A to Z 2013: Final Topic Change [Again!]

I have gone back and forth on the theme for my A to Z 2013 posts.  I thought I had settled on updating all of my projects but after some writing and inspiration I finally made one final change on my topic – all of my posts will be related to expressing my campaign world of Toldara in the B/X D&D rules.  Good luck to everyone that is doing the challenge!

Competition

I live in Small Town, Oklahoma so we are a tad behind on a few things.  No - before you ask - we are not still fighting "the Indians out there".  No, that comment is not meant to be offensive.  Someone always seems to be under the impression that it is "almost the Wild West" in this part of the nation.  I assure you that is not the case.  We have the same modern conveniences as other places in the United States; from automobiles to computers to shopping malls and even that fancy internet!  So, what is my point you may be wondering.

 

Quite simply, my wife and I have two small children and have elected to live in a smaller town.  There are several reasons - family, schools, college, etc. - but the biggest reason is the option to avoid being in "thug-central" because it "feels safer" in this smaller town.  One of the side effects of that choice is being a little behind in some areas.  For instance, we have high speed internet but we could have much faster internet if we lived in the big city.

 

I had Netflix for quite some time but the internet was just lagging too much in this area.  I cancelled my subscription about 8 months ago.  In the months following my cancellation, the internet has gotten more stable in this area and we received an upgraded router.  I decided to give Netflix another try because I figured if I was out $7.99 due to dissatisfaction then it really was no big deal.  It works great now because the Internet is much faster and I have experience no delays or lagging while we have been burning through seasons of shows that are now available on Netflix.

 

This past weekend I was down with whatever bug was going around the community.  It had went through the rest of the family and it was my turn.  I had a little bit of insomnia after sleeping off and on all day so I went to the living room and decided to fire up the Netflix while I was surfing the Internet in hopes of making myself drowsy. 

 

I am a long time professional wrestling fan so I browsed the wrestling titles available.  I would have preferred something from the old school era but I settled on The Rise & Fall of WCW and NWO: The Revolution because I had some big gaps to fill in on my wrestling history.  I knew a bit about WCW but I mainly watched WWF at the time.  As I watched those programs I was visiting the various role playing forums and blogs I have saved on my favorites list.  

 

As I watched the story of the Monday Night Wars between WWF and WCW unfold I realized that I watched a bit more of WCW than I had previously thought.  I was in the Army at the time so we would hang out, drink beer, and see what was happening on the wrestling shows.  Professional Wrestling was huge at the time and there was wrestling shows on 6 nights a week with Pay-Per-Views on about every 3 weeks when you throw ECW in to the mix.  I recalled that during this time, Eric Bischoff made WCW the #1 wrestling company in the world.  Nitro was clearly leading in the ratings at the time and did so for something like a year or two years.  Fast Forward several years down the line and there is no WCW or ECW left to compete with WWF.  There were many WWF fans that felt everything would have been better off that way all along. 

 

I am sure you are wondering what in the world does all of this have to do with D&D or roleplaying in general?  Quite simply, there are some interesting parallels that can be drawn between the Monday Night Wars and the 4E/Pathfinder split in the fan base.  It all starts by replacing WCW with Paizo Publishing and WWF with Wizards of the Coast.  WCW really started hitting it big when they got an old WWF product - Hulk Hogan - and made him their own by turning him heel and then launching the NWO invasion angle.  Paizo did something very similar by taking D&D 3.5 and creating the Pathfinder system.  If your throw the OSR/retro clone publishers into the mix then you basically have ECW represented also.   

 

I may be grasping at straws with this post but I do have two points to make.  First, all of these competing products in the D&D field eventually makes the whole field stronger.  When WWF had WCW and ECW to compete against for money then it was a much better in ring product.  Sure, there is TNA today but their show is on one right a week and does not go head to head with WWF on Monday Night.  WCW literally took the fight to WWF and it made both of their products better.  Second, a lack of competition basically translates to a lack of a measuring stick to compare product against product.  I read several posts from 4E fans that wished Pathfinder was not available so 4E could rule the D&D field.  I think it would be more interesting to see how D&D Next responds to the shortcomings of 4E to see what is next.  Then maybe we can see what comes from Pathfinder 2 has to offer against 5E?  Honestly, without Pathfinder would Wizards be knee deep in play testing D&D Next or would they have let the edition have a life span that lasted several more years? 

 

Just some food for thought...   

 

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Note: Yes, I am aware that it is now properly WWE but I just refuse to use that label.  I grew up with WWF and it will always be WWF to me.   

A - Z Theme Change

This is just a heads up for anyone that is interested in the A - Z challenge.  I was originally going to do my A - Z postings this year on updating my campaign world; I even asked for a little assistance with a few letters.  I have been writing and updating my posts and some other stuff around here.  I have decided to expand my theme for the A - Z challenge to include updates on any and all projects I have started; not only will this include Toldara but also further updating of Escape From Camp Blood, Back to the Dungeon supplementary material, and my honest best effort to update as many projects from my Old Gaming Notebook as I can get done.

Minor Reorganization

For anyone interested, I have done a little bit more cleanup around here on the old blog.  I have removed some information from the Collected Posts page and moved them to their appropriate place on the Old Gaming Notebook page or the Toldara page.  All of the information is still here but is now located in a "better" area. 

Knights of Pen & Paper - Mobile Old School Gaming Fix

I do not play many mobile games on my Android phone but there are a few that I enjoy.  My current favorite is Knights of Pen & Paper from Behold Studios.  It was only $1.99 and has provided hours of fun. 

