Retrolite20, Monsters, and Spells

I meant to write a longer post tonight, but got side tracked as usual. Anyway...

(By the by I'm probably not going to hyperlink stuff anymore. OSR links die too often, I don't want to link without permission, and I'm too lazy to make links for readers who aren't there (Hello Absent Reader!), etc.)

I've espoused my love of Microlite20 before. I don't recall if I've discussed Retroroleplaying.com before, but I love that site, and I think they have the absolute best Microlite20 material. Microlite74 and Microlite81 are both "near retroclone" variants of Microlite20, allowing you to use the d20 SRD and relevant material in an old school fashion. Rock on, totally excellent.

I'd totally just have switched to playing these games ages ago, except they do two things I find really important, in a very non old school way: Treasure and Experience Points. The biggest thing 3E changed that I can never get past is the way it handles Treasure and Experience. The math should work out basically the same, and I don't care so much about not giving XP for Gold, but it just doesn't feel right to me. Old school experience systems are just so simple and straight forward. Coupled with Swords & Wizardry's brilliant treasure system (1d6 roll determining X 2-4 value of the encounter's XP), and I just feel compelled to stick with old school games.

Serious side note here, this is genuinely the largest reason I stick with old school RPGs (D&D, Runequest, Palladium, etc.). I just don't grok with newer games when it comes to reward systems. Most are too vague, or just too "feel good" for me (gain a level, whenever it feels right? I want to earn my levels!). Whenever I consider switching to 3E or Pathfinder, I just can't stand the idea of giving out treasure in any way they suggest in the books.

With all this in mind, and I'm sure I've said I'm going to do this before, I feel inspired to make a true Retroclone Microlite. I'm not saying I'm going to release it, I might if it ends up cool. What I want to do, is just kind of make a reference booklet of the AD&D or OD&D rules in a Microlite20 format. Basically, just a retro Microlite20 for old school material, instead of d20 SRD material.

Just for kicks, here's a list of some stuff I want to include:

• Classic AD&D and Fantasy Classes: Fighter, Rogue/Thief, Wizard, Cleric, Paladin, Ranger, Barbarian, Cavalier, Bard, Druid, Assassin (maybe...), and possibly some obscure ones like Jester, Samurai (hat tip to Wizardry), and Acrobat. I'll be using the 1E versions as much as possible, adding things from other games/sources as necessary/desired.
• Castles  & Crusades attribute modified saving throw system, with Swords & Wizardry saving throw target numbers (or there abouts). I just think this is one of the niftiest rules in any retroclone. Of course I might decide to go with something more Arduin, just to give this a Hackmaster feel (so many rules!).
• A Bard based on a mix of 1E & 2E, using the 1E Illusionists spells.
• Simplistic encounter system for Solo play, or easing the Referee's work in actual play. Something reminiscent of dungeon crawl board games, with "check door, go into room, kill, check for loot, etc." system. Not anything rigid  you'd have to follow for actual play, but useful as an outline regardless. Also borrowing Wizardry's marching order system, because it simplifies range attacks and who is in combat.

Nothing over ambitious, probably nothing useful, but that's currently what I'm working on.

This also allows me to do another one of the activities I've been desiring: a board game dungeon crawl. Simply using the 1E DMG's solo play charts will suffice for me. It gives me a game like Dungeon! with all of the good actual D&D material. Since it's old school, it's extremely easy to convert any material to Old School D&D and Microlite20, so there's no end to content I can add to this personal project.

This leads me to my next projects. Another conclusion I've come to in regards to not publishing my own games is my inability to write. I'm sure I could practice and get better, but that's not really in my priorities. I've realized what I really want, isn't to publish my own stuff, but to collect stuff for D&D. The main collection being monsters. Rather than publish my own retroclone with tons of monsters, I just want to compile all of the monsters I can come across.

What I'd like to do for this is create my own sort of Monstrous Compendium library. Find any monster I find interesting, type up a page of information from it (probably just copy it from whatever source, since I won't be releasing it), and stick it in a series of binders. Just a massive library of monster reference for my games. The next step will be to do this spells. Though that's a bit more of a crazy beast, even if there are less spells per say.

