Tengu, D&D 5e Style

Similar to my previous Catfolk post, another of my players is playing one of the "Ravenfolk", also known as Tengu, Huginn, or Heruti.

So here is the Racial Template I plan to use for Tengu. It is based off of Kobold Press's "Advanced Races 5 - Ravenfolk" book by Wade Rockett, which is released under the OGL. (The Open Content of his product includes new feats, spells, magic items, gear and player character race abilities, the last of which is what I am using for inspiration.)

Note: this edit includes numerous suggestions from James Ray, Benjamin Eastman and others I don't mean to slight by not remembering.

Tengu/Ravenfolk Traits

• Ability Score Increase: You are fast and highly observant. Your Dexterity increases by +2 and your Wisdom by +1.
• Age: Tengu leave the nest at 12 years of age and can live to over 100 years.
• Alignment: Tengu favor no particular alignment, and are as diverse in outlook as Humans.
• Size: Tengu are medium sized creatures. They stand roughly 5 feet tall and due to their hollow bones, weigh roughly 100 pounds.
• Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
• Keenly Observant: You have innate proficiency in Perception.
• Darkvision: You can see in dim light within 60 feet as if you were in bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light.
• Natural Weapon: Bite (1d4 Piercing)
• Languages: You can speak, read and write both Common and Feather Tongue

In the original text, Tengu also had proficiency in all sword-like weapons, due to their cultural upbringing, but I think that in 5e, that might be better left to a Background, so I have not included it. Likewise, though "gifted linguist" is part of their back story, I'm not sure how best to represent that in 5e. Maybe they take much less time learning a language than normal?

Also, I'm balancing the original race's high Dex/Wis by making them naturally proficient in Perception. I considered the suggestion to drop Perception in favor of Stealth, but Dex+2 and Stealth sort of shoe-horns them into Rogues. Also, in my view of Ravenfolk, making them fast (Dex+2) but keenly observant (Wis+1, Perception) fits them better.

The Children of Odin see all....

Catfolk, D&D 5e Style

I'm planning to switch my home "Pirates of Pathfinder" game over to 5e. My players in that campaign are largely disinterested in the sophisticated character building and combat options of Pathfinder, and I think 5e would be a better fit for them. Plus, I'm all excited about 5e these days. :)

However, one of my players likes to play Catfolk. Those aren't represented in 5e yet.

Here is how I intend to port the OGL Pathfinder Catfolk player race to 5e. Please see the link above for fluff details, I'm going to stick pretty close to mechanics here, though with an attempt to make it "read" like 5e.

Catfolk Traits

As a Catfolk, you are a natural explorer and trailblazer, curious and brave by nature. Your people are known to be generous and loyal to their family and friends, and catfolk are friendly with any people who offers goodwill.

• Ability Score Increase: You are likable and agile. Your Dexterity increases by +2 and your Charisma by +1.
• Age: Catfolk reach adulthood at 15 years of age.
• Alignment: Catfolk are generally Good, with the majority tending towards Chaotic.
• Size: Catfolk range from 5 to 6 feet tall, with female Catfolk tending to be 5" shorter than males on average. Catfolk are medium.
• Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
• Sprinter: You gain an extra +10 feet of movement when you Dash.
• Natural Hunter: You have an innate proficiency in Survival and Stealth skills. You are also proficient in the use of your claws (1d4 Slashing) for melee.
• Cat's Luck: You may claim Advantage on one Dexterity Saving Throw. This ability recharges after a long rest.
• Darkvision: Accustomed to nighttime hunting, you can see in dim light within 60 feet as if you were in bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light.
• Languages: You can speak, read and write both Common and Catfolk.

I'm not doing anything with Subraces for the moment, though the SRD Catfolk gives plenty of room for adapting the various racial feats and such.

I'm also considering a different take on Cat's Luck, which is mostly inspired by how my player keeps trying to use it. Instead of claiming Advantage (which mimics the OSR version), I might allow a re-roll, keeping the second value.

Next, I'll try adapting the Huginn or Tengu "Ravenfolk".

Notes: Thanks to Sean Bircher for his suggestions.

Just got my D&D 5e Player's Handbook!

Yesterday evening, my 5e PHB arrived from Amazon. Here are a few very brief impressions.

