I'm going to start taking a bit more of a methodical approach to Arcane Adventures. I want to be able to use material from every edition. I have little desire to balance monsters against each other for game play purposes, because that's not fun, and balance fetish is something from later games. However, it is important to "balance" monsters against each other for the sake of logic and internal consistency.
See in old school D&D it doesn't really matter whether your kobold has 1-4 hit points or 1-8 hit points, whether he has AC13 or AC15, because all of that is factored into his experience point value. It also doesn't really matter, because none of the stats are actually based off any realism factors. Though to the players it matters, because they need to be able to gauge the danger of the world. If they see a Dragon they should be able to learn from experience whether it's going to be difficult to fight, or practically impossible to fight. They also need to be able to judge whether a kobold is a weak (AC13, 1d4 HP) creature, or practically a knight (AC15, 1d8 Kobold being nearly identical to an old school Knight of AC15 and 1d8 HP).
In other words if I'm going to use 3E material next to AD&D material, next to OD&D material, there should be some consistency between monsters.Furthermore, monsters that should be logically weaker or stronger than others, should be so. A kobold probably shouldn't be as strong as a Knight (unless you really want that). A Dragon should probably be stronger than a Basilisk, and so forth.
Anyway, I'm going to be comparing monsters from across all the editions I can find. I haven't found it anywhere else. If it is somewhere on the web please point me to it, and save me the time. I'm going to be comparing OD&D post Greyhawk, Holmes, AD&D (1E and 2E if different), 3.5, and Pathfinder.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Quick Idea
So I'm just jotting this down here really quick, so I can keep it somewhere I can access rather easily.
All of that aside, a small note on my Dungeon Crawl! idea so I don't forget what happened. I did come up with a really simple and functional rule set, based off the d20 system. It worked perfectly fine, however I simply don't know the d20 (3.5/Pathfinder) well enough to complete it. I'm not seeing an easy way of distributing experience and treasure without the CR system. I'm sure there must be, but I can't find a way of determining a monster's CR without creating it, or just eyeballing it (that's the literal advice I read in the DMG). So for now, that's shelved.
My last idea for Arcane Adventures was to basically mimic Microlite20 in form and fashion, as a vehicle for my OD&D house rules, and supplemental material I found. I would really love to do that, and I'm tempted to still, however two things are keeping me from doing that. First is I really feel like OD&D is just OD&D, and there's no reason to try and replicate it. OD&D is pretty much, make it up as you go, and just do whatever you want, and I've found that too much supplemental material actually limits my and my players' creativity.
The second reason being, that almost everyone that plays D&D played/plays B/X, AD&D or a derivative thereof. After all that's what most of TSR era D&D was. OD&D was only around for a few years really. This is the primary reason for my current idea (which I'll get to in a second). The wealth of material out there (and I've said this before, as being my reasoning for making a B/X + AD&D hybrid) is geared towards AD&D, and B/X to a lesser extent. Both of those editions have what people expect in D&D as well; several classes, mechanical benefits for character descriptions, ability bonuses, etc.
What I'm wanting to do now, is basically make "MicroliteTSR" if you will. I'm aware of Microlite74/81 (and now 78, which I'm looking forward too), and I really love Mr. Stukey's work. I think it's a wonderful game, and I really love the fact he's not trying to write a "true clone". It's also exactly my inspiration for this. I realized "hey, he's using the Microlite framework, and gearing towards the system he's familiar with". (That's reason #3 for the above, I'm kind of stuck thinking in AD&D terms now, and can't shift into a 3E paradigm).
I'm going to take the Microlite framework, and just apply the math from AD&D and B/X. I'm going to try and stick to just the rules covered in Microlite20, but simply use the AD&D or B/X variants of those rules, or even simpler rules I might find, that still fit. I really want to stick to the simplicity of Microlite, like I did with my Arcane Grimoire.