Starting Over

I can't believe it's been 2 years since I've posted on here. Time flies, eh? There was the divorce, then the move, and now a new job. The usual.

I wanted to scrap all of this, and start from scratch. However, one of my few readers, a long time ago, told me to keep the stuff on here for posterity. A remembrance of what I used to think. I think he was right. I can be reminded of how nuts I am. Besides, I'm thinking of going back and doing "Revisit" articles on some of my old stuff. In any case, I have a few final decisions:

I'm just going to play OD&D with some house rules, maybe AD&D on occasion. There is no need to make my own game. There's already so many out there. I've also realized that it has nothing to do with the rules.

The beauty of old school D&D, especially OD&D, is that you can use any material with it, because there are so few rules to get in the way. I know, enough people have written about that, so I'll save the speech. Long story short, when I get on into the OSR it was a time when everyone was making their own game, and I just thought it would be really cool to contribute my own little piece to the gaming world. Instead, I realize I have lot better stuff to share.

For example, I'm working on a Martial Arts system that can be slipped into anyone's campaign. Hopefully I'll be writing about it soon, but it's basically just a Feat system you can purchase with gold, instead of XP. It solves a lot of the problems I (and others) have with most Feat and character customization systems out there. It's also a nice aesthetic for it, and inline with my original "Techniques" system I made for Arcane Adventures. Finally, it gives me a martial arts system for an RPG that isn't too complex.

What else have I been up to? I have a couple cool settings I'm working on. One is Viking-Samurai, which I'm really surprised no one else has done yet. The other is an Enchanted Isle, with an Enchanted Forest. Definitely going to be going to Majestic Wilderlands, Isle of Unknown, Dreamlands, and of course King Arthur and other classic Fairy Tale settings for inspiration.

I had a lot I wanted to write about when I was at work today, but it seems I forgot most of it. It's okay, my handy dandy notebook is usually on me to jot down ideas.

In any case, I just plan on sharing cool ideas, and maybe a few commentaries from now, like most of the other OSR guys. Hopefully I remember to keep writing.

Happy Gaming guys.

Fantasy Crawl!

Fantasy Crawl!

Nothing there yet. It's a blog I started originally to track my ideas for my Dungeon Crawl project. I'm thinking since this whole Wizards & Warriors idea fits that theme and idea better than it does Arcane Adventures, I think I might start posting there.

The biggest divergence of this project from that of Arcane Adventures is the end game. Where as Arcane Adventures was meant to really have that old school feel, and support the old school philosophy and principles, this new game really doesn't. Instead it definitely seems like it's gonna make a great standalone "game". I truly mean game. No pretense of Role Playing Game, or D&D clone, or anything like that.

As of right now it's looking like the whole point of Wizards & Warriors is going to be: kill the monsters, grab the loot, and buy magic items and gear to kill more. Very hack and slash. Very fun oriented, and very much more like a game. More along the lines of an expanded Dungeon! than a D&D lite kind of game.

Plus a fresh start is always nice.

New Beginnings

I'm Back! (I Think)

Wow it's been a while. Long story, haha. This is also going to be a long post. To sum it up really quickly; Life Happened. A lot of bad stuff happened, then a lot of good stuff, and now I'm just kind of waiting to see where life goes.

In the interim of all of this, I've played a lot of D&D and RPGs in general. I've read a lot, and ton plenty of research. Checked out alternative places for ideas, like I always do (video games, music, literature, etc). I have a great idea of want I want in my rules now, and have a plan I'm sticking too.

If you haven't seen Searchers of the Unknown, check it out. At first I was against the idea of removing classes from D&D, until I realized it solved almost all of the problems I had with it, and allowed me to use material from literally anywhere. There are some drawbacks, but in the end I actually think they're benefits.

