Abstract Combat for Everything

I've been wanting to play a sci-fi space ship game lately. However most of the people I'd play with either have no experience with, or interest in, dog-fighting. I also hate having to break out maps and minis in the middle of a role-playing game, which is why I love old school D&D and so much: combat is normally very abstract. I was starting to wonder, why couldn't we take this approach with ship to ship combat? Heck even actual aircraft dog fighting even. In fact, we could even use this for mech combat.

Of course my preferred venue for mech combat is BattleTech, but there are clearly mech-like creatures in D&D, so why couldn't we make mech combat rules for D&D? Really we wouldn't need to. You could just D&D, and include monsters that are essentially mechs. Most of this revelation came to me as I was looking through Booty and Beasts I believe. There's a ton of sci-fi gonzo stuff in there, and it really got me thinking how great it would be to start including that stuff in D&D.

I've also been watching a lot of Flash Gordon lately, I just watched John Carter of Mars, and I've always loved Star Wars, so this all just seems like a natural extensions of geekdom to me.

Some actual thoughts on the matter though. Namely, for games where Fire and Maneuver is such a big deal, you'd probably want to incorporate the Dexterity modifier to Armor Class. Even if you didn't use that rule per say, because I'm actually against giving monsters ability scores, you'd want to factor speed into the armor class of those "monsters". Obviously faster, more agile ships/mechs would be harder to hit. This is already done with some monsters (at least in AD&D as far as I know), mostly with flying creatures.

Since I have a war gaming background, I'm always sure to include terrain and environment, even if I don't map it, so this would definitely be necessary. Even if you don't map it, you want to give your players the options of specifying their tactics and decisions. Even if it's not extremely tactical to simply say "I take cover behind the rubble", it's fun, and dramatically appropriate for these genres.

That's all for now. I'm not sure if I'm just going to stat up some stuff for D&D, or if I'm going to make a D&D inspired system for this stuff, but I'm probably going to work on something soon. On one hand more material for D&D is great, on the other hand I'm not a one-system for everything kind of guy. I definitely feel systems designed specifically for their genre, are normally more fun.

Older than Old School; Lighter than Lite

I did get some positive feedback and response, so I won't delete my blog. If even one person wants to use this site as a reference piece, for whatever reason or material, I'm not going to deprive them of that. I will probably post less frequently though. I have a job again, which is always nice.

Anyway, I'm definitely losing interest in any sort of publication process or sharing my rules in any sort of official way. It's become apparent to me that I'm so far under the radar, that even if I didn't do things the right way and just sort of shared my house rules as is, I don't think anyone important would notice. I'm by no means condoning copyright violation, or plagiarism; I just don't think I'm going to try very hard to be OGL compliant, or worry too much if I write something too similar to something else.

On to the point of this. For a while now, I've had this growing fascination with proto-Role playing games, if they can so be called that. I suppose, in my mind, since D&D was the first role playing game (that we acknowledge at least), any sort of dungeon crawling board game, or fantasy adventure game reminds me of D&D. Honestly OD&D was sort of proto-D&D to most people (to me it IS D&D, and everything else is derivative, but that's splitting hairs). I suppose I should say, then, that I've had a growing fascination with that early 70's, pioneering of fantasy adventure gaming.

Games like The Fantasy Trip, Dungeon!, and Arduin, have really been capturing my imagination and fascination lately. I've mentioned the Arduin Grmoires before, and it was most definitely my inspiration for my latest naming convention, and it is definitely a heavy (though not necessarily rules-heavy), in depth game supplement. TFT and Dungeon! on the other hand are very rules-lite, fantasy themed "games". Both technically qualify as board games, Dungeon! without a doubt, and TFT was a "micro-game". What I love about both of them, is that there rules fit into about 8 pages (or less) of digest sized booklet.

That's just Awesome.

A complete game, in so few pages, that provides near endless fun and possibilities, and to the creative and adventurous, a game that can basically be played like a role playing game if you really want. At the very least they satisfy that dungeon crawl itch, without being the hassle that a full role playing game is. OD&D is easy and simple enough, but you still have to have a dedicated play group, character creation, and lots of charts and tables, as well as some monster/treasure/spell descriptions that are quite lengthy.

A couple of guys have already taken a similar approach, namely Microtlie20 and Searchers of the Unknown, are two I know rather well. I'm thinking of taking the concept further. Not really making a role playing game at all, but just a game. You know, like monopoly, like you used to play when you were a kid. Before everything had to be serious.