I haven't had a chance to really dig into it, but scanning over the book gives me warm fuzzies. The artwork is a bit less "Wayne Reynolds" than I like (I'm one of the few people who like the kind of Anime-style of Pathfinder) but it's very attractive. The book's production overall is very nice as well. I like their whimsical touches as well. It hearkens back to AD&D a little, which I'm sure is the point.

I was happy to see so many classes represented in the book. It's not just the standard "Fighter, Cleric, Thief, Wizard" by any stretch. I was a bit confused why there were only two bloodlines for Sorcerers, but I guess the authors wanted to leave some room for future expansion.

The spells list seems to be a smaller percentage of the book than it was in previous editions, though I haven't actually done the page count to verify that. I really like this edition's take on Cantrips, Spells and Rituals. It matches ideas I've been using in my own games. The "Spell Slots" system is interesting, though it doesn't mesh with my "spells are like grenades - you prepare them and then throw them" explanation of D&D magic. That's ok, the 5e system might not make as much sense, but it looks like it will be more fun to play.

I may have more impressions once I've read the thing, but honestly everyone's doing 5e blogs these days, so I don't know that I'd have much to add to the discussion. I'll stick with more obscure topics, I think.

Treasonous Thoughts

I'm very seriously considering ditching Pathfinder for 5e.

There, I said it.

I could never bring myself to sell my PF rulebook though. And it's unlikely I'll sell my Swords&Wizardry books. There are only two of them, and frankly, they're good enough that I'm still likely to run S&W for an even more casual game.

I only have a few non-primary PF rule books, though I do have a few full adventure paths worth of modules.

The only wrinkle is that I'm currently in love with the Midgard setting, and at the moment, that's only spelled out for Pathfinder. I suspect that until WOTC makes their licensing scheme known, we won't see any 5e Midgard stuff, which would be a shame.

Hopefully the rumored "3e to 5e conversion guide" will help.

Honestly, I'm probably not going to be playing much D&D over the next few months, since our "Supers!" game is going well. I'll blog about our latest session in the near future.

OSR Creature/Encounter Specs

In this post, Wayne Rossi proposes the idea that OSR modules should adopt a relatively standard stat line for creatures, based on a synthesis of the best parts of the existing corpus of adventures. I won't reblog his full proposal, but in essence, he would have creatures (taken from his original post) listed in an encounter as:

Orcs (4) - AC 6, MV 90', Dx 8, HD 1, hp 5,4,3,2, #AT 1, D 1-6, Save F1, ML 8

Black Widow Spider (1) - AC 6, MV 60' (in web 120'), Dx 15, HD 3*, hp 13, #AT 1, D 2-12, SA poison, Save F2, ML 8

This should be pretty self-explanatory and familiar to anyone who has played a pre-3e version of D&D with the exception of Dx (dexterity, useful for breaking ties in initiative, retrofitting "touch AC" or other purposes) and "ML", or Morale Level, which only exists in some variants of OSR D&D. The idea is, throw 2d6 for ML or less to stay in the fight. An ML 7 has an average chance to stick around, whereas an ML 12 will fight to the death.

Wayne also proposes an INT listing, which I wholeheartedly endorse. I'd like to see a switch to modern dice notation also (so 2-12 becomes 2d6, for example), but I digress.

The ML stat gives me an idea for one additional stat that would not be part of the raw creature description, but would be part of the stat block for the encounter:

MO (Motive) - one of "Guard", "Defend", "Explore", "Rest"

Guard - The creature(s) are screening access to some nearby location.
Tactics - Stand and fight. Send one creature to warn the location if the players are winning.

Defend - The creature(s) are inside of a camp of some sort
Tactics - The creatures will not intentionally abandon their camp.

Explore - The creature(s) are investigating the location
Tactics - Fight until 1/2 are wounded or killed, then attempt to disengage

Rest - The creature(s) have set up camp and are unprepared to fight
Tactics - Will count as surprised for 1-3 rounds, then will Defend.

In all motives, a morale failure will result in the creatures fleeing as usual.

On Kobolds as "Dungeon Elementals"

Wayne R. proposed in this blog post that Kobolds might be more interesting as "Dungeon Elementals" - creatures that exist only to reset dungeon traps, lock doors, clean up stuff, etc. Almost more of a Dungeon Maintenance Crew than the race of Draconic Megalomaniacs that they've evolved into.