SteamCraft - First Impressions [Part 1]

I was impressed with Perilous Journeys - the previous product from Perilous Journeys Publishing - so I was very interested when I learned they were doing a kickstarter for their SteamCraft game to be released to retail stores in hardback.  Unfortunately, I could participate in the kickstarter due to bad timing so I decided to wait until the public release to get a copy. 

 

Fast forward a couple of months and Valentine's Day was near and the wife had "no idea what to get me" so I snuck in a request for SteamCraft.  I even mentioned the fact that she could do it all from her laptop and would not even have to drive to a bookstore.  This is a big deal for her because I am one of those people that tend to get lost in a bookstore.  I could literally browse for hours and hours.  I have tried to point out that it is similar to the way she can browse for clothes or purses but I do not thing she believes me.  Anyway, back to SteamCraft. 

 

We ordered from FRP Games and waited for the game to arrive.  It was my first order from them and I was very satisfied with the service.  I was kept in the loop by FRP Games during the entire process.  I received emails to let me know my order was accepted, fulfilled, and shipped.  My product was properly packed for shipment and I received it with no bends, creases, gouges, or other defects that can occur during shipping.  I would recommend FRP Games to others after my experience.

 

The SteamCraft game and world is detailed in a single 216 page hardbound volume for a $35.95 listed price.  I greatly appreciate the fact that this one volume is all you need to get started.  I do not rule out a game if it requires multiple volumes but it sure is more convenient on my pocketbook and reading time to get it all down in one tome.  The hardback feels sturdy, looks nice, and fits in well on my shelf of gaming products.  I hope to see Perilous Journeys get the same treatment at some point in the future.  The interior pages are laid out in a clear manner in the traditional black text on white background; grey background is used to set some information apart in the text.  The text is a nice reading size that does not put a strain on the eyes and is easy to read.

The introduction takes up two pages and includes topics such as a quick overview, a role-playing definition, and a steampunk definition. I know many believe that the "what is role-playing" section is unnecessary in modern games.  I disagree because you never know when some other interest might lead someone to a role-playing game based on that interest or something similar.  If someone has never actually role-played before then this short section is needed.  The best part of this section defines the genre of steampunk.  I had a vague idea of the genre before purchasing this book and now I know for sure what steampunk is all about.

 

The next section of the rulebook covers the campaign world in 55 pages.  There is a wealth of information about the Arcadian Coast and the various countries and locations within.  In addition, there are entries that cover topics such as racism, sexism, social class, the Fae, technology, science & magic, health care, religion, and guilds.  Not only is all of this information included but there are also various pages that resemble newspaper articles that have been clipped from in world sources; a nice touch that helps with immersion.

 

Character creation is covered in the next 44 pages of the rule book. Characters are created through a combination of selecting from the available options and spending points during a 12 step process.  The first selection that must be made is race of the character; there are 7 nonhuman races such as dwarf, elf, & gnome in addition to the Human race.  I guess you could technically consider  SteamCraft a steampunk fantasy game with the inclusion of fantasy elements like magic and the nonhuman races - does steampunk typically include those elements or not?  The selection of race will also help determine the base ratings of the attributes.  Continuing through the character creation process will result in the selection of edges, flaws, abilities, and other derived statistics.  There are no limited character classes, but there are some sample archetypes, in this game but each character is a unique combination of natural and learned abilities.  At the end of the character creation chapter is a sample walk through of the character creation process.  I would appreciate if all games put the sample of character creation in one spot instead of spread throughout the chapter.  It makes it easier to follow and double check your own character.

 

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I had planned to do my first impressions of SteamCraft as one post but real life got crazy this weekend so I am going to go ahead and post what I have so far.  The rest is coming soon...

 

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

 

          

The Play Generated Map & Document Archive

I am probably late to the party on this one but earlier today I found the coolest archive of old gaming material at The Play Generated Map & Document Archive while I was browsing the internet.  If you want to see old gaming material such as hand drawn maps, home made modules that mimic the style of the old AD&D modules, and other various items then follow that link.

Two Updates

I have made two small changes on the blog today.

 

I added an About Me tab if anyone is interested in reading about how I got into role playing games and would return to them years later.

 

I also added a section for Escape From Camp Blood on the Collected Posts section.

 



Back to the Dungeon Supplement I: Toldara (working outline)

Toldara is the name of my campaign world for fantasy role playing games.  Much of it is not set it rigid stone and much of it exists only in notes.  Toldara is sort of an amalgamation of all of my play experiences from the early 80s until today mixed in with ideas from my cousin Alex.  He is handling the crunchier version of the setting - the Pathfinder rules - and I am working on a version using lighter rules such as the Back to the Dungeon RPG; more information about the game can be found at the Back to the Dungeon blog.  In my efforts, I have come up with the following outline to guide my work.

 

1.  Introduction (completed)

 

----------For Players----------------

 

2.  New Attribute Generation Methods (completed)

3.  Races (80%)

• Information about the core races; modifications, exclusions, etc.
• New races native to Toldara.

4. Classes (50%)

•  New classes
• Class variants (not sure)

5.  Optional Skill System (draft only - may be dropped)
6.  Character Backgrounds (80%)

• Ideas for players that like to develop the background of their characters.

---------For GMs---------------------

7.  Monsters (draft)
8.  Magic Items (draft)
9.  World Information (draft)

Progress so far.  More later...

 

SteamCraft - Newest Arrival

I had some errands to run today and when I came home I checked the mail.  There was not anything in the mailbox but when I opened up the screen door there was a box from FRP Games.  I have been checking it out for the last hour or so but I have not come up with enough thoughts to commit to a post yet but there will be one coming shortly.  In the meantime, if you want to check out a sample or find our more information about the game then go to the SteamCraft page at the Perilous Journeys Publishing site.