I just want a game where I can kill stuff, take the gold, and kind of mind numbingly pillage the catacombs of the undead. Why not. I'm basically thinking of taking D&D (all of it) and just stripping away anything that's not directly combat or treasure related. Anything that can't be abstracted, or distilled to a useful game ability gets scrapped. There will obviously be specific mechanics laid out for certain dungeon situations, like traps, but there will be no attempt at all-encompassing or universal rules. There will also be little in the way of out of combat abilities, because it's just going to be game.

I'm still mulling over ideas, I'll post more as I work on it. I already have a mapping/movement system planned out, as well as ideas for the Thief, Fighter, Dwarf, Halfling, and Elf. Spell casters will be a bit of a problem, though I'm thinking of making them just buy scrolls and be done with it, as that's essentially what Dungeon! does, and it seems to work out well.

I'm thinking every creature will have a stat block that's just this: Hit Dice, Defense, Attack, Saving Throw, Experience Points. I'm not sure if I want to tie treasure to monster type yet; I'm thinking just a flat percent chance (or dice range) for every monster to have treasure, or something like that.

Is Anybody Out There?

It is plainly evident that I'm the only one that feels the way I do about old school D&D. I think I'm done. So I'm going to leave this blog up for another week or so. If anyone's still out there, let me know, or I'm just going to delete it.

The internet is so deceptive sometimes. When you're reading old blogs and forum posts, it still feels current. I realize I'm just a bit too late, and that's okay. Sadly I think the "old school" was just a fad. I know it's still getting played, but that's it. It's done. The people who wanted old school D&D got what they wanted, and they're satisfied. They don't want more, they don't want anything new. They want the D&D they knew, and that's it.

So I'm done. Old schoolers have practically no interest in new material, and new schoolers don't need anymore stuff. So I'm out. Not maliciously, not because "my feelings are hurt", but because I can acknowledge there's no interest in what I'm working on. And that's fine.

Thanks to anyone who's been reading so far.

First Draft - The Arcane Grimoire Vol. 1

So I've finished up my first draft. It's only 4 pages of actual rules, but that's what I was aiming for I suppose. Like Microlite20 you'll have to use your own spells and monsters for now, but otherwise it's a complete and ready to go rule-system (if you want to call it that). I'll probably draft up some spells next, then monsters. In any case, here you go:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/45hd00blyfil4y5/ArcaneGrimoire.pdf

Achievements

Think back to some of the memorable games you've played. What do remember? Killing that dragon, plundering the treasure, capturing the mad wizard, etc. This is true for me, and my friends at least. Someone on the OD&D boards pointed out that's what the point of the game is (at least for him, and myself now that I think about it). Do you remember your character's THAC0, his special abilities, or what spells he had prepared?

That's what I want Arcane Adventures to be about. A game about achievements, great feats, tall tales, and adventurous stories. A game about what your character has done, not what he can do. Furthermore I want interesting character abilities, not long lists of bonuses and features. I want one or two things that really make a class or race stick out. Something substantial. Not some modification to a specific rule, or a set of abilities that allow them to perform some special case combat maneuver.

That's what I love about the 1E Ranger. He has some of those minor traits, but what really sticks out to me is his ability slay giants, and his 50% chance of stealth. Not slightly improving skills, that only apply to specific situations like "hiding in shadows" or "moving silently. Nope, just a straight 50% chance at catching monsters off-guard.

That's all I'm going to write for now, because it's a really simple concept, and I have to go right now. Hopefully you understand what I'm getting at.

Compatibility & Simplicity

Something I really like about Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox and Microlite20 is that they are generally compatible with anything D&D. There's usually some small level of conversion, but there always is. One thing I'm going to try and do with my project is to keep this concept. I want a D&D where I can use everything, or nothing. That's why what I'm really thinking this is going to be at first is a Microlite rendition of OD&D. I already know there is a Microlite OD&D (Microlite74), so I guess I should say a "Minimalist OD&D".

I don't want to restrict myself to purely OD&D however, mostly because that's not possible. However I don't want to add much (if anything) at first, unless it serves to simplify or increase compatbility (IE single saving throw ala S&W WhiteBox). Honestly the above the link is the best defense as to why an OD&D retroclone is futile. What I really want is something that truly captures the spirit of OD&D, and keeps enough of it's rules to really feel like it. Swords & Wizardry WhiteBox does that pretty well, but it keeps a lot of the idiosyncrasies from OD&D, while ditching some of the more useful information (like finding secret doors, or how to actually stock a dungeon).

