likely use one of his ideas but I am also open for other suggestions.

Will There Be Changes?

Of course, there will be differences between the rules as written and the rules as restated.  I am aware that the rules themselves can be redone with relative ease by stating them in a different manner.  In contrast, someone can fairly and legally cry foul* if the tables, location names, and other such areas are just reproduced exactly.  There will be changes in those areas.  The important thing is that the rules will be presented in a format that is much easier to comprehend.

* Of course, now I wonder if just simply stating my intentions are enough to consider this a derivative work?  

Final Thoughts

In addition to those initial thoughts behind the restatement project, I have made a few basic decisions...

1. The format for this project is planned to be a single volume instead of three booklets.
2. I have been working on the character creation section of the rules.  After a large section of it is completed to my satisfaction I will post it up for some feedback.
3. There are several threads on The Comeback Inn detailing ideas for house rules.  If the posters that originally posted those house rules are agreeable, then I would be interested in including them in the final version; maybe in sidebars or an appendix?
4. If anybody has any good links for some appropriate public domain art that I could use then I would highly appreciate it.  
5. I think some Appendixes at the end of the rules would be a neat idea.  Maybe they could include a bio on Arneson, a bio on Snider, inspiration, etc.
6. If anyone is interested in collaborating on this project, I would definitely be open to it.

That should just about do it for now.  More later...

             

A Little Bit of Necromancy...

I have not posted since my birthday two months ago so I will give a few words on what has been going on around here.  The slowed pace of posting has been due to work demands;  while that sucks for free time it is good for other things.  I do hope it cuts back a little bit though.    I would like to get back to posting at least once a week and will attempt to do so soon.  So, on to some assorted updates.

House Hunting: We are this close to making the jump to home ownership.  We have been browsing a lot but we have not found the perfect match yet.  There has been several that we really like but we also have to take into consideration the special attention that my oldest son will require at times in school.  We were assured that his current school would have an isolated classroom with a specially trained and certified teacher.  In short, the school failed to make that happen but they are not required to transport him to a school that is set up like that because they have a designated classroom; yeah, that's a loophole that means just because the space is there and the teacher is not then they do not have to provide that service.  I suspect that they get a tax break, kickback, discount, reimbursement or some other such incentive for just having the space available but that is unconfirmed.  There are two schools that are much better qualified but the rules say we have to be in the school district for him to attend.  I think we are on the right track and may have some packing to finish soon...

Reading: I am still plugging away at A Song of Ice and Fire.  I have currently read 617 pages of A Dance with Dragons, the fifth book of the series.  I am still enjoying the series but I am definitely going to do some lighter reading next;  maybe something similar to the Narnia or the Prydain books.  I am curious about taking on Jordan's Wheel of Time series or Sanderson's Mistborn series but I may wait until I get some less dense reading completed.  

Watching: I just completed watching the entire fourth season of The Walking Dead this weekend.  I may just be my favorite season yet. It was interesting to see everybody get separated and then come back together in the final episode.  The ending has me excited about seeing the conclusion of the Terminus story-line.  It looks like some intense stuff is coming soon on the show.  I am really curious about the spin off show coming soon.  I also discovered Deadwood and I am currently halfway through the second season.  If western gaming was as intense as this show then I would definitely be doing some!

Gaming: I am really interested in the Dragons at Dawn system after reading the rules.  Expect some posts about this great game in the future.  I have also started a new project - I am going to attempt a clone game of Adventures in Fantasy.  I can understand more and more of it with each examination but I would rather have the rules restated in a fashion that is more player friendly to understand.  I think there is a reasonably well done game hidden in the boxed set but it is a jumbled mess as the rules are currently presented.  No telling how long this will take but there will be some posts and previews coming soon...

Kickstarter: I recently received notification that the products rewarded for backing the SteamCraft RPG: The Supplements Edition project have been shipped!  There will be posts about the adventures and supplementary material I will receive in a short time.  This was the first Kickstarter I backed and I am looking forward to seeing the end results.  Hopefully, my shipment makes it today...

Discussion of Adventures in Fantasy (Arneson & Snider)

Just a heads up here, but it you are interested in discussion of the mechanics and/or possible house rules for Arneson & Snider's Adventures in Fantasy role playing game then head on over to The Comeback Inn and join the discussion.  Currently, the efforts seem to be on house rules for cleaning up and clarifying the game.  I hope these are gathered together in an unofficial supplement at some point.

Playing Catch Up

Well, it has been almost a most without a post on this blog.  For anyone interested, I am not shuttering the windows and barring the doors.  The bus manufacturing business really picks up in the summer time and this year has been particularly busy so far.  While my pocket book might not be hurting, my free time has taken a hit so the blog had to be put on the back burner for a bit.  I suspect I will be posting somewhat regularly in the near future so here is a summary of what I have been doing and what is coming in the future.