Since I know the AD&D math and paradigm so well, I'll be able to convert most any material to this system, like I do on the fly when I game. The benefit, of course, will be that I have it all ready ahead of time. It will also cover most of the "essential" D&D concepts people want when they play. I really just want a game whose rules don't get in the way of playing. I feel like Microlite accomplishes that perfectly, however I just can't figure out the experience/treasure distribution in a way that I'm comfortable with. So why not just convert it to what I'm comfortable with.
All of that aside, a small note on my Dungeon Crawl! idea so I don't forget what happened. I did come up with a really simple and functional rule set, based off the d20 system. It worked perfectly fine, however I simply don't know the d20 (3.5/Pathfinder) well enough to complete it. I'm not seeing an easy way of distributing experience and treasure without the CR system. I'm sure there must be, but I can't find a way of determining a monster's CR without creating it, or just eyeballing it (that's the literal advice I read in the DMG). So for now, that's shelved.
My last idea for Arcane Adventures was to basically mimic Microlite20 in form and fashion, as a vehicle for my OD&D house rules, and supplemental material I found. I would really love to do that, and I'm tempted to still, however two things are keeping me from doing that. First is I really feel like OD&D is just OD&D, and there's no reason to try and replicate it. OD&D is pretty much, make it up as you go, and just do whatever you want, and I've found that too much supplemental material actually limits my and my players' creativity.
The second reason being, that almost everyone that plays D&D played/plays B/X, AD&D or a derivative thereof. After all that's what most of TSR era D&D was. OD&D was only around for a few years really. This is the primary reason for my current idea (which I'll get to in a second). The wealth of material out there (and I've said this before, as being my reasoning for making a B/X + AD&D hybrid) is geared towards AD&D, and B/X to a lesser extent. Both of those editions have what people expect in D&D as well; several classes, mechanical benefits for character descriptions, ability bonuses, etc.
What I'm wanting to do now, is basically make "MicroliteTSR" if you will. I'm aware of Microlite74/81 (and now 78, which I'm looking forward too), and I really love Mr. Stukey's work. I think it's a wonderful game, and I really love the fact he's not trying to write a "true clone". It's also exactly my inspiration for this. I realized "hey, he's using the Microlite framework, and gearing towards the system he's familiar with". (That's reason #3 for the above, I'm kind of stuck thinking in AD&D terms now, and can't shift into a 3E paradigm).
I'm going to take the Microlite framework, and just apply the math from AD&D and B/X. I'm going to try and stick to just the rules covered in Microlite20, but simply use the AD&D or B/X variants of those rules, or even simpler rules I might find, that still fit. I really want to stick to the simplicity of Microlite, like I did with my Arcane Grimoire.
Since I know the AD&D math and paradigm so well, I'll be able to convert most any material to this system, like I do on the fly when I game. The benefit, of course, will be that I have it all ready ahead of time. It will also cover most of the "essential" D&D concepts people want when they play. I really just want a game whose rules don't get in the way of playing. I feel like Microlite accomplishes that perfectly, however I just can't figure out the experience/treasure distribution in a way that I'm comfortable with. So why not just convert it to what I'm comfortable with.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Clash!
So I made some progress with "Dungeon Crawl!", with the help of my lovely wife. We took a bit of inspiration from "The Fantasy Trip", and have made what we're calling "Clash!". Right now it's just the rules for creating warriors to fight out combats, kind of like "Melee!" from back in the day. It's based off Microlite20, so there is just enough rules to play, but no filler. Since it's based off Microlite20 that means that it's compatible with d20/3.5/Pathfinder, so you can just use the "stuff" from those games (namely the free SRD and PFSRD online).
I've made two major changes to the game (which I'll be posting below). First is the removal of the class ability scores. Instead there are five stats for everything; Defense (Armor Class), Hit Points, Attack, Damage, and Ability. I was mostly inspired by Searchers of the Unknown in this regard. The second major change of the game is the "Ability" stat. Instead of Saving Throws or Skills, there is the "Ability" stat, that functions as a bonus to every non-combat roll in the game (unless otherwise specified). Players can then choose "Talents" (like feats) to grant bonuses to specific situations, or they're free to create classes with specific bonuses.
