[Toldara Tuesday] Further Thoughts on Game Systems

I am using one more post to gather my thoughts on the various game systems I am using to play-test Toldara material. In the next post I will start presenting statistics, write ups, and information for the races in these various systems. I am not sure if I will dedicate each post to looking at a single race in all of the game systems - may split that into two posts if it is large enough - or devote each post to just a single game system with all of the Toldara races.  

Back to the Dungeon! RPG

For anyone that does not know, Back to the Dungeon! RPG is a neo-clone game that is based on familiar terms and concepts but introduces alterations and additions to the game system instead of trying to faithfully emulate a certain rules set from the past of the hobby.  This version is the most complete and up to date next to the MicroLite 20 version.  The main parts that are missing include the basic world information along with a race and class or two; some copying and pasting will fix most of the other information that needs updating.

Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG

My original concept of Toldara actually lines up quite well with the feel and tone of the typical DCC RPG experience.  Toldara was always pictured as fantasy with a little bit of gonzo mixed in.  I have tinkered around with this rules set a little bit but I have very little practical experience using it.  I am highly intrigued by the possibilities and will at least give it an honest shot.  I may have to consult some people with much more experience with the system to assist me in completing the information.
  

Halberd Fantasy Role Playing

This is another rules-lite entry on the list.  I do not have a lot of experience with systems such as this but I am highly interested in applying the fast and loose nature of the game to Toldara.  The older I get, the more I am interested in playing than arguing about the rules so Halberd looks pretty great to me.  The write ups used in this game are easy and simple to use so it should progress pretty quickly in initial development.

MicroLite 20

This will probably be the first handbook released for the Toldara campaign for no other reason than it is the most complete.

I am really considering doing a dual-stat version with another OGL-based system. Maybe a triple-stat presentation could even work if it was done properly.  I will have to double check but I think all of them have no restrictions against using their game statistics with other game statistics statistics in the same product.  It should be relatively easy to present each new race or class with all three sets of statistics on just one page.  I will be investigating this further...    

Perilous Journeys

This version of the campaign material write up will be somewhat more challenging than the others.  Unlike the OGL-based systems, Perilous Journeys is a skill-based percentile system without classes/levels and the list of player character races is quite a bit different from the traditional fantasy offerings; I would also have to look at the races that are not available in Toldara and decide what to do about them.  It will be more work but it will be worth it to see how things convert over.

Swords & Wizardry: Complete
I started the list with an OGL-based game and I am ending the list with an OGL-based game.  Even though I have the B/X rules I really dig the Swords & Wizardry: Complete rules because it feels like a match for the complexity level of the mixed together D&D/AD&D rules we used in our youth in my old gaming group. Using these rules would also allow easier implementation of a dual-stat or triple-stat handbook.

Look for some game statistics and write ups in the next installment.  I am also going to experiment around with the dual or triple-stat format and see how it looks.  More later... 

2 Great Resources (In Case You Missed Them...)

I am sure that everyone else has been all over these two free RPG collections that have been offered recently but I am playing catch up.  Both offerings are listed below:

Microlite20 RPG Collection 2012 Edition

Searchers of the Unknown 2012 Collection

I am a big fan of both of these systems; including the original version of each.  I have even started doing some M20 conversion work on my campaign world to enable a "quick-play" version.  At one time, I was working on a Scoundrels of the Unknown expansion that would detail assassins and thieves for SoTU but it got abandoned due to work and school commitments at the time.  Anyway, if you are looking for a lite game (Microlite 20) or a minimalistic game (Searchers of the Unknown) or just want some free RPG goodies, you can not go wrong with these two collections.

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.

It Has Begun...

The semester ends in 3 weeks so I took the first step in getting my stuff in a presentable format - I put a link in the resources section for draft 1 of MicroToldara; the Microlite20 version of my home campaign world, Toldara.  It started as a 3E design, migrated to 3.5E, and is in the process of being converted over to Pathfinder.  Those systems are all fine and well but the older I get the more interested I become in just playing instead of tracking a huge amount of rules.