Forums

While I have not had a lot of spare time to devote to blog posts, I have been reading and posting at OD&D Discussion and The Comeback Inn sporadically here and there.  I have become quite interested in further investigating gaming from the Arneson perspective.  I was even able to track down a copy of Dragons at Dawn through these boards.

A Second Look at Adventures in Fantasy

All of the discussion about Arneson and his gaming methods has prompted me to delve back in and take a second look at Adventures in Fantasy.  The main focus will begin on pointing out problem areas in the rules that need addressed.  Once that is completed, the solutions will be gathered together in a Book of House Rules & Clarifications.  From there, I plan on at least taking a serious look at assembling a game built in reaction to the problems I have had with AiF similar to the way T&T was developed as a reaction to D&D years ago.  Other posters at the forums above have expressed interest so I hope this little project takes off.

SteamCraft Kickstarter

The funding for the SteamCraft supplements has been successful with $2,077 of the $850 goal raised.  There is only 58 hours left to buy in.  If you are interested, then follow this link for details.  You can get the entire product line from core rules to all of these supplements & adventures in pdf or print through this offer and the prices are very reasonable.

Themed Posting

At some point in the future themed posting - Toldara Tuesday, Steampunk Saturday, etc. - will return to the blog on a consistent basis.

Vacation & MagiQuest

We recently went on a family vacation to Six Flags Over Texas and The Great Wolf Lodge for a very relaxing time away.  Among the various things to do on our stay, my 7 year old son noticed the live-action role playing game MagiQuest from all of the other young males wandering around pointing their wands at jewels, paintings, and treasure chests scattered around the resort. I am pretty confident about what my son enjoyed the most about vacation.  More details in a later post. 

Reading

I am currently reading A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin and Dragons at Dawn by D.H. Boggs. 

That should have all the bases covered.  I am going to return to enjoying the first Friday off in a while... 

What's on Your Quest List?

In my continuing efforts to break up the monotony of the D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge series of posts, I am taking a look at some products that I wish I had gotten over the years.  I was originally going to post about a free OSR support magazine but that will come later in the week.

It has been my experience that if you have been involved in this hobby - or any hobby for that matter - for a time then there are products you did not get when they were available for some reason and now you wished that you had added them to your collection.  Maybe one of your friends had the game and you were not worried about your own copy?  Your friend now lives three states away and it will not be so easy to borrow now.  Maybe you had a copy and sold it?  The game is now out of print and you can not find a copy. Whatever the reason may be, we all have an item, or even a list of items, that we would like to have if the opportunity presented itself.  I have a list of items presented below with a few notes added.

Chivalry & Sorcery 1st or 2nd edition

I knew about C&S being "like D&D but more like real medieval society" and was interested but I did not buy any products until the third edition.  I was intrigued by the ideas presented in the rules but I was not very fond of way they were presented.  The weird fonts used in some areas made headings hard to read and there were LOTS of errors in the text.  I sold it in irritation.  I am still interested in either original or second edition C&S for no other reasons than to see how well it captures a more realistic medieval flavor and to do some comparing and contrasting with Adventures in Fantasy.

Everway

I was intrigued by the notion of not only going with a game system built around cards instead of dice but the fact that the cards were similar to tarot cards instead of traditional playing cards.  I only every saw it in the store twice and I already had other products in hand to buy.  I have not yet found it at a reasonable price.

Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game original edition

This was the first game that came along that made us put away our AD&D game for a while and play it instead.  I know Palladium has its fair share of detractors but this is a different game than the beast that RIFTS has become with all of the changes to the rules.  It uses an earlier form of the Megaversal system that is much easier to handle and we had a blast with this game.  There were many more character classes than AD&D, there were insanity rules, nice little touches like the pictures of coins from various nations, and a score of other cool stuff.  I do not know the difference between this edition and the revised edition pdf offered on drivethrurpg but I just might take a chance.

Powers & Perils

I remember seeing this in the old hobby shop for a long time but I never got around to buying it.  I probably picked it up 20 times or more.  I have seen the website and looked at the rules; I would just like them in the original printed and boxed form.  Since realizing all these years later that Powers & Perils was designed by the co-author of Adventures in Fantasy makes me even more interested in owning this game.

That is probably the "big four" on my list.  I have excluded some games - Fantasy Earth and Pelicar - that I want but have since discovered they are cheaply available from online retailers. What is on your list?  Can you tell me anything about the games on my list?  Got something you want to sell? ;-) 

  

    

Status of Projects

I am going to break up some of the monotony of this D&D 40th Anniversary Blog Hop Challenge during the month of February by inserting posts every few days, or whenever the mood hits, so readers will have something else to read.  This is the first of such posts.  I could have re-worked some of them into combined posts but I already have them queued up.

I have several projects that I am working on at any given time; some come to the forefront while others fade into the background at different points.  Unlike school, I do not like forcing myself to focus on only one thing.  On my personal projects it helps me to have several going at one time so I can switch gears and refresh.  In no particular order, here are the projects I am working and the current status of each one.