So what is Arcane Adventures going to look like? First off I'm not sure I'll still call it that. I'm think I should, because the default "class" if you can call it that, will be the Adventurer. Furthermore the game will be all about Adventuring. However that's just the way I'll play it. The actual rules part is pretty much just going to be a hack slash game. I'm toying with "Wizards & Warriors", which I believe I've mentioned before. This is because any character type you'll play as far as combat, is going to fall somewhere in between a Wizard and a Warrior. Bards? Wizard and Warrior who focuses on healing and bonus spells. Cleric? A Wizard that focuses on healing spells. Druid? A nature Wizard. You get the point.

Lets get on to some specifics, shall we?

Class Abilities (No More)

One of the things I loved about old school D&D were all of the weird and unique class abilities. However this eventually became my scorn of the system. No one ever wanted to play the weird classes, they just wanted to play the optimum classes. Eventually I'd just play OD&D and let players make their classes as we played, giving them abilities as we agreed appropriate. This eventually led me to question why I even had classes at all. So voila, no more classes.

Actions like picking locks, finding traps, or surprise, are handled via spot rules, common sense, or role playing. You can see this in OD&D, and my last Arcane Adventures update. Wearing leather armor? Well you get a 3/6 chance of surprise. Have a lock pick? Cool you get a 2/6 chance to pick locks, and you don't make any noise.

I know this method removes a lot of combat flavor, but I don't really care. Certain features, like expanded critical ranges can be handled via equipment. In fact most combat abilities can be handled via equipment selection. I don't care to into specifics yet, I'll just start posting material soon.

What are Characters Then?

Just like Searchers, characters are just Armor Class, Hit Points, Attack Bonus, and Saving Throw. That's all you need. Players can decide their complexity by how much gear they collect and what it does. An example of this, the prime example, is spell scrolls (runes, potions, charms, wands, etc.). Let's be honest, D&D has almost always been a game about collecting magic items; so let's just cut to the chase.

Simplified Magic

All magic is simply handled through purchases. This can be "role played" or explained however you want. Heck, if you want to go really old school you can make your characters actually go collect and quest for material components. This has two really awesome benefits in my opinion.

Number one it "balances" (I know, shun the thought haha) magic with non-magic users. I know this means everyone can cast magic, but I don't think that's an awful thing. It's fantasy after all. What this does is means there is a cost to all magic. No more 6 Fireballs a day, just because. Now magic-users will have to spend some of that hard earned treasure to cast more spells. This forces players to actually think before they cast spells, because they aren't free anymore. It also gives a nice incentive to actually go adventure more.

Second this opens up all magic. No more Class Spell Lists. Just magic. Use the lowest level (or highest if you prefer) version of the spell. IE if Clerics and Magic-User both get a spell, you use whichever version is available first. Furthermore I'm strongly considering the idea of set spell stats. IE no more 1d6 per level. Simply 5d6 if it's a spell you would normally get at 5th level. This opens up spells from everywhere by the way. Rituals from 4th? Sure. Magic from the d20 Call of Cthulhu supplement? Of course. Force powers from Star Wars? You might need to figure out a cost, but toss them in there.

Backgrounds, Professions, and Races

An idea I'm toying with, but strongly avoiding, is the idea of some sort of background. I realize this was almost necessary for Races (though not really, once again just role play it). I'm consider something along the lines of; Lizard Man +1 AC; Warrior +1 Attack. Though something I'm leaning towards more is the idea of "Kits". Classes would just be backgrounds that determine your starting equipment. Wizard? Starts with Robes and a Wand. Knight? Chainmail and long sword. You get the point.

Play First, Role Play After

One of my biggest complaints was inconsistency. Why would a Giant Ram be stronger than a Dragon (just an example out of thin air)? Here's a better question, why should I care? Monsters are now just a pile of hit points, armor class, and damage. Maybe the Ram is magical. Maybe it's twice the size of the Dragon. Figure it out later, if you even care. Same with characters, same with magic, same with weapons, treasure, etc.

What Does it All Mean?

Most important to me, it means rules where you need them, not where you don't. In other words, combat is one of the few things you can't juts negotiate. There are few other situations like that in an Adventure, so why do we need so many rules? We don't, and that's one of the main tenets of the OSR. I'm just taking it to the extreme, nothing special really. What is special is the particular combination of rules I'm keeping means I get to use material from everywhere, EVERYWHERE.