Go read his article, it's really quite inspirational. I'm not going to repeat much, but instead I'll offer some thoughts of my own.

I love this idea. It clings to the sort of weird ecology that one might find in a universe where D&D things are possible. Kobolds are to Dungeons (specifically dungeons, not just caves) what Faeries are to Nature. The deepest, darkest Dungeons (as proposed in this blog entry) may touch the elemental plane of Earth, and may not even truly have been "built" so much as "grown". Maybe Kobolds are the Earth Elemental's way of maintaining and driving their creations once they've slipped into the Prime Material Plane. If you subscribe to the "Malicious Dungeon" concept, then Kobolds may be the agents of that malice, like electrons are to electrochemistry. Or conversely, once mortals build their dungeons deep enough, they inadvertently catch the attention of the lords of the plane of Earth, who send their material-plane allies to work the dungeon. Why? Who can fathom the will of Elemental Lords? ;)

In any case, Kobolds themselves are rarely encountered in person. They are exceedingly stealthy and can create secret passages as necessary to move around a dungeon undetected. As minions of the Elemental Lords, they seek to bring order to any dungeon they are charged with. They will coexist with other dungeon inhabitants, but in a Kobold-infested dungeon, even the monsters know to tread lightly. The Kobolds may not interact with them directly, but any denizen who causes too much conflict will find themselves on the wrong end of a trap, or locked in a room they could previously leave at will.

A Kobold infestation is a very serious threat to any mining operation, and many a delve has had to be abandoned after it reached too far into the ground.

So how do you get rid of a Kobold infestation? If you can trap them yourself, you'll find that they are physically unimpressive and easily slain. But hunting Kobolds is almost more like hunting Poltergeists, and their numbers are always more than you imagine them to be. Rumor has it that in order for an Earth Lord to send Kobolds, it must establish a gateway somewhere in the dungeon, and destroying this gateway is the only known way to end the Kobold threat. Once the connection to their Lord is lost, the Kobolds will gradually fade away, perhaps in search of another dungeon, perhaps re-absorbed by the very rock itself.

Character: Vanir the Halfling Storm Sorcerer

I made this guy up for D&D 4e a little while ago, and just rediscovered him while updating another 4e character on the D&D Insider character builder. He's actually a response to a question I asked myself - "Now that I have a Pathfinder Elemental Sorceress, what would a similar 4e character look like?" I got kind of off the rails though, and Vanir shares little with Jinna aside from their elemental sorcery.

To borrow a trick from Numenera, you could describe him as a “Halfling Storm Sorcerer who Dances with Wolves”.

I imagine him as a nearly feral Chaotic Neutral character whose Dog sidekick (NEVER a mount!) is his closest friend. He was found in the wild as a youth, after an unnatural storm took his family from him. Whatever caused that storm left its mark on young Vanir, who has gained an intuitive grasp of the arcana of storms and air elementals. Being so charismatic, Vanir makes friendly acquaintances easily, though his storm-driven temper makes him a dangerous foe.

Vanir only recently came into his sorcerous birthright (typical "18th Birthday" type thing), and he adventures to push the limits of his powers and discover what his true limitations are.

Here's his Summary data. It's not as nice as the HeroLab Pathfinder data, but it will give you the idea.

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======

Vanir, level 1

Halfling, Sorcerer

Build: Storm Sorcerer

Animal Master Starting Feature Option: Dog

Spell Source Option: Storm Magic

Found in the Wild (Heal class skill)

Theme: Animal Master

FINAL ABILITY SCORES

STR 12, CON 11, DEX 18, INT 11, WIS 8, CHA 18

STARTING ABILITY SCORES

STR 12, CON 11, DEX 16, INT 11, WIS 8, CHA 16

AC: 14 Fort: 11 Ref: 14 Will: 16

HP: 23 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 5

TRAINED SKILLS

Arcana +5, Athletics +6, Heal +4, Nature +4

UNTRAINED SKILLS

Acrobatics +6, Bluff +4, Diplomacy +4, Dungeoneering –1, Endurance +0, History +0, Insight –1, Intimidate +4, Perception –1, Religion +0, Stealth +4, Streetwise +4, Thievery +6

POWERS

Basic Attack: Melee Basic Attack

Basic Attack: Ranged Basic Attack

Animal Master Attack: Distracting Attack

Halfling Racial Power: Second Chance

Sorcerer Attack 1: Lightning Strike

Sorcerer Attack 1: Storm Walk

Sorcerer Attack 1: Whirlwind

Sorcerer Attack 1: Howling Tempest

FEATS

Level 1: Sorcerous Blade Channeling

ITEMS

Cloth Armor (Basic Clothing) x1

Adventurer's Kit

Staff Implement x1

Dagger x1

====== End ======

The SWords & SWizardry game continues....