Adventures in Fantasy

I have produced two characters sheets for this old game and I have received some feedback.  I am definitely going to add a block for a Defense rating on the sheet.  I am also working on a Dragon Record Sheet and a Dragon Hoard Sheet.  These may remain separate or be combined.  I am unsure so far.

Back to the Dungeon! RPG

Of course, this is the neo-clone that was primarily designed by Eldrad Wolfsbane from the Back to the Dungeon! blog.  I have provided feedback and helped with some of the design and layout in some versions of the game.  Now, we are discussing ideas for a science fiction game based off of the BttD engine with appropriate modifications.  I am brainstorming ideas on a post-apocalyptic rendition and a zombie apocalypse game as well.  I also have a little solo side project that involves converting my Toldara campaign over to the BttD RPG rules system.

Escape from Camp Blood

I was pretty excited about this because I had never designed a board game.  I began working on it with The Mayfly (Eric Baker) from the Memories of the Mayfly blog.  Although I absolutely love the idea of a board game that plays out an experience similar to the Friday the 13th movies, I have learned one thing real quick - I AM NOT your guy when it comes to board game design.  I thought I could do it with the assistance of Eric but I just do not have the experience or the know how about board games to get it done.  Besides, there is a game, Camp Grizzly, that just had a very successful kickstarter campaign.

Quick note to Eric Baker:  Hey, we gave it our best shot but any shortcomings in getting this project going smoothly should be placed firmly on my shoulders.  Role-playing design and board game design are two different areas and I was not up to par for a board game design.  You provided great feedback, ideas, and links to awesome resources that would surely be of help.  If you want to use the idea then feel free to do so.  Any and all failings are clearly mine and for that I truly apologize.

Perilous Journeys

I have some ideas for new edges and flaws that I am fine-tuning.  I am also in the process of converting the new races over to the Perilous Journeys rules system.  At some point, I will make this available for download from this blog.  Maybe I should dual-stat the campaign document for both PJ & BttD RPG?  Hmm...  

USR

I designed a character sheet that I made available for download.  I also announced a Resident Evil inspired ,USR powered game I was working on that was going to be called Outbreak.  I still have the notes I have been assembling over the months but I also ran into a snag.  I found another game called Outbreak that is already released.  That kind of took the wind out of my sails. I took a step back for a bit and I am reworking some things.  In addition, I wanted to see how USR Cyberpunk handled things before I continued; just to get a feel for further expansion.  I really dig USR but it is different from most anything I have ever played so designing is a little bit of an adjustment for me.  

  

 

  

[Adventures in Fantasy] Alternate Character Sheet

I am still working on resources for Adventures in Fantasy among my various projects.  I have come up with an alternate version of my original design; the only difference is the addition of the variable damage table at the bottom of the sheet.  I am not quite happy with the Dragon Record Sheet(s) yet but maybe I will put them up later today...  

Adventures in Fantasy - What I Have Planned Next

Over at the Original D&D Discussion forums it was pointed out that I may be the only person producing stuff for Adventures in Fantasy. I never gave it much thought before he mentioned it but that's cool; maybe it will inspire some others that own the game to put something out there for interested people. I have produced a few resources so far but I have more that I am working on currently.  Consider this a list of what I have planned in the coming weeks.

Revised Character Record Sheet

I have a functional character sheet available for download right now.  There will be adjustments made to that sheet whenever it is deemed necessary through play experience.  I have an alternate sheet I am working on that includes the variable weapon damage table from the reference sheets.  Other than minor tweaks - something like an AiF logo - I suspect there will only be one big update of the character sheet.

Dragon Record Sheet

It is suggested that all Dragons should be generated before play since each one is unique in a range of 13 characteristics. This is simply a form to record all of the generation results and any other important notes for the Dragons used by the Referee.

Dragon Hoard Record Sheet

As each Dragon is unique, so is their hoard.  If there is not enough room for the hoard on the Dragon Record Sheet then I am going to do a separate hoard sheet.

House Rules

I am gathering notes for some proposed house rules as I make my way through the rules again.  I am hoping for a short list that would be easy to maintain.  I am shooting for something similar to "The Perrin Conventions" that was used by some groups for early D&D.

New Game

I have not ruled out the possibility of making a new game that is clearly inspired and influenced by AiF.  This new game would be designed in a similar fashion as comparing T&T to D&D.  Honestly, I feel the same way that Ken St. Andre did when he was reading the early D&D rules.  There is a lot of like about AiF but there is also a lot that makes me scratch my head.  Who knows?  Maybe I will...

[Adventures in Fantasy] Reference Sheets Reproduction

I know from reading a few forums that there are people that have incomplete sets of Adventures in Fantasy role-playing game.  The reference sheets seem to be one of the most commonly missing items.  I decided to scan mine in and make them available for those that needed them.  The results of the scanning were pretty horrid and I have no experience with document cleanup so I decided to make new pdf copies that were as close to the originals as I could make them; these pdf versions are probably somewhere close to a 90% reproduction.  I changed from 3 double-sided pages to 6 single page versions. If you need a replacement copy or want to look at them out of curiosity, there are links to the sheets below. 