Something else, that I desire, is a game where you don't have to role play. Of course you can role play all you want, and removing rules that restrict that role playing is great, and very old school. But what about those times you don't want to role play? Maybe your playing in public and your shy. Maybe it's not your thing. Maybe you got some buddies that just want to play a game. You can do that here. You can just kill stuff and get the treasure. While most people see that as shallow and boring, I see that as an opportunity for some fun.

Another interesting side effect is this establishes a certain feel, that I think is unique amongst tabletop RPGs. In fact I think this will end up feeling like a computer game more. It will feel more like games akin to Zelda, Moonstone, Sword & Sworcery, etc. Games that focus on the hero, on adventure, and exploration. Most importantly this is a game that can be played one on one (or even solitary, if so desired).

Since I've mentioned computer games, I'm thinking of even using computer graphics. Old school pixel graphics of course. This has a few benefits to me. I'm not a very gifted artist, but raster graphics I can do. It also gives my game a unique feel, and communicates the style of game I'm inadvertently emulating. It's also totally old school.

Well that's enough for now. Stay tuned for material, because right now I'm probably just going to blog everything.

From Scratch

From multiple sources I've come to the conclusion (and pretty much confirmed) that most everything in D&D was just conjured from thin air. In other words, there is no rhyme or reason to Monster stats, or spell abilities, etc. Because of this, the best advice almost anyone has for converting or creating material is "eyeball it". This is a problem, not because of balance obsession, but internal consistency. I want my players to be able to use logic to play the game. I don't want them rushing in to fight a Giant Ram, because they've slayed a Dragon, and the Giant Ram should be easier to fight. (Just an example.)

Because of this I'm thinking it might be best to simply develop my own guidelines, possibly referencing D&D or trying to keep some level of similarity. I'm thinking (and redbaron at the ODD74 boards has a similar system) of simply making a Hit Dice by size chart (as in Human =1, Giant = 10, etc.), and possibly Hit Dice by human level chart (Peasant = 1/2, Knight = 5, etc.). Then have an armor class by type chart as an example (Leather/Natural Hide = AC12, Chainmail/Scale = AC14, etc.), and then maybe a few modifiers (Small = +1, Flying = +2, etc.). The same for damage (Natural attacks = 1d6, Fireball = HD x d6, etc.). Then you could obviously use the various XP determination charts from either 1E or 2E.

Spells would be a little harder, but you could still devise a similar system. Level 1 spells = 1dx+1/level, Level 5 = (level)dx, etc. Non combat spells might be a little harder, but I'm sure there is a metric you could devise and such.

This would obviously be a large undertaking, but I think it would be easier in the long run, to have nice guidelines for creating and converting monsters in a solid way.

Types of Classes

This is a quick discussion on the types of classes I've been able to discern from working on D&D. These are basically the abilities and progressions. I think they use a "Tier" system in 3.5/PF, but I'm not familiar with them. These types of classes can usually be combined in various ways, as with all D&D/derivatives, there is no cut and dry classifications.

The first type is the "Simple" character class. Usually a one trick pony, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. The best example is the Fighter. In AD&D he gets Exceptional Strength which makes him a general ass-kicker. He does a ton of damage, and can hit really well and really hard. The only thing "Simple" classes usually get as they progress is Hit Dice, and Attack ability; though sometimes they get an improving "ability", like how the Fighter gets extra attacks in AD&D.

I'm going to go with the "Powers" class, for second, because it was the second set of class in original D&D. This type of class is defined by a set of "powers" they can choose from, which they usually gain more of as they progress, but are usually expendable or only last a certain duration. This is the reason 4E is usually decried as homogenous (I'm not agreeing or disagreeing): all classes were defined by powers. This is also why 4E was said to be tons of fun (again, not agreeing or disagreeing). It's usually agreed the "Powers" classes, IE the Wizard, tend to be the most "fun", or at least most "customizable" (via spell selection). Powers don't necessarily have to spells, as shown in 4E or the Tome of Battle (IIRC). The original version of the thief, called the "box man" (IIRC), was a thief that got to use thief "powers" so many times per day.