I won't go into the why's and where-to-fores. Suffice it to say I find this to be a simple enough game that doesn't get in the way of having fun for me, and requires the least conversion of any system I've found. I'm not saying it's a major improvement over other systems, just that it's what I like. Anyway, here you go:
I've made two major changes to the game (which I'll be posting below). First is the removal of the class ability scores. Instead there are five stats for everything; Defense (Armor Class), Hit Points, Attack, Damage, and Ability. I was mostly inspired by Searchers of the Unknown in this regard. The second major change of the game is the "Ability" stat. Instead of Saving Throws or Skills, there is the "Ability" stat, that functions as a bonus to every non-combat roll in the game (unless otherwise specified). Players can then choose "Talents" (like feats) to grant bonuses to specific situations, or they're free to create classes with specific bonuses.
I won't go into the why's and where-to-fores. Suffice it to say I find this to be a simple enough game that doesn't get in the way of having fun for me, and requires the least conversion of any system I've found. I'm not saying it's a major improvement over other systems, just that it's what I like. Anyway, here you go:
Clash!
STATS
There are 5 stats: Defense, Hit Points, Attack, Damage, and
Ability. Defense starts at 10, Hit Points start at 15, Attack starts at +1, Damage
is determined by weapon, and Ability starts at +1.
COMBAT
Roll d20 for initiative order. Everyone can do one
interesting activity each turn; move a short distance and attack, move a great
distance, cast a spell, etc. Some actions, such as quaffing a magic potion, are
considered a “minor action” and can be performed in addition to a normal action.
Add a character’s “Attack” bonus to a d20 roll. If higher
than the target’s “Defense” score, it’s a hit. A natural 20 is automatically a
critical, doing maximum damage.
Characters can wield two weapons and attack with both in a
round, if they take a penalty on all attack rolls that round. If both weapons
are light there is no penalty, if one is light and the other one-handed the
penalty is -2, if both are one-handed the penalty is -4.
If “Hit Points” reach 0, characters are unconscious and near
death. If “Hit Points” are brought below 0, players can make an “Ability
Check”. A successful “Ability Check” means the character is stabilized at 0
“Hit Points” and unconscious, a failure means death.
ABILITIES
Anything that is not an attack roll is usually an “Ability
Check”. When making an “Ability Check” add your “Ability” score to a d20 roll.
You can also add any specific bonuses your character might have from talents,
items, magic, etc. There are no skills or saving throws in “WARRIOR!”, instead
the “Ability Check” can be used when necessary.
TALENTS
Each level, including 1st, players may select a “Talent” for
their characters. “Talents” are small bonuses or abilities characters have in
certain situations. The most basic “Talents” are simple bonuses to character
Stats.
+1 Defense: can be taken multiple times. For example, if
taken twice, the bonus is +2, if taken three times the bonus is +3, etc.
+1 Hit Point: can be taken multiple times. For example, if
taken twice, the bonus is +2, if taken three times the bonus is +3, etc.
+1 Attack: can be taken multiple times. For example, if
taken twice, the bonus is +2, if taken three times the bonus is +3, etc.
+1 Damage: can be taken multiple times. For example, if
taken twice, the bonus is +2, if taken three times the bonus is +3, etc.
+1 Ability: can be taken multiple times. For example, if
taken twice, the bonus is +2, if taken three times the bonus is +3, etc.
LEVEL ADVANCEMENT
Each level adds: +5 Hit Points, +1 to “Attack”, +1 to
“Ability”, and a new “Talent”.