AiF Reference 1

AiF Reference 2

AiF Reference 3

AiF Reference 4

AiF Reference 5

AiF Reference 6

[Adventures in Fantasy] Book of Creatures and Treasure

The final book of the Adventures in Fantasy role-playing game boxed set is Book III: Book of Creatures and Treasures.  This slim, 49 page manual has a Pepto-Bismol colored cover with red letters and the material inside is also presented in red lettering.  I am sure this was done for copy protection back in those days but it can lead to some rough reading.  The cover art depicts a lone dragon sitting with wings spread and one foot on what I can only assume to be a giant’s skull from the size of it.

INTRODUCTION

The words of the introduction take up approximately one-third of the page.  The authors explain their main source for the creatures came from “the myths of Europe and the Mediterranean” while some creatures come “from other sources” but those other sources are not mentioned.  The aim of the creature section was “to provide a mythos composed of those creatures that comprise the major segment of our mythological heritage” and to describe them with “the attributes and background they possessed in the myths of their origin”. There are also a few words about treasure in the introduction.  The random treasure tables have been set up for a large amount of variation while not allowing too much treasure.  The sample artifacts included came about from the research of the author.  These artifacts should be rare and the treasure tables have been designed to reflect that. 

CREATURE DESCRIPTIONS

The creatures section of the rule book contains 31 pages of information.  These 31 pages are split among 29 pages of creature descriptions and a 2 page list of basic creature information at the end. Every entry contains the name of the creature along with average hit points (hit points without rolling), movement (flying also), alignment, body type (for combat purposes), and hit dice (for when you want to roll for hit points). This information is typically followed by a short paragraph or two describing physical appearance, culture, intelligence, weaknesses, and some encounter notes.  The information seems sufficient enough for game use and, most importantly, the reader is not smothered in a mountain of details and statistics that seems to be the norm in many modern game systems.

The largest entry in the creatures section – and the one that most people will probably find the most interesting – is the one detailing Dragons.  The information on Dragons takes up 9 pages of this section because there is no static list of entries to use.  Each Dragon is unique and must be generated before campaign play.  Every Dragon has 13 Characteristics – Form, Age, Size, Sex, Intelligence, Egotism Index, Greed Index, Personality Index, Alignment, Breath Value, Magic Rating, Interests, and Hoard – that are generated by rolling on a series of provided tables.    

The typical length of most of the other creature descriptions is around one-third to one-half of a page.  Of course, there are some descriptions that fall outside of this range. Bits of mythological information can be learned by reading the creature descriptions.  Bugbears are closely related to Goblins and their name was intended to mean “Goblin Bear”, Ogres are the offspring of the Troll and Trow, if Black Elves are exposed to sunlight they will automatically turn to stone without a saving throw, and Vampires can change into 6 different forms.  It is nice to see some actual mythology used for the monsters and also some connection to stuff like Hammer Horror.  Some players will probably dislike the fact that Adventures in Fantasy is very human-centered because many of the monster races have weakness or other disadvantages that will make them highly unattractive for use as player characters.  The only other negative that I can really see is that this is just the basic game and there were many supplements planned that would have expanded Dragons, the Jinns, and others; nothing more was ever published so one can only imagine what might have been. 

TREASURE

The second half of the book uses 18 pages to cover topics such as gemstone values, miscellaneous treasure, magic items, and artifacts.  Following a brief introduction, there are three pages of charts and explanations.  The General Treasure Chart determines if a treasure consists of coins, gem/jewels, miscellaneous treasure, or magic items.  There is also an individual treasure chart with the results affected by activity, location, and social status for solo encounters.

The next nine pages of the manual cover the subject of magic items.  This section begins with some basic information about magic items.  There are two types of magic items:  natural and artifact.  Natural magic items derive most of their power from the material used in construction while artifacts are granted their power mainly from the workings of the maker during construction.  Characters can even begin play with a family heirloom magic item on a successful roll against their age. 

The magic items included in the game are split into five basic groups: swords, armors, amulets, talismans, and miscellaneous. The magic items avoid the straight up “sword +1” and similar labels that seem to plague many games these days.  Swords are very individualized with attributes such as unbreakable, pierce rock, magic dispeller.  Swords may even turn on a character if found instead of inherited.  Armor has an enchantment level expressed as a percentage bonus to defense and only one armor bonus can be used for improving defense.  Amulets function like armor because they are “always on” when worn and Talismans function like swords and have to be put into use.  These items grant the user abilities such as increasing saving throws, increasing strength, warding against magic, granting future knowledge, or an assortment of other benefits.  I did not notice any cursed items but maybe that was planned for a future expansion.   

The final five pages contain details for artifacts in the game.  The largest part of this section is an alphabetical listing of 24 miscellaneous artifacts.  Some examples of the artifacts include The Bow of Locksley, Waters of Life, Flying Carpet, and the Wand of Light.  The descriptions seem pretty clear and easy to comprehend.  I get the impression they would be quite fun in play with sense of discovery and a little bit of unpredictability in some cases.  This section closes with a sample campaign artifact table that one can use to randomly determine which artifact is discovered. 