I just remembered the other point I'm wanting to make is that I'm going to try and avoid gimmicks as much as possible. I don't mean that negatively, as some of them are really cool - like Microlite20's skill system or Castles & Crusades SIEGE engine. Those are both really cool, innovative mechanics that can cover any situation. In light of the early days, when making a retroclone seemed risky, I understand the reason behind such decisions. However I feel at this point, there is no reason we can't take the rules that are already there, extrapolate and expand upon them, and make an awesome, never-ending role playing game. This really could have been done at any point with a previous TSR version of D&D (or even WOTC editions), and there are some great examples of this. 2E AD&D was really just everything they made for 1E shoved in one book, with a few tweeks.

A better example, and perhaps the best example I can think of is the Rules Cyclopedia. It is almost everything that was ever made for Basic D&D shoved into one awesome compendium of adventure. This is more or less what I want for my game. Basic has been through a few revisions, but how many of them have drastically changed the rules. It's arguable never, from what I can tell BECMI and B/X only differ stylistically (I could be wrong though), and the transition from Holmes to B/X could be argued as not a transition at all.


Anyway, back to working on the game itself. Hopefully someone likes what I make, if not I'll have a ton of gaming material for myself to use.

Preview - "Arcane Grimoire"

The Arcane Grimoire - Volume I

 This is just a small preview of what I'm working on, to prove that I'm working on it. It's the absolute bare bone minimum. I still need to setup the Experience, Attack, and Saving Throw Tables for the Character's section. All in all it comes out to less than 4 digest sized pages. I'll probably be able to fit a full game in 30+ digest pages.

MEN & MAGIC (CHARACTERS)

ATTRIBUTES

There are six attributes: Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Constitution (CON), Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (WIS), and Charisma (CHA).

Roll 3d6 and total the dice, allocating the score to one of the attributes. Repeat for the remaining attributes.

Attributes of 15 or higher are often considered exceptional and usually grant a +1 bonus to certain rolls, situations, or statistics. Exceptional strength grants a bonus to attack and damage rolls. Dexterity increases Armor Class and ranged “to hit”, and constitution adds to hit points. Intelligence grants an extra 1st level Magic-User spell, and wisdom grants an extra 1st level Cleric spell. Charisma affects reaction and loyalty checks.

RACES

The four races available are Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Halflings.

Humans get a 10% bonus to all experience earned.

Elves have a 2 in 6 (a roll of 1-2 on a d6) chance of finding secret doors and other hidden items.

Dwarves have a 2 in 6 chance of finding traps, and other dungeon oddities such as slanting passages or underground construction.

Halflings attack with a +1 “to hit” when using missile weapons.

CLASSES

The classes are Fighter, Magic-User, and Cleric. Characters begin at Level 1.

Fighters can wear any kind of armor and use any weaponry. All Fighters have +1 hit point per level. Against creatures of one hit die or less, Fighters can make one attack per level each round.

Clerics can wear any kind of armor, but can only use blunt weapons. They cast divine spells from the Cleric spell list. A Cleric Smites Undead, adding their level to damage scored against such creatures.

Magic-Users wear no armor, and can only use daggers, darts, and staves. They can cast arcane spells from the Magic-User spell list.

ADVENTURING

There are no pre-defined character skills (except for class abilities). Instead there are some common adventuring tasks described below. Referees and players should use their best judgment to make similar rulings as necessary. Not every situation needs a rule, or a dice roll.

Stuck Doors can be forced open with a 2 in 6 chance, with a 15+ strength allowing a 3 in 6 chance. A reinforced, locked, or steel door has only a 1 in 6 chance of being opened. This can be attempted multiple times, each such time creating a lot of noise, and usually resulting in a check for wandering monsters.

Bending Metal Bars or lifting vertical gates (such as a portcullis) can be attempted by characters with 15+ strength, with a 1 in 6 chance of success. The attempt can be made only once. This roll can also be used for breaking iron chains for example.

Traps have a 1 in 6 chance of being found if a search for one is made. Dwarves have a 2 in 6 chance of finding traps when searching for them. Searching for traps requires 10 minutes for a 10 square foot area, and can only be done once. Traps usually have a 2 in 6 chance of going off if a character passes by or walks over them.