OPEN GAME LICENSE
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8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly indicate which portions
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11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open Game Content
using the name of any Contributor unless You have written permission from the Contributor
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12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this
License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content due to statute, judicial order, or
governmental regulation then You may not Use any Open Game Material so affected.
13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with all terms
herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses
shall survive the termination of this License.
14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision
shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable.
15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the
Coast, Inc. System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.;
Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan,
Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt, based on
original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Microlite20 © 2006, Robin V. Stacey
(robin@greywulf.net)
This product is 100% Open Game Content except for Product Identity, as per the Open Game
License above. Product Identity includes Microlite20 and Robin V. Stacey, Darrell King and Al
Krombach. Product Identity also includes "Clash!".
Version 1.0a The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright
2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved. 1. Definitions:
(a)”Contributors” means the copyright and/or trademark owners who have contributed Open
Game Content; (b)”Derivative Material” means copyrighted material including derivative
works and translations (including into other computer languages), potation, modification,
correction, addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, compilation, abridgment or other
form in which an existing work may be recast, transformed or adapted; (c) “Distribute”
means to reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display, transmit or otherwise
distribute;”Open Game Content” means the game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures,
processes and routines to the extent such content does not embody the Product Identity
and is an enhancement over the prior art and any additional content clearly identified as Open
Game Content by the Contributor, and means any work covered by this License, including
translations and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically excludes Product Identity.
(e) “Product Identity” means product and product line names, logos and identifying marks
including trade dress; artifacts; creatures characters; stories, storylines, plots, thematic elements,
dialogue, incidents, language, artwork, symbols, designs, depictions, likenesses, formats, poses,
concepts, themes and graphic, photographic and other visual or audio representations; names
and descriptions of characters, spells, enchantments, personalities, teams, personas, likenesses and
special abilities; places, locations, environments, creatures, equipment, magical or supernatural
abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any other trademark or registered
trademark clearly identified as Product identity by the owner of the Product Identity, and
which specifically excludes the Open Game Content; (f) “Trademark” means the logos, names,
mark, sign, motto, designs that are used by a Contributor to identify itself or its products or
the associated products contributed to the Open Game License by the Contributor (g) “Use”,
“Used” or “Using” means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, translate and otherwise
create Derivative Material of Open Game Content. (h) “You” or “Your” means the licensee in
terms of this agreement.
2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that contains a notice indicating
that the Open Game Content may only be Used under and in terms of this License. You
must affix such a notice to any Open Game Content that you Use. No terms may be added
to or subtracted from this License except as described by the License itself. No other terms or
conditions may be applied to any Open Game Content distributed using this License.
3.Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You indicate Your acceptance of
the terms of this License.
4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this License, the Contributors
grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license with the exact terms of
this License to Use, the Open Game Content.
5.Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing original material as Open
Game Content, You represent that Your Contributions are Your original creation and/or You
have sufficient rights to grant the rights conveyed by this License.
6.Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT NOTICE portion of this
License to include the exact text of the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content
You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add the title, the copyright date, and
the copyright holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original Open Game
Content you Distribute.
7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as an indication
as to compatibility, except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with
the owner of each element of that Product Identity. You agree not to indicate compatibility or
co-adaptability with any Trademark or Registered Trademark in conjunction with a work containing
Open Game Content except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement
with the owner of such Trademark or Registered Trademark. The use of any Product Identity
in Open Game Content does not constitute a challenge to the ownership of that Product Identity.
The owner of any Product Identity used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights, title
and interest in and to that Product Identity.
8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must clearly indicate which portions
of the work that you are distributing are Open Game Content.
9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated versions of this
License. You may use any authorized version of this License to copy, modify and distribute any
Open Game Content originally distributed under any version of this License.
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Open Game Content You Distribute.
11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the Open Game Content
using the name of any Contributor unless You have written permission from the Contributor
to do so.
12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with any of the terms of this
License with respect to some or all of the Open Game Content due to statute, judicial order, or
governmental regulation then You may not Use any Open Game Material so affected.
