Back in the Saddle Again

Hey, I'm back. I plan on posting regularly, albeit less frequently that before my absence from this blog. You might notice that the post is authored by "A Dragon Adept." It's still Ken H., I just combined my two Blogger accounts.

Gaming updates:

• I am currently playing Finkus S. Snotrags, a halfling, in Tim Shorts' BX Essentials campaign.
• I am working on a set of house rules for my Montporte megadungeon setting that combines Blood & Treasure, BX Essentials, and Crypts & Things. I will post some basic information about the house rules this blog, but I will avoid specifics. I am happy to promote the previously listed products but I do not want to "steal" their content. I plan on using the rules for our gaming group only, so no plans to publish.
• However, on the topic of publishing, I am slowly working on a Montporte monster book for publication. Some of the creatures have appeared on this blog, but many will be exclusive to the book. Tim Shorts has agreed to publish the Montporte monster book through his GM Games (Thanks, Tim!). I am thinking that I will use the Swords & Wizardry Core Rules as the basis. 

That's all for now. 

Sanity Rules!

Yes, it does. But not in the dungeon.

Keep this under your hat, as I don't want the rest of my gaming group knowing this: I have been using a rudimentary sanity rule in my Montporte Dungeon Campaign. Basically, there are certain circumstances where the players (and NPCs) are forced to make a saving throw and, if they fail, they lose a point of wisdom. Eventually, their wisdom points return and all is well. Unless the wisdom score drops below 3, then all bets are off. The player characters recently witnessed an NPC, Ansarkhan the mushroom man, go permanently insane. He is now in a catatonic state that is occasionally interrupted by quiet mumblings of gibberish.

I have used this simple sanity mechanic twice: In Session 1 and, more recently, in Session 24. In the first instance, there was no permanent damage done, but the second episode resulted in permanent insanity.

I like the idea of having a simple sanity mechanic in our current dungeon campaign, but I didn't want to spill the beans with the players or on my blog until I was able to use it to its full effect and the players learned that the victim (an NPC in this case) went insane.

I think adding sanity/insanity into the mix makes the dungeon a scarier place, but I think it only works when used sparingly. D20 rules do not really support a sanity-focused game and there are better rule systems if insanity is the focus. As an occasional threat, however, it could make the game more interesting.

I would like to fine-tune my sanity rule a bit but I am not sure if I should bother creating an actual house rule. I am also a bit undecided what it would look like. Here are a couple of options:

• Wisdom + Charisma + Level = Sanity: I like bringing wisdom and/or charisma into the mix and also sort of modification for level. Under this scenario, characters would have a considerable amount of sanity and it would only slightly as characters progress (assuming a D20 rule system with level advancement).
• (Wisdom + Charisma)/2 + Level = Sanity: This version takes an average of Wisdom and Charisma and then adds a bonus for level. Sanity is lower, but still influenced by both attributes. Level bonus has more influence, proportionally. I like this particular approach a lot, except that it looks like real math.
• Wisdom Score + Charisma Modifier + Level = Sanity: My first reaction was "meh" but the more I look at it, the more I like it. Wisdom is the primary attribute here--being grounded, having deep insight, and common sense seems like it should be the buffer against insanity (playing fast and loose with the medical understanding of mental illness here). It is modified by "force of personality" (charisma) but charisma is not the primary determinant. After all, there are plenty of insane people with strong personalities.
• Charisma Score + Wisdom Modifier + Level = Sanity: I really liked this, at first blush, as it makes charisma very important. However, I like the logic of having wisdom as the primary attribute.

There are a number of variations on these approaches but it seems a bit much to do an exhaustive list.

There are other ways that sanity scores could be modified: Race and Class come to mind. But that is a topic for another post.

I have read a number of blog posts on this, as well as various rule sets (I really like Crypts & Things). I am curious to know what you think.

Five For Friday 25: Dungeon Campaign Ideas

"Underground City" by Elias Lewinsky

We have made it to Session 25 of the Montporte Dungeon Campaign and our sessions are still going strong. It has me thinking about some other ways to use the dungeon setting that I have already created for some future campaigns (this won't happen for a while because the other four guys in our Monday Night Gaming Group are all chomping at the bit to GM). Here are five thoughts that I have had, in no particular order:

• Montporte Dungeon + GURPS Dungeon Fantasy: I really like what I have been reading about GURPS Dungeon Fantasy on other blog posts. More specifically, I have thought about GURPS templates based on the Holmes version of D&D (or maybe B/X), except I would drop halflings and add gnomes (based on what has already transpired with the Montporte Dungeon. I'd be tempted to start at 175 points for characters, but I think I would be fine with 250. I had also thought about a American Wild West or Victorian smash-up and then an hour later saw Peter D's (Dungeon Fantastic) review of Pyramid #3/60: Dungeon Fantasy III, I am definitely interested in checking out the article by David Pulver, "Eidetic Memory: High-Tech Dungeon Crawl."
• Montporte Dungeon + Fudge: I have been really interested in watching +Rob Conley adapt his Majestic Wilderlands setting to Fudge. I have played two campaigns in the Majestic Wilderlands, with Rob as GM--the first campaign using Swords & Wizardry and a second using GURPS. I have been in on one playtest session with the Fudge version of the Majestic Wilderlands and really liked it a lot. 
• Montporte Dungeon + Savage Worlds: This just looks like loads of fun (no apologies to those gamers who hate fun). I am not sure how Savage Worlds would hold up under a long campaign, but it would be groovy to do a shorter mini-campaign perhaps just to see how Savage World works (I haven't actually played it yet).
• Montporte Dungeon + Heavily House-Ruled Swords & Wizardry: I would combine the human classes of Crypts & Things (warriors, barbarians, thieves, and sorcerers) plus dwarves, elves and gnomes (using the race-as-class concept). Maybe I would drop the non-humans and just go with a slightly modified version of C&T.
• Montporte Dungeon + Onyx + GURPS: I thought about combining my half-baked idea for a medieval urban fantasy campaign (Onyx) with the dungeon by placing the city of Onyx deep in the Underdark. GURPS would be my preferred system. This seems like a lot of work, but I have parts of it already done.

Not sure if any of this will happen, but a boy can dream.

Five for Friday 21: Mash-ups

"You got chocolate in my peanut butter!" "You got peanut butter in my chocolate!" Who doesn't like peanut butter and chocolate together (actually, I don't, but that is a Sheldon Cooper kind of sensory thing for me, a matter for professional help, and beside the point).

I like RPG mash-ups but I am not particularly creative with them myself, so I thought I would take a crack at coming up with five mash-ups. To be honest, I am more interested in what other people come up with, but here are some things that have occurred to me:

Constantinople (c. 1150) + Oceans 11 + GURPS: I have actually put some work into this one as my embryonic Onyx campaign. A medieval urban fantasy campaign, featuring a band of specialists engaged in heists against the rich and powerful. It is currently on hold because our Monday Night Gaming Group is busy with other stuff.

Dresden RPG (Fate) + Amish + Jack Reacher: Our in-house gaming group created the characters for this, but the three kids in the group all left for college before we could actually play. My wife created a young Amish woman whose spellcasting abilities put her at odds with her community and her own faith. I was bummed we never played. I was a delivery truck driver with Jack Reacher combat skills (much like real life).

Swords & Wizardry + Realms of Crawling Chaos + Post-Apocalyptic Detroit: It doesn't take much imagination to cast Detroit in this role.

PDQ + Steampunk + Alice in Wonderland: This would take a bit of work and I probably would hack a few existing PDQ-based games but this seems like a trippy rules-lite combo.

Crypts & Things + Weird Adventures + Silk Road (Central Asia): I have always like the part in Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana Jones travels to Nepal, plus I am a fan of Central Asia, medieval and modern. I also really like Crypts & Things and Weird Adventures. It would take a bit of work but C&T is really simple and WA is awesomely groovy.

Have you come up with interesting mash-ups and hybrids? Have you seen something created by someone else that strikes you as particularly creative, bizarre and fun to play?

Five For Friday 17: Swords & Wizardry Five Ways

This is my wrap-up post for my week-long celebration of Swords & Wizardry. Here are five different approaches to Swords & Wizardry that I enjoy (in alphabetical order):

• Crypts & Things: A good example what can happen by thoughtfully adding a few cool tweaks AND deleting extraneous materials. A very swords & sorcery approach, with a bit of horror thrown in. The mage class, a combination of cleric and magic-user, is particularly good.
• Majestic Wilderlands: Rob Conley's (Bat in the Attic) setting has a very "played in" feel to it for good reason: It has been his setting for thirty years.
• Qalidar:  Christina Lea's pandimensional ruined city is a very cool setting for Swords & Wizardry. I am thinking this would be an interesting setting for a GURPS campaign, as well.
• Swords & Wizardry Complete Rules: This is an almost exact replica of what I was playing back in 1977--a weird mix of Holmes D&D, the four supplements, the AD&D Monster Manual, and Judges Guild's Ready Ref Sheets.
• Swords & Wizardry Core: The simplicity of it all is the key to what makes it work so well...plus the PDF is free.