CLOSING THOUGHTS

This was the easiest book in the Adventures in Fantasy boxed set for me to fully grasp.  I admit that the other two books had me scratching my head in spots.  I do not think it is necessarily because they were difficult reading but because they seemed vague and even contradictory to me at times.  After making it through this manual with relative ease I am really interested in going back through the other books and giving it another shot.  Maybe I will do that sometime in the future…

ADDENDUM

Okay, I am not quite done yet.  I do have some other stuff I would like to do with this game including:

I have searched for a character sheet for Adventures in Fantasy and have had no luck at all.  I have some published stat blocks provided by a fellow blogger that will help me design a character sheet to make available for download.

There were three reference sheets in the boxed set.  I am in the process of cleaning these up and making them available for download.

I am interested in going back through the rules and noting some house rule decisions that will help me understand this game better.  If I am successful at this task then I will make those notes available for download.

If I get really motivated then I would definitely be interested in developing a new game based on my perceptions of Adventures in Fantasy.  This game would be written in the same way that Tunnels & Trolls was written as a reaction to Dungeons & Dragons.  I make no promises…

               

 

Time For Commitment

I started this blog with no other reason than to post primarily on gaming; of course, I make occasional side treks into other topics along the way.  I have been posting as the mood hits up until this point but I think it is time to come up with a set schedule.  I believe I will commit to post once a week for the foreseeable future; Saturdays will most likely be the day.  This will allow me to focus on just one post at a time and improve the quality of the posts.  That does not mean that I will not post more from time to time when the mood fits. 

I know I need to post on the following for the sake of completion:

• Finish the read through of the Adventures in Fantasy rules.
• More information on my Toldara B/X campaign.
• Fleshing out some of my ideas from my old gaming notebook collection. 

Those are just the topics that I am sure about using.  Just out of curiosity, what do my readers think?  Here is your chance to voice your opinion if you have a strong opinion on anything - what would you like to read more of, what would you like to see less of, what fits, what is out of place, or are you perfectly fine with reading whatever happens to catch your attention?

Obscure RPG Appreciation Day: Adventures in Fantasy

When I first read the post over at Mesmerized by Sirens about the first annual Obscure Fantasy RPGs Appreciation Day on May 31st I instantly knew that I wanted to participate.  The only rules for the post is that the subject must be a game from the fantasy genre and it must have been published between 1975 and 1989.  It was not hard for me to come up with a subject for my post.  Adventures in Fantasy has been part of my collection for several years now.  I won it on an eBay auction for the price of $12 if I recall correctly.  It seems I lucked into finding it before the OSR and all of the interest in these older games and the roots of our hobby took hold and caused the price to go up.  I have seen ridiculous prices on Amazon & similar sites - in the neighborhood of $200 or so - but I suggest that you do not pay these outrageous prices and hope that you can find a copy cheap if you are interested. I admit that I feel Adventures in Fantasy is an interesting historical gaming artifact that will provide insights into the early years of the hobby and a look at some of the differences between the game design philosophy of Arneson and Gygax but only if the price is right.  Since that original post the theme has changed to the Obscure RPG Appreciation Day so the subject for my post is still valid.


This is not my first post about Adventures in Fantasy - I started this blog by doing an examination of the game.  My previous posts can be read by following the links below:
Introduction
Book of Adventure Part 1
Book of Adventure Part 2
Book of Adventure Part 3
Book of Adventure Part 4
Book of Faerry and Magic Part 1
Book of Faerry and Magic Part 2
Book of Faerry and Magic Part 3
Book of Faerry and Magic Part 4
Regrettably, I have not completed any  posts for the third book but I will dive back into it at some point in the near future.  I have decided not to rehash the information in the above posts so I am providing an assortment of information related to Adventures in Fantasy within this post. 


It is a fair statement to claim that Adventures in Fantasy was "the other fantasy game" for Dave Arneson and Richard Snider.  Both of them were better known for other games - Arneson for Dungeons & Dragons (specifically the Blackmoor setting) and Snider for Powers & Perils.  Opinions vary but the general consensus seems to be that people feel the game showed more of Arneson instead of Gygax OR that the design showcases more of a Snider slant due to the apparent complexity.  


Adventures in Fantasy comes up on message boards every once in a while.  The site I have found with the most posts or conversation concerning the game is Dave Arneson's Blackmoor section of the OD&D Discussion boards.  I have contributed to some of the conversations myself.


Adventures in Fantasy is an incomplete game; at least, if you consider all of the stuff that was planned but never saw the light of day.  The boxed set does provide the very basic framework but there were several supplements announced in the forward of book one:
Dragon Lore & Legend
Ritual Magic
The Races of the Faerry
World of Fantasy
None of these supplements were ever published to the best of my knowledge.  I can only wonder what the complete game would have looked like or how it would have played. 