The next type of class is the "Skill" class, or pejoratively the "Skill Monkey". Obviously the first example of this was the Thief. A class defined by a set of skills who could use in the game, which would improve when he progresses. The thief is also an example of the next type of class.

The "Ability" or "Feature" class, is a class defined by a set of features or abilities he can perform, that aren't expendable like powers; but pretty much constant, or in play when certain criteria are met. The Thief's "back stab" ability is the first example I can think of; wherein the Thief deals extra damage if he is able to sneak up on his opponent. The Monk, however, is the best example of a real "Ability" class. The Monk started with a set of abilities, and would gain new ones almost every level. Abilities such as break fall, detect poison, identify plant and animal type, etc.

Obviously most classes don't fall neatly into one type or another. The Monk for example has some basic abilities like the Fighter does, that would normally make it a one trick pony sort of class. However he also gets Thief skills, and then his defining abilities. The Paladin is a generally "Simple" class with a few abilities, but no where near as many as a Monk.

What's the benefit to this classification? Personally, I intend to make sure that I use all of these types in my games, so that there is real variety. Why shouldn't the Fighter be a simple class? He doesn't have to be weak or "useless" in comparison to the other classes; but that also doesn't mean he needs to have as many options or choices. I know personally, when I want to just play a quick game, I want that simple kind of class to just pick up and run with. I don't always want to have to keep track of a million abilities, or make a million choices before I start playing.

On the other hand, I want to have options and classes available for players who do want more control, or choice in their characters. That's the real way to get "every D&D player" at the same table. Give them options that are meaningful. That's one thing I don't like about D&D NEXT. The Fighter is flavorful, and relatively simply compared to the other classes, but I still have to decide a path and pick specializations and combat tricks, etc.

Dungeon Crawl Revised; Playtest

I'm actually in the middle of writing another blog post (my fist Monster Comparison), but I figured I should post something positive for the first time in a while. I haven't blogged in a couple weeks because I am employed once again, which is nice. A lovely perk of my job (kind of working with computers), is I've met some other nerd friends, who also happen to play RPGs. One friend in particular is very fond of Old School D&D, the other (and his brother who joins us) play a lot of Paladium RPGs. Last weekend we got together, and they agreed to help me playtest my "Dungeon Crawl" rules.

I didn't have any ink for my printer, so I kind of ran it all off the top of my head. It went great. All three of them had played Pathfinder a few times, so they had a decent point of reference. My old school friend said he actually enjoyed playing the Dungeon Crawl rules more than OD&D, and the other two said they enjoyed it much more than Pathfinder, particularly character creation.

I did end up switching back to using 3.5 D&D as the basis of the game. I've decided it's going to be easier to use 3.5, because there are guidelines for converting everything to 3.5, but not the other way around. For characters I've pretty much stripped out anything non-combat related. I've also trimmed the skill list down to just 8 skills. It's very much like Microlite20 in many ways as well; we've been using the one sentence spell summaries instead of the full descriptions; and monsters consist purely of Hit Points, Armor Class, and Attacks.

The way I've decided to handle experience is the 2nd Edition way for monsters, using the Level Advancement table from 3.5 D&D. It's actually working rather well, as there are a list of "monster level adjustments". I'm also using Swords & Wizardry's system for distributing treasure (2-3 times monster experience in treasure), as well as allowing gold to be spent on training for experience. It's all working out rather well.

There's still a large part of me that prefers OD&D, and the old school way of doing things, particularly when it comes to unique character abilities, skills, and racial abilities. The skill system is very limiting. I think this definitely works best as a "generic fantasy" role playing game, than it does a D&D style game (which I think are two different themes really). Hopefully with my monster comparison series of articles I can gain more insight into the difference between editions, and determine the best plan of attack. There is always the option of maintaining Monsters, Spells, and Magic Items from 3.5, while making characters function in a more old school fashion; though I don't like the dissonance that would involve.