I got in a session yesterday for "D&D's Birthday".  A week or so ago, the party had gone on a successful firebeetle hunt in the Delve, and gained enough XP to level up. The wizard's new access to 2nd level spells had him spending tons of GP on researching new spells and creating scrolls, not to mention using "Continual Light" (which in S&W, as in the older D&D's, is permanent) to upgrade party's lanterns.

Last night, the town's mayor invited the part up to his estate for dinner and of course to discuss some business. It seems that the local abby is hot to purify and reclaim the tomb of Saint Ulther (which the party had discovered in the Delve a few weeks ago), but are not happy about the idea that this Delve goes much deeper, and and probably contains increasingly dangerous foes who may wander up during a veneration service to eat some acolytes. So the Mayor and Abbot wish to retain the party as a "cleaning crew", officially sanctioning their activities (in other words, identifying them as friends, not rivals), and are willing to provide some "technical support" in the form of two magical staves - raise dead (8) and cure light wounds (50). The party quickly did the math on the equivalent cost in healing potions and raise dead spells, and decided that was a fair deal. They're on a timetable now though, and needs to get that Delve cleared out inside of 3 months, since that's when the pilgrims are coming.

The next day, the party descended to Level 4 of the Delve, wherein dwelled a huge and fearsome beast (the eventually determined it was a Manticore - really a bit outside their "comfort zone" to engage). The fighter used the Mage's new "Strength" spell to boost himself from a passable 13 up to an 18 strength, the bonuses of which came in handy over the course of the adventure.

As it turned out, there were also a number of goblins holed up down there. As many of their kin had become food for the beast, they were pretty scared, and they were willing to make a deal with the party to help defeat the beast. In reality, they hoped to loot the treasure room while the beast was chewing on the party, but it didn't work out that way for them. Though they took the brunt of the beast's attacks, the goblins and party actually made a fair dent in the beast's health, and only a few goblins died before the fighter critically hit with his battle axe. (The fighter wanted to chop off the Manticore's tail. I decided that if the fighter rolled a 20, he'd succeed. And wouldn't you know it, the next attack was a 20.) The Wizard plugged the beast with a magic missile to finish him off.

The party rushed in to the treasure room (having a fairly good idea what the goblins were up to), and the fighter slew two goblins in one stroke. (The advantages of being a fighter in S&W - you can take out low HD critters quickly) The remaining goblins fled, and the party carried as much of the treasure out as they could (thanks to the Fighter's temporary 18 strength, he just hoisted the treasure chest on his shoulder and carried it out).

And that was the end of that trip into the Delve. The party plans to go right back in, even though that means they won't be able to replace the Strength scroll in time. They want to prevent the Goblins from stealing the rest of the treasure.

However, there is a second Manticore, and it's not going to be happy that they killed its mate. And this time, they won't have a half dozen goblins to distract it.....

What Does Lovecraftian Gaming REALLY Mean?

I've been a fan of H.P. Lovecraft and his peers since I first discovered weird fiction and cosmic horror back in High School. I read everything I could get my hands on - Machen, Chambers, Bloch, etc. The Chaosium fiction collections came out in my early adulthood, and I found (and still find) them a great source for stories I hadn't read before. (Aside: I had to stop reading "A Season in Carcosa" recently, because even though the stories seem innocuous enough, I found them seeping into my dreams. I'll read more once the creeping dread fades.)

But I have never had a lot of interest in "Lovecraftian" gaming. You know, lots of deep ones going after people, ghouls, big, floppy tentacled monsters, etc. Essentially, the "August Derleth" version of Lovecraft - name dropping and cataloging, but adding anything new.

While I enjoy a good historical wargame as much as the next guy, it seems to me that the general approach to Lovecraftian horror is more like quoting Monty Python skits than writing weird fiction. As a geek, I memorized plenty of M.P. in my youth, but laughing about their comedy is not the same thing as creating "Pythonesque" comedy for people to laugh at.