I'm a big fan of Microlite20 and thought it would be just about perfect for representing my campaign world.  I converted the information over but there is still plenty left to do:

Classes: Add in an assassin, elementalist, & witch class; evaluate psionics.

Magic: Play test a mana pool system.

World Information: Put it in the document...lol.

I make no claims of grand design or anything such similar claims.  This is the first draft and very much just the beginning of the work.  I began by using M20 Purest Essence, added in "Toldara appropriate" stuff from other M20 variants, and then adding in specific Toldara rules information.  The link is provided for anyone interested in checking it out but keep in mind that it's just a start.

General Update

The demands of real life - kids, school, and work - have been keeping me pretty busy lately.  It seems things are slowing down somewhat and I am going to start posting more regularly.  With that being said, here's what can be considered the current state of affairs concerning my blog...

Adventures in Fantasy
I am enjoying the close examination of this gaming relic from the co-designer of D&D.  After making it completely through the Book of Adventure I think my opinion of AiF has changed.  I basically began with the opinion that AiF was simply "Arneson's D&D with percentile dice" and in some ways that is true.  It seems to be a game in serious need of a revision.  There are some good ideas sprinkled throughout the rules BUT the rules are also a confusing mess in spots.  I am not even confident that a legally created character can be created with the rules in the question. I am not 100% sure on the characteristic list, even.  I find parts of AiF very frustrating but I also find the subject fascinating because it gives a glimpse into the gaming mind of Arneson.  I will continue to examine AiF in future posts.  I also plan on attempting a few play sessions so I can develop some house rules.

Toldara
That's the name of the campaign world used by my cousin Alex and myself.  Originally designed for D&D 3E then 3.5E and now Pathfinder.  I am leaving further Pathfinder development to Alex and I will focus my efforts on details for Microlite20, CFRPG, or some other less crunchy rules system.  It's not that I dislike Pathfinder.  As a matter of fact I love what Paizo has done with Pathfinder.  I have a decreased desire to handle the rules crunch as I grow older.  I would rather get to rolling the dice and having fun.  The world information for Toldara will be unified but the rules info will definitely be the lighter stuff from my end.  I plan on posting up races and classes in these simpler systems soon.  Maybe I can get my cousin to post up some Pathfinder stuff also?

Classic Fantasy Role-Playing Game (CFRPG)
I belong to the yahoo group on CFRPG.  We are currently rewriting the rule book.  I will be posting some of my stuff here on this blog.  I plan on putting up a character sheet and a full world book on Toldara also.

Selections from the Old Gaming Notebook
I have located some of my old gaming material from back in the day.  I will put up some of it here just for fun.  Maybe some of it will be expanded upon?  Should be an interesting look at old ideas.

Open Gaming Content
Any open gaming content will be clearly marked and linked to the OGL.

Product Identity
Any product identity will be clearly marked as such.,





  

A Short Break...

Taking a short break from posting in the blog.  Work has been pretty hectc with college being extremely busy this week.  I will return shortly and continue with my AiF examination.  I also plan on posting some resources for my campaign world of Toldara; these will be open game content and will be for Pathfinder, Microlite 20, and Classic Fantasy Role Playing Game.  See you soon...

Coming Around Full Circle...

Toldara is the name of my campaign world.  It's basically an amalgamation of ideas from all of the years I have spent playing D&D over the various editions.  I never went into any great details about the world or house rules until the last several years.  I think it started with the whole open game movement.  It kind of rekindled the old creative spirit of using a grab bag of rules from various sources to run a game.  Of course, the old grognards never bothered with needing "official" permission to use parts of various game rules in their campaigns.  It just happened during the course of play. 

In the old days, I used to switch between games of D&D and AD&D.  Now that I've started this work on my own campaign world I noticed something somewhat funny.  I am typing up two sets of player documents for this world.  It dawned on me that I am making a "basic version" and an "advanced version" of the players guide for my world.  The advanced version started with 3E, moved to 3.5E, and is in the process of getting updated to Pathfinder.  The basic version will either be based on Microlite20 or the Classic Fantasy Role Playing Game system I am helping to design. 

I just thought it was somewhat funny to notice that old habits never die...