13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with all terms
herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 days of becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses
shall survive the termination of this License.
14. Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be unenforceable, such provision
shall be reformed only to the extent necessary to make it enforceable.
15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the
Coast, Inc. System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.;
Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan,
Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt, based on
original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Microlite20 © 2006, Robin V. Stacey
(robin@greywulf.net)
This product is 100% Open Game Content except for Product Identity, as per the Open Game
License above. Product Identity includes Microlite20 and Robin V. Stacey, Darrell King and Al
Krombach. Product Identity also includes "Clash!".
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Alternate Combat Systems
I came up with a general concept of an alternate combat system for D&D the other night. It's not thought out very well, and it's just a rough idea at this point. I doubt I'll ever use it, but I thought I'd share it none the less. One major drawback to this system though is it makes some monsters "untouchable" if you have a very low attack. I don't actually view this as a problem though, as it's actually more realistic. Sometimes there's just a creature/adversary that you look at and go "well damn, I'm running".
Note I just thought of this the other night. If someone else has already come up with this, or if it's a common thing, sorry. I'm unaware of it. If it is found elsewhere, I wouldn't mind being pointed in the direction.
First thing, this idea uses the ascending armor class system presented in d20/3E. The way it works is you attack like normal in that system, and whatever you beat your target's armor class by (margin of success), is how much damage you deal. Weapons could be represented by static bonuses, or you could roll 1d20+weapon dice as well.
There you have it, pretty simple and straight forward. It boils combat down to one die roll, which is kind of nice.
I thought of an alternative for this system as well, which I'll share now. It's the same thing, but you take the ascending armor class, and subtract 10. You now have a "Defense" score that can be as low as 0. You keep the base attack bonus and you can just call it "Attack", and it can also start at 0. Instead of rolling 1d20, you just roll the weapon's damage dice, adding the "attack" bonus, and however much it beats the "defense" score, is how much damage is scored.
This means two things: attack skill and weapons damage are far more important, and initiative is way more important. Lets look at two (kind of three) examples.
Assume two untrained, and unarmored individuals (no attribute bonuses), with daggers (1d4). Their attack and defense scores are both "0". These means whatever they roll for damage is how much they deal. This is actually pretty realistic from experience, as defense is usually the harder skill to learn. You give someone a weapon, and they can tear people up, whether out of shear fear from target, or just aggression. If you do use attributes, those initial bonuses (to armor class, or attack/damage) become extremely important to low level characters.
A second example would be a full armored knight (say AC 16), against a untrained peasant with a spear (1d6). Even if the peasant rolls a 6, he's not doing anything to that knight. The knight on the other hand will probably cut down the peasant extremely easily. There is something you could do to remedy such situations, and that's exploding damage. Anytime maximum damage is rolled on a damage die, you roll again and total, and you can do this infinitely if you wish. This is cool, because statistically critical hits would be more frequent (1/6 or 1/12 even, instead of 1/20).
So there's some fun ideas to toy with, if you're interested. Personally I'm heavily considering toying with the second concept for making a stand alone game, that could use D&D monsters with little conversion.
Note I just thought of this the other night. If someone else has already come up with this, or if it's a common thing, sorry. I'm unaware of it. If it is found elsewhere, I wouldn't mind being pointed in the direction.
First thing, this idea uses the ascending armor class system presented in d20/3E. The way it works is you attack like normal in that system, and whatever you beat your target's armor class by (margin of success), is how much damage you deal. Weapons could be represented by static bonuses, or you could roll 1d20+weapon dice as well.
There you have it, pretty simple and straight forward. It boils combat down to one die roll, which is kind of nice.
I thought of an alternative for this system as well, which I'll share now. It's the same thing, but you take the ascending armor class, and subtract 10. You now have a "Defense" score that can be as low as 0. You keep the base attack bonus and you can just call it "Attack", and it can also start at 0. Instead of rolling 1d20, you just roll the weapon's damage dice, adding the "attack" bonus, and however much it beats the "defense" score, is how much damage is scored.