So, how then does one do something "Lovecraftian" without resorting to name dropping (or re-skinning)? It's a tough question, and I don't claim that I have the skill to produce such a thing. But perhaps I can categorize what it might look like.

What made Lovecraft's stories compelling to me was the way he took things that we all take for granted (or at least took for granted back in the dawn of the last century) and turned them inside out. Jesus' resurrection and plan of salvation, horribly echoed in Cthulhu's return and subsequent scouring of the Earth (recall that HLP was raised Baptist, though he renounced that faith), the fear of finding out that your ancestors were not what you were lead to believe and that you can't choose your own fate, the shock of discovering that maybe a brilliant artist is not as imaginative as everyone believes. The list goes on.

So how do you do something like that in Pathfinder/D&D or Traveller, specifically without invoking Elder Gods and Non-euclidean dimensions?

I'm not sure, but here are some thoughts.

---

Traveller

Traveller's Third Imperium (The 3I) is in theory the easiest type of setting to convert to horror, since it rests in the conventions of the real world. However, it already has some "Elder Gods" (The Ancients - not godlike in stature, but certainly in power), hidden secrets (like who the Ancients were - spoiler alert from the 1980's: they were a mutation of a reclusive alien species found in enclaves throughout charted space), strange madness inducing phenomena (some people go mad seeing jumpspace) and hints that there was something more going on with how interstellar travel worked than anyone really knew.

These elements were not blatant expressed in the setting though. In fact, I suspect very few groups actually explored the darker side of the Traveller universe, preferring to focus on its decidedly humanistic and capitalistic themes. Mongoose Publishing's "Secrete of the Ancients" campaign did a good job of re-casting the Ancients as a living force within charted space, and had a nicely Lovecraft-y feel without invoking squid-headed super-beings. (Though there were some interesting ways that the Ancients achieved immortality.) But in the end, it was a Humanist's view of extradimensional horror seasoned with a dash of conspiracy theory, not something that contradicts your concepts of what reality is.

Clearly, something like Mass Effect's Reapers would work for Traveller, though they're more directly Cthuloid, not being "alive" as we know it, etc. But the Reapers are still re-skinned Elder Gods, returning when the stars are right to cleanse the galaxy for their own twisted reasons.

Where can we go in Traveller to reach the disturbing "We were SO WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING" state required by cosmic horror?

Maybe psionic powers are really a mental connection with higher-dimensional beings from "jump space", who can cause the familiar psionic effects, but at a terrible if not obvious price to the psionic. And maybe these beings have a plan? Maybe that's too obvious - science is wrong, mystics are right seems like a cop-out.

Maybe the dawning realization that the entire Nobility structure of the 3rd Imperium is in fact composed of "Manchurian Candidate" type Bioconstructs. And maybe they have been deliberately directing technological progress for the last thousand years, relentlessly pushing for higher and higher power jump drives. And now, misjumps seem to be happening more frequently than in the past. Recently, a long-missing ship has appeared in the outer system with only minimal power signatures on board. A local professor wants to hire a ship to investigate....

Better, even if it's a little "God Emperor of Dune" crossed with the Star Trek:TNG episode "Conspiracy". It undermines with the understanding of how society works, if not the structure of the universe itself. That fits well with Traveller's humanistic focus, which might be a drawback to the concept.

I suppose you could imagine some setting in which punching ships through jump space is disturbing some sleeping entity (reverse-Azathoth?), but then we're back to re-skinning.

Pathfinder

(Sorry, Pathfinder doesn't have an iconic title format like Traveller does, and the web doesn't have their font. But that's not a bad match for the color.)

Pathfinder is already rife with Lovecraft inspired nastiness, but none of it is truly creepy. (ok, maybe Aboleths....) Of course that's because once you catalog something, it's no longer surprising. Many write ups have great atmosphere when you first read them, or really stop to think about them though. But ultimately, it's just another kind of monster to defeat or flee from. Paizo does a good job with huge, world-shattering plots and clearly are fans of Lovecraft (almost too much so, I sometimes think), but I wonder if it would be possible to take a more subtle approach?

What does that cosmic horror even mean in a world with magic, demons, aberrant horrors and monsters? Can you add anything that would invoke actual horror for the players?