Five for Friday #6: Send in the Clones

Here are my five favorite retroclones (or simulacra, if you wish) of the world's most famous tabletop fantasy RPG game:

• BLUEHOLME Prentice Rules: I started out my RPG career with the Holmes version of D&D. This is clone is well done (plus it is free).
• Blood & Treasure: A quirky combination that draws on all the pre-4e material. The end result is very streamlined and playable. It hits a sweet spot for me. If we decide to make our recent Montporte session (AD&D 1e) an ongoing dungeon campaign, I think we will be going with Blood & Treasure.
• Castles & Crusades: When I came back to gaming, at the request of then-tweener daughter, we started with D&D 3.5e and I felt like the caveman thawed out of the glacier. Totally bewildered. After doing some checking around, we ended up playing C&C and our in-house gaming group still uses it as our rule set (I quit gaming in about 1982 and was totally clueless about "editions"...my fellow gamers will tell you I still have not found a clue).
• Crypts & Things: This is such a groovy twist on Swords & Wizardry. While the rules and accompanying setting reflect a pulpy swords & sorcery inspiration, I would be tempted to swipe the mage class and magic rules and use them in an urban fantasy setting.
• Swords & Wizardry Complete: When I was fanatically gaming in the late 1970's, our version of D&D looked like this (more about the Holmes, Oe supplements, Judges Guild Ready Ref Sheets mashup here).

Do  you a favorite(s) retroclone?

Thoughts on Medieval Urban Fantasy Settings

So, the first thing to note is that I have a name for my embryonic medieval urban fantasy campaign: Onyx (which likely reflects my recent rereading of Black Company and my list of two syllable words for naming RPG things). My second choice was Twerpshoppleville (which likely reflects the fact that there is a short circuit north of my neck).

I've noticed that there are two main approaches to urban-based fantasy RPGs. One approach is to take the typical D&D style fantasy game and sets it in an urban setting. You get the medieval tech levels, magic, elves, dwarves, etc etc.

The second approach is to take a modern (or near-modern) urban setting, like the Dresden RPG, that is based on the real world. The magic or fantastical elements, that represents true reality, are hidden from the majority of the populace. To be sure, there are many other approaches (clockwork, steampunk, horror, pulp, etc), but I do think that there exists two sets of tropes that are commonly used for urban fantasy--the medieval D&D approach and the modern hidden reality approach.

My intention is to take the modern approach--with magic and the fantastic mostly hidden from plain sight--and use it in a medieval urban setting. It means that +1 swords will not be available at the corner store, unicorns will not be for sale at the city's livestock auction (sorry, Tim), and humans will be the only race available as player characters. I think this sort of setting lends itself to systems like GURPS and FATE. I could see using a very stripped down D&D retro-clone, like Swords & Wizardry (maybe a slightly tweaked Crypts & Things would work well, with the mages having to operate in secret).

Conceptually, I am starting with a real-world city (Constantinople), creating a realistic fictional city based on it (so I don't have the cloud of historical accuracy lingering over my head), and then infusing it with magic and the fantastic (much like Jim Butcher does with the Dresden Files). I think it could create a very different feel than starting with a standard fantasy setting and creating a city for it.

I would be interested to hear what you think.

Five For Friday 1: Five Games I Want To Play

Sometime in the last year, I slid from "casual gamer" into "serious hobbyist gamer" (someday I will write a blog post on my system of gamer categories). Anyway, I am think about gaming more and am interested in things beyond whatever game I am currently playing (which happens to be GURPS). As we head into a new year, here are five role-playing games that I have not played but would like to give them a try (in alphabetical order):

1. Amazing Adventures: A D20 Pulp-Era game from Troll Lord Games, utilizing their Siege Engine mechanics. I really like the look and feel of this game. The magic system is particularly cool for a D20 game, with spell casting based on intelligence, wisdom, and charisma.
2. Crypts & Things: A D20 OSR game, using Swords & Wizardry as its point of departure. I really like the setting, the classes, the magic system, and the insanity rules. A very simple and groovy approach to sword & sorcery gaming.
3. Don’t Rest Your Head: A rules-lite horror game from Evil Hat Productions. The product description really says it all: Don’t Rest Your Head is a sleek, dangerous little game, where your players are all insomniac protagonists with superpowers, fighting — and using — exhaustion and madness to stay alive, and awake for just one more night...
4. Legends of Angelerre: A FATE-based fantasy game from Cubicle 7. I really like FATE, based on my experience with Dresden Files RPG, I am very curious to see how FATE works in a fantasy setting.
5. Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies: A joint venture of Evil Hat Productions and Atomic Sock Monkey Press...just reading those words together in one sentence is a lot of fun. This game uses a varient of PDQ, called PDQ Sharp. This looks like it would be perfect for our in-house-face-to-face-very-casual-meets-only-occasionally gaming group.

Runners Up: Blood & Treasure, Spirit of the Century

Which five games would you like to try?