I have searched the internet for resources specifically for Adventures in Fantasy but I have had no luck.  I tried scanning the original reference sheets that were included in the box but I was not happy with their appearance.  If anyone else is interested, I will provide a clean pdf version of these reference sheets for download.


The boxed set of Adventures in Fantasy did not include a character sheet.  I have searched around and have been unable to find one.  I was hooked up with some character write-ups to use as a guide so I will be making a character sheet for this game at some point.  An example character I ran across from the OD&D Discussion  board (thanks dwayanu!) is provided below.

from Chaosium's Thieves' World:
SAMLOR hil SAMT
Caravan Master (exp)
Minor Mage (exp. lev 3)
Fighter (exp. lev 12)
AGE: 31 STRENGTH: 85 CONSTITUTION: 90
STATUS: 20 DEXTERITY: 90 STAMINA: 62
EXPERIENCE: 16 INTELLIGENCE: 84 HEALTH: 68
REPUTATION: 100!* CHARISMA: 40 HIT DICE: 18 points

SKILLS:
ONE Read
TWO Figure
THREE Speak two other languages
FIVE, SIX Physical Training I, II
SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE Horsemanship I, II, III
TEN, TWELVE, FOURTEEN, EIGHTEEN Bow, Sword, Lance, Spear, Dagger, Shield
TWENTY-FOUR Husbandry

MAGICAL ABILITIES:
Can cast up to three 1-2 point spells
Knows the following Lawful spells: Light, Protection from Chaos
Knows the following Non-Alignment spells: Gambling, Open Door, Find Gold
Knows the following Neutral spells: Charisma, Rhetoric
80% chance to know any Non-Alignment spell up to six points
Has 24 spell points a day, six points a turn*Get credit for being the champion of one god and cheating another and see what it does for you!

Here are some monster stats from the same user and same source:

GIANT CRABS
Average Hit Points: 1 Body Type: Scaled Movement: 4" (water) 2" (land) Alignment: Chaotic (Hostile) Hit Dice: 1 (1-3)

SIKKINTAIR
Alignment Neutral Av. HP 52 Hit Dice 15 Body Type: Snake / Special SPP: 3" / 30" No. Encounter Clear 1-6


There are only two classes available in Adventures in Fantasy - warrior and mage.  The skill system does provided some customization options. 


Like I previously stated, Adventures in Fantasy is a great historical gaming treasure to examine if you can find it for the right price.  It has provided we with many hours of interesting reading even though I have never played it.  Maybe I should crack open that box again and get a game started?

I would have liked to have posted more for this but I am in the middle of overtime season at work.   







 

 

 

 

I Got Bit

Some time in the last week or so I got bit by the writing bug.  I remember some random ideas popping in my head during the work day.  I wrote it down so I could add some detail later.  Then another idea came, followed by another, and then even more.  I seem to write better when I have several projects going at one time.  I can jump to another project instead of being stuck on the only one I am working on at the moment.  Yes, focus is a good thing but I need variety in my writing projects or my output starts to dwindle off pretty bad.  The following projects are currently in development as future posts.

Adventures in Fantasy: I am going to either scan the reference sheets or type up new versions; it depends on whether or not the information in the official sheets is all that useful.  There always seems to be a table or two that really should have replaced with something else in these type of resources.  I am also working on a character sheet for this old game.

Back to the Dungeon RPG: I am working on a supplement to BttDRPG that basically serves a similar purpose as Greyhawk back in the OD&D days.  I am shooting for a 32 page document that will show the house rules and custom mods for my campaign world Toldara.  I am also working on a character sheet for this game.

Old Gaming Notebook: I am starting to develop ideas for expanding on the original ideas and move closer to making complete games out of some of these concepts.

SteamCraft RPG: I have a pdf of this game BUT I am waiting on the hardback to arrive in the mail any day.  I definitely will be doing some posts on this game.  I am enjoying the pdf but I work much better with printed product.  Posts are coming soon,

USR: I completed version 1.0 of the generic character sheet.  I am still writing, testing, & revising the Outbreak RPG book.  I need to come up with another name because I found out there is already a zombie type game by the name of Outbreak - d'oh! I am also working on doing some USR to B/X monster conversions. 

WordPress: I have started experimenting with a blog at WordPress just to see if I am missing anything.  I like to try out several options before deciding on a product and in the case of blogs I did not do that.  If anyone is interested you can check it out at The Old Gamers Notebook to see the contents.  There are only two posts so far and - at least in the early stages - there will be some overlap between old posts here and there; there will be new posts there mixed in wit the old.  This is mainly just an experiment to see what all the free version of WordPress has to offer.  If I like it then I will maintain a separate blog there.  Regardless, this blog you are reading right now is staying and will continue to be developed. Basically, I just need to scratch my writing itch.  If I do not write something when I get the urge then it is probably gone or it will block me from writing most anything.  Writing is something I enjoy and would love to do it professionally but it does not come easy for me and I am not very confident in a lot of it.