Even if the roll for checking traps fails, players can still describe their character’s actions and find it if they look in the right spot. For example a player may fail the roll to check for a trap, but if he specifies that he checks the ceiling, he will notice vents covered in ash and soot. If the player realizes this is a fire vent trap, and says so, he may avoid the blast of fire if it goes off, or take some other measure to disable it.

Secret Doors have a 2 in 6 chance of being found, and concealed portals a 3 in 6 chance, if a search is made. Just as with traps it takes 10 minutes to search a 10’ area, but multiple attempts can be made. Elves have a 4 in 6 chance of finding secret doors, and a 2 in 6 chance of noticing them even without searching. Note that finding a secret door does not guarantee that the character will know how to open the door.

Listening at doors, or for distant sounds of creatures, has a 1 in 6 chance of succeeding. Halflings have keen hearing and have a 2 in 6 chance of successfully listening. A successful listen check will reveal the noise, but not necessarily what is making that noise. For example characters may hear creaking in a hallway, or growling beyond a door, but will not know what the source of the noise is.

Locks (on a door or chest for example) have a 1 in 6 chance of being picked with a dagger or similar tool, and a 2 in 6 chance with specialized thieving tools. 15+ dexterity increases the chance of success by 1. Doors can attempted to be picked infinitely with each successive attempt taking 10 minutes, but making little to noise (unlike bashing). Chests may only be checked once.

Locked chests can be pried open, with a 1 in 6 chance, and 2 in 6 for characters with 15+ strength, however the lock will be permanently broken. Chests can be smashed open like stuck doors, however there is a 50% (3 in 6) chance of destroying or damaging any treasure inside. A reinforced chest has a 1 in 6 chance of being forced open.

Picking Pockets can be attempted with a 2 in 6 chance, with a 15+ dexterity increasing it to a 3 in 6 chance.

Sneaking has a 2 in 6 chance of succeeding normally. Successful sneaking can grant surprise in combat, or allow a character to slip past a guard. Light and noise can prevent sneaking from succeeding. Characters that take care to be stealthy, by removing armor, dropping weight, and moving extra slowly may increase the chance of sneaking (and thus surprise) to 3 in 6. Characters with a dexterity of 15+ increase chances for surprise by 1.

Parties waiting in ambush have a 4 in 6 chance of surprising monsters. This of course assumes the characters are aware of the monsters before the monsters are aware of them, such as after successfully listening at a door.

SAVING THROWS

Saving throws are rolls made to avoid some hazard or dangerous attack, such as dragon’s breath, poison, paralyzation, or even the effects of spells. Successful saving throws result in the effects of whatever hazard either being nullified or reduced (usually halved).

1st level Clerics and Magic-Users must roll a 15 or higher on a d20 to make a successful saving throw, Fighters must roll a 14. This number decreases by one point every level, to a minimum of 5 (4 for Fighters). Certain situations, items, or even race and class, can modify saving throws. This modifier is usually applied to the die roll.

MAGIC

Magic-Users and Clerics must prepare the spells they are going to use at the start of their day. The player may select from whatever spells he knows, an amount equal to their spells available per day. For example a 1st level Magic-User has a single first level spell he can prepare and cast that day. If the character can cast multiple spells per day (of the same level) he can prepare the same spell multiple times, or prepare different spells of the same level.

When the character “casts” their spell, it is considered “used up” and cannot be cast again (hence the value of preparing multiple spells of the same type if available). Spell scrolls can be created at the cost of 100 gold pieces per spell, times spell level, taking a week per spell level. Therefore a 5th level spell would cost 500 gold pieces, and require 5 weeks of time to prepare. Scrolls function just like spells, being “used up” once cast, thus allowing a character to carry extra spells.

COMBAT

Hit Points are determined by rolling a d6 for each level gained; therefore a 5th level character would have 5d6 hit points. A new die can be rolled each level, or the total dice can be re-rolled each level. Characters with 15+ constitution have +1 hit point per level (a Fighter with 15+ constitution then having +2 hit points per level). After 10th level characters only gain +1 hit point per level, adding any bonuses from class or attributes.

Characters are unconscious at exactly 0 hit points. A saving throw is allowed if hit points drop below 0, to save versus death. A successful saving throw bringing the character to 0 hit points.

Surprise is normally achieved through use of sneaking, however the Referee can determine if one side in combat is entitled to surprise. A group, character, or monster with surprise has a free round of combat in which to act; this includes any activity which can normally be performed during combat.