What we need is to take something simple and fundamental to the setting, and turn it inside out, changing the significance into something more horrible than you would expect. That's not as easy as it sounds, since countless authors before you have already pushed the envelope on this one.

To really up-end a D&D type fantasy setting, you would need to do something screwy like have the entire thing be happening inside The Matrix. That's right, not magic and gods, but a transhuman post-singularity setting, where reality was a simulation that could be hacked from the inside. The "twist" is that though reality appears infinitely diverse, full of life, magic and will, it is in fact only the shadow cast by cold data, interacting in complex but ultimately artificial ways. Fantasy lives because of the wonder and infinite potential of the fantastical realty. Showing all that to be merely an illusion would be soul-crushing to a denizen of such a reality.

But would that be cosmic horror for the players, or their characters? I imagine it would cause more than a few players to stop playing, though that's only a victory for horror in a meta sense....


As I mentioned at the start, I don't have any good answers. I'm curious if anyone reading has some ideas how to bring cosmic horror to RPGs without simply invoking Lovecraft's memory.

Pearl of Portal

I had an idea for a magic item over the weekend. I can not in any way claim much creativity for it, as you'll see. The flavor of this item should be different between OSR and D20, so I'm providing both versions. Needless to say, if you like one version over the other, don't let my arbitrary preconceptions get in your way of your game.

Pearls of Portal, Swords&Wizardry/OSG Edition

The Pearls of Portal are a matched set of flawless but otherwise unremarkable pearls, often stored together in a small felt pouch. To use the pearls, first touch them together, then place (or throw) one of them to another location no more than 360 feet away. While touching the pearl you still have, speak the command phrase ("the cake is a lie") and you will instantly be transported to the other pearl. Transportation works in both directions, and includes any items you are carrying and up to two friends with whom you are holding hands.  The pearl does not teleport with you, and if you were holding it, drops to the ground where you were standing.

You may use the pearls to teleport 3 times per day, after which the pearls must be reunited and exposed to moonlight for at least an hour before they can be used again.

Pearls of Portal, D20 "High Magic" Edition

Pearls of Portal are a matched pair of flawless pearls with a limited dweomer placed on them. To use the pearls, touch them together, then leave (or throw, etc.) one pearl wherever you wish. To activate the pearls, hold the pearl in one hand and speak the command phrase ("the cake is a lie"), and you and anyone else holding onto the hand with the pearl will be instantly teleported to the other pearl. Both pearls are consumed by this action. The pearls have a maximum range of 100 feet, and cost 1000gp.


Essentially these are a Dimension Door spell (Wiz4) crafted into a wonderous item that uses one of a pair of pearls as the destination. The S&W version is a permanent item that needs a "ritual" to recharge, the d20 version is more like a scroll or potion, and is priced accordingly. Players will hopefully come up with clever ways to place the target pearl (slings, henchmen, monsters who believe they found a treasure, etc.) and in the case of the S&W version, will hopefully be equally inventive about how they plan to retrieve the pearl(s) once they have used them. (Remember, the pearls do not transport themselves - someone has to go get them.)

Just a quick shout out to "Standard Action"

I just wanted to make a quick shout-out to "Standard Action", a fun web-series that chronicles the events of some adventurers in a D&D 3E/Pathfinder-inspired game world. They're going for funding to make more episodes, and they've already reached their first goal, so the only question now is how far will they make it?

The episodes are admittedly "low budget" level productions, though to be honest the video quality and makeup is surprisingly good for the shoestring budget they must have, and the writing is entertaining if you're a D20 geek. (And if you're not, why are you reading a gaming blog?) If you've seen "The Gamers: Dorkness Rising", (and if you haven't, you should) that's a similar level of production, though I think Standard Action's costuming and effects are a touch better.

Search for them on YouTube and watch the first two seasons. As you might expect, the second season is more polished than the first, but the first season has some fun moments in it. The cast and crew has a lot of heart and clearly loves what they're doing. It's no Raimey production (alas), but I like to throw a few extra bucks and projects like this, especially ones that make me smile, which this one did.

So check 'em out and see if you feel compelled to drop a few bucks in their tip jar as thanks for the laughs and funds for the next installment.