There is everything I am writing on at the moment.  Some of it will be regular posts while some of it will make it into the A to Z challenge. Stay tuned...





   

I'm Still Around...

Just a quick post to say that posting will resume shortly.  Putting it bluntly, the summer college semester is eating up my time since I also have work and family responsibilities.  Even thought it's been basically two weeks since I last posted, look for posts on the following subjects soon:

1. Adventures in Fantasy: I still have the read through of Book 3 to complete the rules.
2. D.O.T.T.: The Death of the Territories wrestling game by Eric Baker.  I have messed around a little bit with it but I need to investigate further.
3. Quest Card: A neat little card game by Liam Thompson that has a lot of promise and potential.
4. Perilous Journeys: I dig the crap out of this game because it makes the Lejendary Adventure rules a lot more accessible.
5. RIFTS or Palladium Fantasy: I get the itch to run these two games every so often and the itch is coming on strong again.

Basically, I have several plans for new posts BUT real life stuff has just kept me busy.  Posting will resume soon.

[Adventures in Fantasy] Book of Faerry and Magic Pt. 4

Note:  I owe an apology to anyone that has been specifically waiting on me to finish this read through of the Adventures in Fantasy rule books.  I actually began this blog with the intention of completing the read through as my first series of posts.  That did not happen because I got derailed and distracted by other things along the way.  I hope to rectify that soon with a minimal number of posts to do so.  

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Sorcerous Combat

This section of the rules covers combat between opposing magicians and notes that it "is conducted at a mental level" using the system detailed in the rules.  The only other restriction is that "a lawful magician will never attack another lawful magician in this manner".  Of course, there is another formula that determines the amount of damage that a sorcerer can take. 

The traditional method of sorcerous combat described in the rulebook resembles the old gun-slinger face off depicted in the typical Western movies.  There are also two modes - kill and control - described in this section and their relation to the alignment of the sorcerers combating each other. 

Other information in this chapter includes The Magician's Code, magical fatigue, and the effects of fatigue.  It seems interesting and tries to capture a quasi-medieval feel to the magical combat rules used in the game.  I am not sure how practical the magical combat rules would be in play but it would be interesting to test them out in play. 

Faerry Magic
Faerry Magic is not simply spell casting but the magic involved in the art of song and rune.  This magic can be used by Dwarves, Troll Lords, the Faerry, and Elves - with Elves being the most powerful mages of the Faerry races.  Humans may use Faerry Magic but will be severely disadvantaged unless they are Druids or raised by a member of the Faerry race.

This chapter also discusses the determination of magic points, details some restrictions about the songs and runes among the faerry races, and ends with tables listing the songs and runes followed by the description of each one.  There are 20 songs and also 20 runes; due to race restrictions only a portion of the song and runes are available for use.  The songs and runes are described adequately and are, for the most part, pretty easy to understand but there are exceptions.  For example, the Song of the Baleful Omen allows the magician to "lay on an enemy or thief...any curse intended to bring suffering or eventual death".  Descriptions such as that might bother some because there is not a lot of fine details and the outcome is likely to involve a ruling by the DM instead of hard and fast rules but this is an old school design from one of the most old school designers so it fits the period.


The Faerry Races
There are 5 Faerry races: Elves, Trolls/Troll Lords, Dwarves, Goblins, and Faerries. Unlike D&D, it is quite apparent that players are highly discouraged from using the nonhuman races in AiF: all of them are afflicted by sunlight, have a -10% penalty to hit in sunlight, and are incapable of using their Faerry Magic in sunlight.  This quick overview of the Faerry races is followed by a more detailed description of each race.  The information presented includes average hit points, movement, alignment, typical encounters with members of each race, and even details on rolling up player characters of each Faerry race.  I suspect that most players avoided the Faerry races due to the associated disadvantages.


Elementals
The final section of this rulebook covers the conjuring of Elementals.  Some of the information covered includes the alignment of the elemental, a standard elemental of each type, a more powerful elemental of each type, and controlling the Elementals. 


I am running out of steam and the college summer semester started today so I am going to wrap this up.  It seems that Arneson and Snider were aiming for a magic system that had a quasi-medieval feel to it and I think they succeeded.  I think they accomplished their goals with much less attention to detail than other games like Chivalry & Sorcery.  I am not sure that the magic system and the faerry races will appeal to wide range of players.  The spells can be downright boring - one of the spells increases crop output - and the faerry races are not viable play options due to the very tough restrictions placed on them.  Of course, this is all just from reading.  I have never played the game and I am not sure I understand enough of it play.  Maybe I can get to the point of comprehension sometime during my examination of these rules.

Up Next: the Book of Creatures and Treasures

 

      

A General Update and Assorted Ramblings...

Between life in general, an increased work schedule at my job, two kids, and the significant other about to start on her summer semester of college it has been busy around here.  I slacked off on the easiest place to slack off - my blog - but things seemed to have slowed down somewhat and returned to "normal" so I should be posting somewhat regularly now.  My general thoughts about moving forward with this blog are presented below.