Initiative is used to determine the turn order of combat. Normally 1d6 is rolled for any groups involved in combat, and then each group may decide in what order their participants move. Alternatively 1d6 can be rolled for each participant in combat (however this can become tedious. Whoever rolls higher may go first, or elect to “hold initiative”, declaring their actions after the loser, but taking effects simultaneously. A dexterity of 15+ can grant a +1 bonus to initiative rolls.

Attacks are rolled on a d20, adding bonuses from class, race, attributes, weapons, etc. if the attack roll is equal to or higher than the defender’s Armor Class (AC), it’s a hit and deals damage. All attacks, unless otherwise specified, deal 1d6 damage. A roll of 20 (before modifiers) is a critical hit, automatically scoring maximum damage. If a more lethal or dangerous game is desired, roll an additional damage dice, this is called exploding dice.

LICENSE

Open Game Content may only be Used under and in terms of the Open Game License Version 1.0a (OGL). This entire work is designated as Open Game Content under the OGL, with the exception of the trademarks “Arcane Adventures,” "Arcane Grimoire," and with the exception of all artwork. These trademarks, and the Trade Dress of this work (font, layout, style of artwork, etc.) are reserved as Product Identity.

OPEN GAME LICENSE

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Progression

For right now, I'm keeping everything down to a paragraph or less, as much as I can. This includes race, class, spells, and even adventuring tasks. I think this will give a really nice, clean, minimalist RPG, that's still very functional. From there I'll move on to the Greyhawk method, but I'm going to try and still keep things simple. I'm thinking I want to keep everything at a page or less (possibly even a half page, what with it being digest sized); or possibly keep everything paired down to 3 or 5 features (not sure which yet). In any case I want to avoid the "AD&D trap" of multi-page class descriptions, and extremely detailed rules.

The goal is interesting, but simple.

MicrOD&D - Arcane Adventures?

I know I'm updating every 5 minutes, but that's kind of what's cool about the Microlite20 structure; you see the game unfold very quickly, because you're not busy writing a novel. Anyway, on to the point.

As I go through this, I see that I'm not cloning OD&D at all, and I don't think I want to, or that I need to. I'm starting to view this more like a Blood & Treasure or Basic Fantasy style game, just geared more towards OD&D than B/X or 3E. So yeah, very much an OD&D inspired game.

There are a few things that are really making this more OD&D inspired. Just like Microlite20, and to a less extent Basic Fantasy, I'm definitely keeping my focus on making a simple, rules-light game; I'm not so concerned with the retro-aspect or emulation. Right now I'm thinking of including AD&D spells instead of OD&D spells, and just including like five per spell level. This is to keep things simple, and so I can include some of the more iconic spells like Magic Missile, which didn't come out until Greyhawk. I still might change my mind, but we'll see.

The point being, I'm really liking how this is turning out. I'm utilizing the simplicity of OD&D, to make a clean role playing game instead of emulating OD&D for the sake of emulation; or starting from scratch like Microlite20.

MicrOD&D - Races

I'm working on races right now, which should take all of 5 minutes, and I'm considering racial abilities. It doesn't seem like much if you say:

"Dwarves have a 2 in 6 chance of finding traps, and other dungeon oddities. They gain a +4 bonus for saving throws versus magic. Against giant-type creatures such as trolls, ogres, giants, and titans, Dwarves are at +4 AC."

That's just a paragraph of description, but still pretty meaty. I'm wondering why I wouldn't include this. Of course, how far is that from just including the full description from AD&D? In OD&D The Dwarf pretty much has that many abilities. However this goes against my idea of emulating Microlite20's minimalistic approach. I mean after all, how much "fun" does any of that actually add to the game? I'm tempted to just keep the 2 in 6 chance of finding traps. It's a cool, unique, and extremely useful ability, that's easy to remember, and doesn't modify some other roll or rule in the game.

I'm thinking for now, keep the most minimalistic approach as possible to get something done and out there. Then if I really want to I can make a "Race Options" booklet that includes meatier description of races. This opens you up for including alternatives like "Wood Elf" or "Grey Dwarf". For those who prefer (like myself), they can stick with the ultra-simple Dwarf and just "roleplay" being a "Grey Dwarf". I think that's what I'll do for now.