This means two things: attack skill and weapons damage are far more important, and initiative is way more important. Lets look at two (kind of three) examples.
Assume two untrained, and unarmored individuals (no attribute bonuses), with daggers (1d4). Their attack and defense scores are both "0". These means whatever they roll for damage is how much they deal. This is actually pretty realistic from experience, as defense is usually the harder skill to learn. You give someone a weapon, and they can tear people up, whether out of shear fear from target, or just aggression. If you do use attributes, those initial bonuses (to armor class, or attack/damage) become extremely important to low level characters.
A second example would be a full armored knight (say AC 16), against a untrained peasant with a spear (1d6). Even if the peasant rolls a 6, he's not doing anything to that knight. The knight on the other hand will probably cut down the peasant extremely easily. There is something you could do to remedy such situations, and that's exploding damage. Anytime maximum damage is rolled on a damage die, you roll again and total, and you can do this infinitely if you wish. This is cool, because statistically critical hits would be more frequent (1/6 or 1/12 even, instead of 1/20).
So there's some fun ideas to toy with, if you're interested. Personally I'm heavily considering toying with the second concept for making a stand alone game, that could use D&D monsters with little conversion.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Dungeon Crawl! Another Attempt
Every time I've tried making a "dungeon crawl" themed game, I've tried to emulate rogue-likes, or utilize a more modern RPG framework. After playing Dungeon! though, I think I've realized a much better approach. I've already talked about games like Dungeon! and the very minimalist approach they take. Having played Dungeon! finally, I can say it really does get to the heart of dungeon-crawling: the suspense of finding monsters/traps, killing them or getting killed, and hopefully looting treasure.
With all of that said I'm going try one last time at this project. I'm going to start by simply taking the Dungeon! rules (probably the 1975 version), and simply converting any material found therein, to D&D mechanics. I might add some things that need filled out, since I plan on removing the board and cards, instead making it "playable with paper and pencil". This, I think, is where it will succeed where my other attempts have failed. I'm no longer treating it like a role playing game, so I no longer feel the need to make all-encompassing rules that can cover every situation. I'm only going to focus on whats important to dungeon crawling. If players want to role-play, or do more than the rules cover, that's their choice, but it's not mandatory to playing the game, or having fun.
Part of why I'm working on this now, is I have a coworker that's wanting to play every weekend. I have a 3 hour commute back and forth to work everyday, so I have no time to prepare a proper campaign. When we do play, I don't want to have to come up with everything on the spot, especially since we haven't had a consistent play group. It's becoming very taxing to make everything make sense. In other words, I don't want to have to describe how the party gets to and from the dungeon, and I really don't want to care about whether a dragon is living next to kobolds. When I normally Referee, it's very important to me that things make sense, so the players have a logic to fall back on, so they can role-play and problem solve. This will be much easier, just to let them loose and kill stuff.
I'm not entirely abandoning making a rogue-like tabletop either, and I think I could aim for an "Advanced Dungeon Crawl!" in the future, after we play this, and really nail down what we need. As an interesting note, I'm going to take inspiration from video-game development when working on this, and expanding the game. Adding in more content as it's requested, and as we find we want/need it. I feel like that's how tabletop RPGs started, but have since kind of flipped around; now they start by building a framework for every possible play option, and often never fixing or cutting out what's proven unnecessary, or even burdensome.
With all of that said I'm going try one last time at this project. I'm going to start by simply taking the Dungeon! rules (probably the 1975 version), and simply converting any material found therein, to D&D mechanics. I might add some things that need filled out, since I plan on removing the board and cards, instead making it "playable with paper and pencil". This, I think, is where it will succeed where my other attempts have failed. I'm no longer treating it like a role playing game, so I no longer feel the need to make all-encompassing rules that can cover every situation. I'm only going to focus on whats important to dungeon crawling. If players want to role-play, or do more than the rules cover, that's their choice, but it's not mandatory to playing the game, or having fun.