I started this blog for topics of various role-playing game interests and have stuck to that for the most part.  I have dipped into other areas such as movies, comic books, music, and professional wrestling just to name a short list.  I thought about tightening the focus of this blog to nothing but role-playing related posts and banishing the "off-topic" posts to another blog somewhere.  I really do not want to maintain two blogs and Eric over at Memories of the Mayfly pointed out that these "off topic" posts give a better picture of the blog author and their interests.  Put simply, from this point on this blog will be focused on gaming BUT I will also post about my other interests including sports, movies, professional wrestling, and just about anything else.  I will probably not post anything resembling politics or religion just because they can be so divisive and I would rather have a fun dialogue here without real world conflicts that so often turn into something resembling blind allegiance.

Some of the gaming posts to look forward to include the continuation of my read through of both Adventures in Fantasy and Perilous Journeys, a continuation of posting information from my old gaming notebooks, and information on my home campaign world of Toldara.  AiF is cool just from a historical perspective and Arneson's involvement while PJ is basically Lejendary Adventures done right.  That is why I want to finish my posts about them.  My old gaming notebooks were full of ideas and I want to get them uploaded and updated so I can expand on them in the future.  I have already posted some of this information and will continue to update them in the future to offer them for download once they are completed. 

 My attempts to get some of the old gaming group together to game again has not been completely in vain.  Jamie, my friend of over 30 years, is definitely going to participate.  He is planning on getting his girlfriend to try it out and I am planning the same thing.  That should be interesting.  I hope both of them like it so that will be four dedicated players.  I met another old school player, Ed, through Jamie.  That brings our total up to 5 participants.  That is a good sized group and will give us some variation among styles and characters.  As Jamie and I are the only players from the old group this group will not be a reunion game but it will definitely work.  All that is left is to come up with a game system to use.  So far, the systems proposed are B/X D&D, Castles & Crusades, or RIFTS.  It really does not matter to me what we play, just that we play.

I am now half way through the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy.  The first book was a very quick and easy read.  I am enjoying the books so far.  Katniss is a strong female lead character and not a damsel in distress that constantly needs rescuing.  It is a very refreshing perspective and take on the action and adventure genre.  I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.    I still have not seen the movie but I am sure that we will see it on DVD soon enough.

I just started watching the Game of Thrones season 1 DVD set.  I actually already watched the first two episodes because we had a free HBO preview for a week or two and was able to see catch them when they originally aired.  I was pretty disappointed that I would be unable to watch the other episodes as they aired but I knew that I was going to get the DVD as soon as I could.  As I am a book person, I wonder if I am missing a lot by not having read the books yet.  Anybody got any opinions?

I have lost 13 pounds in the last month - all thanks to eating better.  I have done nothing fancy like joining the gym, signing up for Weight Watchers, or anything like that.  I am not currently in horrible shape but I just would like to "drop a few pounds" to feel better about me.  It's all been done with portion control and better decisions.  I am happy that my available wardrobe is expanding to include pants that would not fit comfortably a month ago.  :-)

That should just about cover everything.  I could probably go on and ramble for a while but I know when to turn the faucet off.

   

        

   

Post Updates & A Blogger vs. Wordpress Question

After a week that was much busier than I hard originally thought, I am now checking up on the blogosphere this morning.  I see that I also have a little bit of catch up to do so this post will serve as an update on several things of mine that need updating.

A - Z Topic

I have decided on a topic for the A-Z challenge in April. I will post about (wait for it) gaming in the 1980's.  I tried brainstorming a few topics and then it hit me a few days ago - I have a role playing blog, I dig the OSR stuff, and I was there in the '80s playing D&D so why not just post about the games and people I was gaming with in the 80's.  

Old Gaming Item - FOUND

I was unsuccessful in locating all of the items I mentioned in the earlier post but I did find one; the rule books from the Dragons of Underearth set from Metagaming. The counters are not there but I know there are plenty of microgame fan sites that have many counters available for download.  I may need to compare Dragons of Underearth against Legends and Other Worlds, who knows?  I will definitely do a read through of Dragons to see if the feeling of missing detail is there like I remember.  The search continues for the other items...

Read Throughs of Adventures in Fantasy & Perilous Journeys

I will continue doing posts about read throughs on Adventures in Fantasy and Perilous Journeys.  I would probably expect PJ to be completed first.  I know I started AiF first BUT it seems somewhat irritating and confusing to read in some (many?) spots.  Never fear, I will continue.

Wordpress

I have no desire to change blog sites because I have had very few minor problems here.  With that being said, It seems that there are several blogs that have moved from Blogger to Wordpress but I have not noticed any blogs that have moved from Wordpress to Blogger.  I admit that I have not been actively searching for such sites.  I am just curious about hearing the opinions of others on this topic.  Is Wordpress "better"?  Is Blogger a big hassle?

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.