Plan - MicrOD&D

That's the project name for now. Whether or not I slap the "Arcane Adventures" name on it, we'll see. Anyway, I think I have a plan for now.

I'm going to start by utilizing the layout of Microlite20 to determine what I need to include initially; in the sense that Microlite20 provides the minimum rules needed to play, but that's still enough to play. I'm probably going to rearrange it to resemble OD&D more. From there I'm going to stick with content mostly from OD&D, but use the updated variants and versions from AD&D: with the exception of keeping the numbers down where possible (I really like +1s to be meaningful). I'll probably tossing in some basic house rules from Gary Gygax's 2005 house rules, and stuff from Philotomy's Musings (because it's awesome).

From there it will be supplements! Instead of replicating early OD&D supplements, that had a bit of everything in them, I'm going to try and keep them organized by type of content, i.e.; spells, monsters, classes, treasure, etc.

So there you have it for now, I'll get started soon, and see what I get.

OD&D is in Limbo

Not if you count the "Premium Reprint" of course, but nonetheless OD&D is currently in limbo. I don't think anyone is going spend $100+ on a premium set of stapled booklets to play with. I know plenty of people who have bought it for collectable purposes, but those same people have "play copies" they've printed from PDFs. What's more is that most people don't consider OD&D as written to be "playable".

There's still Swords & Wizardry, but they've shifted their focus to the "Complete" book, and to supporting Pathfinder conversions. They've all but abandoned "Whitebox". What I find more interesting about Swords & Wizardry is that they aren't putting out anything else. They made "Complete" (which in my opinion isn't it), and it has tons of extra classes from the Supplements, but they've stopped there. Nothing from the Strategic Review or Dragon, tons of stuff left out from the Supplements. Nothing wrong with that of course, but it's just kind of a downer: there's just so much untapped stuff.

I'm actually hopeful for Delving Deeper now, because I really like the guys who've taken over. I really agree with their general philosophy on OD&D, and it looks like they have a long term plan for adding a bunch of cool material and conversions. However, the Brave Halfling still has a huge back log of orders. I'll admit I was wrong. I still think what he did was wrong, but he definitely wasn't doing it intentionally. By the Gods he's still sending out shipments, and making sure the job gets done.

However all of this leaves OD&D in Limbo; especially because as of right now, the "Premium Reprints" seem to be a one time thing.

What am I getting at? Am I just complaining for no reason? Not really. I love OD&D. I love D&D in general. This is in fact close to the state every other edition is in right now. 2E is dead sadly; it gets no love, and the one retroclone for it turned out to be a huge disappointment. You have all of these lovely retroclones and reprints (whether "supported" or not), but they're just there.

Now maybe everyone else is cool with having their old games, just the way they were, and essentially staying in a stasis, but I'm not. I don't want my edition of the game "redone", and that's just that. It's a real shame, because early on it seemed like there was going to be progress and additional material. Labyrinth Lord released two companions to expand game play; Basic Fantasy had tons of new supplements coming out; and my personal favorite Adventures Dark & Deep re-envisioned 1st Edition. Adventures Dark & Deep seems to be the only still pumping out new material.

Let me clarify really quickly, that when I say new material, I don't mean adventure modules. We have millions of those, and people are constantly popping those out. I mean new classes, new spells, new monsters, new races, etc. I'm fairly certain I talked about Grey Matter before, and I think stuff like that is awesome, and we need more of it. Same goes for Blood & Treasure, another awesome project, with a dedicated creator who just keeps going.

Lets get back to the point. OD&D, the game I love, is in stasis. It's stuck; at least "officially". I love the OD&D74 forums, because man, there's always something going on. However several people have pointed out that a forum isn't the best media for usable game material; as in a lot stuff just gets lost in time and buried under new discussion.

Now I'm going to stop complaining. Instead I want to do something about it. I've admitted I'm crap at authoring, but thanks to Microlite20 I don't have to be a good author. I'm going to make a game, the way I like it, and I'm going to make stuff for it on a frequent basis.

It's going to be modeled after Microlite20; as in shorthand rules, to the point, and no fluff. I'm going to make it digest size for now, so it will be easier to format, and it will have the OD&D feel to it. It's going to be a bunch of 30ish page booklets. Most importantly it's going to be free.