Part of why I'm working on this now, is I have a coworker that's wanting to play every weekend. I have a 3 hour commute back and forth to work everyday, so I have no time to prepare a proper campaign. When we do play, I don't want to have to come up with everything on the spot, especially since we haven't had a consistent play group. It's becoming very taxing to make everything make sense. In other words, I don't want to have to describe how the party gets to and from the dungeon, and I really don't want to care about whether a dragon is living next to kobolds. When I normally Referee, it's very important to me that things make sense, so the players have a logic to fall back on, so they can role-play and problem solve. This will be much easier, just to let them loose and kill stuff.
I'm not entirely abandoning making a rogue-like tabletop either, and I think I could aim for an "Advanced Dungeon Crawl!" in the future, after we play this, and really nail down what we need. As an interesting note, I'm going to take inspiration from video-game development when working on this, and expanding the game. Adding in more content as it's requested, and as we find we want/need it. I feel like that's how tabletop RPGs started, but have since kind of flipped around; now they start by building a framework for every possible play option, and often never fixing or cutting out what's proven unnecessary, or even burdensome.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
D&D as a Role Playing Game vs a Wargame
This isn't actually the usual debate of whether or not D&D is a 'wargame' or a "role-playing game'. Instead, I want to step back and view its merits in both fields.
I think I've talked before about my background with war games, and how I initially felt every activity possible in a game had to have a rule. That's the nature of the war games I'd played, and I'd played a lot of war games in which "anything was possible", and thus they had very complex and all-encompassing rule sets. It was my impression then, that role-playing games were just a sub-genre, in which you took on the "role" of a single character. This is mostly because I started with BattleTech, and in this case, that's true. In MechWarrior (the BattleTech RPG), you simply assume the role of a single unit, or pilot.
When I did finally get into role playing games, I looked for BRP, because it had the "simplest" rules, that could still cover every situation. I looked at the game master, as just another player, who just handled all of the "other stuff". That's why I fell in love with OD&D. I feel it actually utilizes the game master in a way that makes role playing games unique. In fact that's why I've started to gravitate more towards the original term of Referee; as in the game master "referees" actions, and can act as an impartial mediator. This means players get to do things "outside of the rules", and everyone can use logic, problem solving, and critical thinking to overcome obstacles in the game.
To me OD&D, and the games that follow it's spirit (early or rules-lite AD&D, B/X, retro-clones) are D&D as a role-playing game. I don't want to get in a fight with anyone over terminology (as if anyone reads this blog lol (except my three loyal readers, I know you're there guys)), so don't think too deeply about what I'm saying here. I feel like those games are role-playing games in the truest, and original sense. However, I feel like other forms of D&D make great war games, and that's a good thing.
There's a whole lot of discussion about specific terminology, and technically OD&D, even played like I describe is the literal definition of a war game (a game about conflict), but I don't care about that. What I care about is, OD&D lets me truly assume the role of my character, and role-play the scenario, with less regard to rules. Games like 3E, and even later AD&D however, are really fun war games, in the sense they have fun combat mechanics for killing stuff.
Personally, 3rd Editions failing is there attempt at making it a role playing game. I think there's an awesome war game to be had in 3E, and I realize that's what I had been trying to do with my "dungeon crawl" project. After playing "Dungeon!" tonight with some friends and my wife, I can genuinely see the fun in just killing stuff, and looting treasure. There was no "real" role playing going on tonight, but we had fun regardless. However, Dungeon!'s combat system was very tedious, and rather annoying (it took ages to kill some monsters because of the 2d6 bell curve).
A few times my one friend and I commented that this concept would be awesome played out with the actual D&D rules. I think you could take it further and actually utilize the d20 system for something it would be great at. Make it a true "game" in the original sense, something more like a board game. Something where you're not trying to cover every situation, and you're not intending to "role-play", and you do just want to roll dice, kill stuff, and loot the treasure. Then the DC system, and having rule for everything (in the game) would be useful, and maybe even fun.
Personally I'd take the d20 system, and just include the Attack Roll, Trap Rules, and Saving Throws. I might even just start with Swords & Wizardry because I know it better, and just tack on whatever is absolutely necessary for dungeon crawling. I talked about this a few times, one most recently, with how I could make a d20 Dungeon! game, by stripping out everything, including ability scores. I think this train of thought, and actually getting to play Dungeon! has helped me to see the versatility, and almost inherent "beauty" of D&D.
That's all for now.
I think I've talked before about my background with war games, and how I initially felt every activity possible in a game had to have a rule. That's the nature of the war games I'd played, and I'd played a lot of war games in which "anything was possible", and thus they had very complex and all-encompassing rule sets. It was my impression then, that role-playing games were just a sub-genre, in which you took on the "role" of a single character. This is mostly because I started with BattleTech, and in this case, that's true. In MechWarrior (the BattleTech RPG), you simply assume the role of a single unit, or pilot.
When I did finally get into role playing games, I looked for BRP, because it had the "simplest" rules, that could still cover every situation. I looked at the game master, as just another player, who just handled all of the "other stuff". That's why I fell in love with OD&D. I feel it actually utilizes the game master in a way that makes role playing games unique. In fact that's why I've started to gravitate more towards the original term of Referee; as in the game master "referees" actions, and can act as an impartial mediator. This means players get to do things "outside of the rules", and everyone can use logic, problem solving, and critical thinking to overcome obstacles in the game.
To me OD&D, and the games that follow it's spirit (early or rules-lite AD&D, B/X, retro-clones) are D&D as a role-playing game. I don't want to get in a fight with anyone over terminology (as if anyone reads this blog lol (except my three loyal readers, I know you're there guys)), so don't think too deeply about what I'm saying here. I feel like those games are role-playing games in the truest, and original sense. However, I feel like other forms of D&D make great war games, and that's a good thing.
There's a whole lot of discussion about specific terminology, and technically OD&D, even played like I describe is the literal definition of a war game (a game about conflict), but I don't care about that. What I care about is, OD&D lets me truly assume the role of my character, and role-play the scenario, with less regard to rules. Games like 3E, and even later AD&D however, are really fun war games, in the sense they have fun combat mechanics for killing stuff.
Personally, 3rd Editions failing is there attempt at making it a role playing game. I think there's an awesome war game to be had in 3E, and I realize that's what I had been trying to do with my "dungeon crawl" project. After playing "Dungeon!" tonight with some friends and my wife, I can genuinely see the fun in just killing stuff, and looting treasure. There was no "real" role playing going on tonight, but we had fun regardless. However, Dungeon!'s combat system was very tedious, and rather annoying (it took ages to kill some monsters because of the 2d6 bell curve).
A few times my one friend and I commented that this concept would be awesome played out with the actual D&D rules. I think you could take it further and actually utilize the d20 system for something it would be great at. Make it a true "game" in the original sense, something more like a board game. Something where you're not trying to cover every situation, and you're not intending to "role-play", and you do just want to roll dice, kill stuff, and loot the treasure. Then the DC system, and having rule for everything (in the game) would be useful, and maybe even fun.
Personally I'd take the d20 system, and just include the Attack Roll, Trap Rules, and Saving Throws. I might even just start with Swords & Wizardry because I know it better, and just tack on whatever is absolutely necessary for dungeon crawling. I talked about this a few times, one most recently, with how I could make a d20 Dungeon! game, by stripping out everything, including ability scores. I think this train of thought, and actually getting to play Dungeon! has helped me to see the versatility, and almost inherent "beauty" of D&D.
That's all for now.
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