Now I just have to come up with a game plan. I'm not so sure another OD&D "clone" is what we need, nor is what I'd actually use; otherwise like everyone else I know, I'd just use my printed out LBB's. I am thinking something more along the lines of Swords & Wizardry or Castles & Crusades, with the focus being expansion and continued support. After all I just talked about how everyone keeps "cloning" their favorite edition and going "well I'm done here...". Nothing wrong with that of course, but I want more.

OD&D vs D&D

What I've noticed in doing research, playing, reading, discussing D&D, etc., is that OD&D doesn't fit in. I should specify more really: pre-Greyhawk OD&D doesn't fit in. There's a quaint charm some of us find in LBB D&D, and the non-TSR supplements from around that time. Even if you add the supplements, but view them like (as in not considering Greyhawk essential), you have a vastly different game than anyone else in the D&D community recognizes.

Allow me to explain better. Pretty much every other version of D&D has decent to generous benefits provided by ability scores. In fact there is a much larger emphasis on ability scores in other versions of D&D. In Basic D&D (both B/X and BECMI as far as I know) you have a +3/-3 modifier to certain rolls and stats from your ability scores. In AD&D you have separate tables for each ability, with some bonuses going up to +4, or even +6 for exceptional Strength. In 3E you have bonuses going up to +5 (interestingly enough, if you cap the scores at 18, you get +4/-4 which is actually in line with AD&D, they just spread it out more evenly).

However in OD&D you have practically no benefit for ability scores. As soon as you toss in Greyhawk though you start to see more emphasis on ability scores. What's interesting is that most of the tables presented in Greyhawk are special to the fighter. Instead of having universal attribute benefits, it's a class-based table, which sort of makes the fighter an "attribute specialist".

Another major area of difference, is race and class. In fact all three of these points of discussion have to do with character creation/development. In OD&D the characters are pretty much nothing. It's ALL about how you choose to role play your character. Race and class descriptions are a paragraph or two in length. There is some mechanical benefit and rules for race and class, but they're usually found in the Referee's section of the book.

When you get into AD&D, and even in the Basic Set I have, class and race descriptions go up to a page or more. Definite rules for multi-classing demi-humans, thieves with dozens of skills and abilities, etc.

Interestingly enough, the Monster Manual, and pretty much everything that came after that (as far as monsters) seems to be compatible with OD&D. Does that suggest that OD&D is just D&D on hard mode? Maybe. I'm starting to think so.

My point in all of this, is that I'm recognizing a "universal D&D", at least in spirit and theme; it just doesn't jive with the original. How does this concern me? Well as far as house rules go (whether or not I publish anything I make), I want a sort of cohesiveness. I love playing OD&D, but I also love playing "D&D".

The way I'm starting to see it, is that "D&D" needs to be defined, and OD&D really doesn't. If OD&D does need to be defined (as in my house rules), I think I can do it in under 64 pages, and have that be that. Then anything else I make, even if it is on "easy mode" and based on later D&D material, can still be used with it; it will just be on hard mode.

In fact I might be refereeing for my band this weekend. They all played AD&D back in the day, but I don't know how much they remember. I'm thinking of running Swords & Wizardry, but letting them use material from AD&D as long as I convert it for them (which should be pretty easy). It's been pointed out a few times, that AD&D is more or less a compilation of OD&D supplemental material.

What I'm trying to do now, regardless of intent to share or publish, is organize and work on my rules in a way that a company would. After all it makes sense to emulate what role playing game publishers and designers have done. I think in the end I might just make my "Universal D&D" and then make a fascimile of OD&D for my own use. We'll just have to see.

Wrestling not Grappling

I do martial arts in real life. In fact I've been doing forms of ju-jitsu since I was 5 years old. I love grappling. However, I don't think grappling fits in with D&D, at least not realistic grappling. When you watch old school fantasy shows, or sci-fi sword & planet adventures, you rarely see realistic arm bars and over-the-shoulder throws. You see two athletic guys pushing each other back and forth in a clinch, till one falls over a cliff. That's fun.

However I do play with a lot of guys who have real grappling experience, and they like to use it in the game. What I currently do is really simple, and I'm sure lots of you guys have done it too: I just use a saving throw for grappling. I use Swords & Wizardry's single saving throw, modified by attributes like Castles & Crusades: so depending on description/player choice I either apply strength or dexterity, or sometimes both.

This is a much simple abstraction than complex grappling tables, or "body combat defense scores". Not saying better, just simpler.

What's great is this doesn't penalize people who don't know how to grapple in real life. "Can I try and trip the guy?" "I"m going to try and throw him", etc. If they do take time to describe their actions, a simple -1 to their opponent's saving throw is good, or if they declare they're grappling with a weapon I might let them get away with just a normal attack.

The real benefit of this abstraction is that as you increase in level (including monsters), the saving throw gets easier to pass. Just like in real life, the better you are in combat, the easier it is to slip in and out of grappling. In Judo a lot of times it's more about avoiding getting thrown, and having that stable foot work. While it's not ultra-realistic, because obviously someone who is really good at their techniques will have a better chance of grappling you, it's a decent abstraction, that works. Furthermore if players choose to specialize their characters in grappling (however you handle that), you can give them bonuses (or penalties to their opponent's saving throws).

Not much to say on the matter, just thought I'd share.

Basic Fantasy - My D&D NEXT

Really quick lets get one thing out of the way first. I'm talking about a hypothetical "D&D NEXT". I'm talking about my preferred system, or the "best D&D", or any of that. I'm talking about a game, that everyone can sit down and play, and you can adjust the level of complexity, and easily convert/use material from any edition with (basically what we we're promised). I do believe, and I know many others believe, that old school D&D (whatever version you play), is fine just as it is, and we don't need another version of the game. However, the cat is out of the bag, 3rd and 4th edition already exist. This is just a hypothetical, "for fun", thought experiment. If the hypothetical is accomplishing the goals set out for D&D NEXT, then making a game 3E and 4E guys can enjoy is part of that goal.

I don't recall if I've discussed Basic Fantasy before, but check it out. It's awesome. Essentially someone took Basic D&D (B/X), added ascending armor class, and separated race and class. This is what D&D NEXT should have looked like. Regardless of personal opinion and feelings, I say this as someone who outright prefers OD&D. I don't even like B/X really. However I can acknowledge, that Basic Fantasy is a game anyone who's played D&D can recognize, and it's pretty much the perfect middle ground.

Since race and class are separate, you're able to expand it to be like AD&D (in fact there are several AD&D classes available, and more). It's got ascending armor class, so the 3E/4E guys can get into it easy. It's a simple, "light", rule set that lets anybody jump in, and allows old school play. Because it's so light though, it can handle tinkering, and adding extra rules (there's tons of supplements on the web).

I've talked about how Blood & Treasure is basically what I originally intended for Arcane Adventures. Well I have played it, and it's lots of fun, but there are a few changes I don't like, and would have handled differently. Namely skills as saving throws. If you go that route, I would have kept a single saving throw like Swords & Wizardry, and just added specific class/race bonuses to specific situations. I like that better, which is also one of the reasons I keep playing S&W, instead of some other clone, but I digress.

Basic Fantasy, isn't exactly how I'd make D&D NEXT. I think there are a couple things you could do to bridge the gap. I'd either offer, or implement a d20 style target number or DC20 skill system for thieves. Lots of old school guys (even OD&D guys) have done that for their house rules. I know that might encourage what some would call bad playing habits, but that's neither here nor there (include the usual blurb about "role-play" versus "roll-play".

I've also seen a few guys add in the Reflex/Will/Fortitude saving throw system. I'd personally keep it to target numbers because that's easier, but having a straight DC20 isn't a bad idea either (though I'd end up pre-calculating it, coming up with target numbers). Though actual D&D NEXT uses the Castles & Crusades system of Attribute Saving throws, which I really like (in fact I use it for Swords & Wizardry). I'd prefer that actually, so maybe that's what I'd do. It's simpler, and all encompassing.

If we took those ideas, and added them into Basic Fantasy, or even made a system just like it, I think we'd have a game everyone could enjoy. What's great is Basic Fantasy covers game play up to 20th level. You could also release modules or supplements just like they already have for Basic Fantasy to turn it into whatever game you want.

From a business and development standpoint, I'd never change these rules. I'd turn D&D into a legacy game, like Risk or Monopoly. Every few years I might revamp the cover art, or change the layout, but I'd always keep this core set of rules. Toss it in a pretty box, add some dice and graph paper and you've got a regular game you can sell at Walmart and Target.

From there, every so often, when I've release enough material to make it worth it, you make an "Advanced Compendium" type product, that collects all of the class/race/character options into one place for you. You can do this all of the time, and update and change that all you want, without messing with the core system.

Will I actually make what I'm talking about? Maybe. It'd be really easy, because I just outlined all of it. However, do I really need it? Probably not.