Old School Charm, New School Taste

A few years back, I grabbed a copy of Castles and Crusades, a D&D-ish RPG that has the distinction of being approved of by one of the fathers of D&D, E. Gary Gygax. It's a D20-license game with some decidedly old-school flare. There are a ton of reviews around the web, so I'll gloss over almost everything. The core game system is very modern in implementation though - it's d20 vs. threshold numbers all the way down. What's different is that unlike modern D20 games, there are very few rules or "build" options. What is there is elegant and simple, and quite source-compatible with old AD&D modules and newer OSG products, like OSRIC or Labyrinth Lord.

But for some reason, I didn't go for it. I ran an adventure or two, and while the game system was perfectly workable, it didn't grab me emotionally for whatever reason. I can be fickle that way, like how I dig Pathfinder but don't like D&D 3e.

Anyhow, as is obvious from my other blog posts, my current fantasy RPG "fling" is Swords and Wizardry. It's a "restating" of pre-AD&D D&D, also called "OD&D". (Original, I guess, or is that supposed to be a zero?) OD&D had a lot of loose ends in it, and S&W tries to tie them up in a consistent and interesting way. For example, S&W takes a very strict reading of the rules on strength bonuses, and ONLY lets Fighters (not Rangers or Paladins) use the bonus, thus making Fighters a more viable class - one that truly specializes in fighting.

One of the advances in recent years (aside from ascending armor class, which fortunately S&W supports) is the idea that a first level Wizard should be more than just a young adventurer who knows "much that is hidden", and has the potential to become great some day, but an active participant in combat. In Pathfinder, these beginners have "Cantrips", or Level 0 spells which they can cast at-will to do things like detect magic or maybe cause 1d3 damage to something. 4e goes farther and gives everyone at-will powers that are useful attacks, but removes a lot of the RP specific spells, or turns them into "rituals".

I think at-will and other ideas do not fit well with my understanding of the OSG aesthetic. Wizards, in game terms, are defined almost entirely by their consumables (spells, scrolls, wands, etc.) much as Fighters and Thieves are defined by their innate abilities. (Though to be honest, I rather like the idea of rituals.)

I've considered giving Magic Users an "Arcane Insight" ability that is a very light version of Detect Magic. If an MU spends 1 turn examining an item or willing subject, performing certain minor rituals (similar to spell preparation rituals or using magic items - just things MUs know how to do, not "spells" per se) and then succeeding in a Save (+2 for magic being involved), the MU can evaluate the magic of the object. In addition, if the object is cursed, the curse only attaches if the MU failed his Arcane Insight save. Using Arcane Insight requires touching the subject.

Seems like a lot of rules, but I think in essence it should be simple enough and someone more talented as rule statement could probably explain it better.

Here's how I see it being used:

Fighter: There's a door ahead. I don't see a lock, but I can't force it open
MU: Here, let me take a look. (1 turn and a lot of gesturing later). Yep, it's magically locked. Luckily, I have a scroll that we can use....

and later...

Fighter: Hey, that's a fancy sword.
MU: Wait, don't touch it yet!
Fighter: You think it might be cursed?
MU: Could be. Guard the perimeter while I examine it. (1 turn and lots of unhappy mumbling later) Well, I'm not sure what other powers this sword has, but it's definitely cursed. I think we need to seek a Cleric....

First Swords and Wizardry Game

I got to play some S&W last night. My daughter was on a sleepover, so only my wife and son played. They rolled up two characters each, both opting for the "hard core" roll 6 sets of stats in order, then make a character from them approach. If the character had fewer 13+ stats than it did 9- stats, we discarded it and started again. With two characters each, the prospect of dying was less frightening. Both players wound up with a fighter and a caster (MU and Cleric), and all had primary stats of 13+, though in a few cases the stat was 13.) I also took a cue from Pathfinder and gave them full hit points for their class. 

I was struck how "lame" the characters seemed compared to 4e or Pathfinder characters, who routinely have 17+ scores starting off. But S&W is an old-school D&D, and the idea is that players are not heroes when they start off, they have to earn that title. By coincidence, nobody has a Charisma higher than 11 or so, and most characters have at least one stat that is lower than average. Only one of the fighters has high physical stats, and the Wizard actually has a Wisdom as high as his Intelligence. None of the characters had the stats to qualify for Ranger or other more advanced classes.

None the less, they formed an effective party. the two fighters fought bravely, dishing out more than they took, the wizard was the only one who brought the fancy stuff like mapping paper, oil flasks, etc. (It helped that he was the one with the most money....) The cleric is clumsy, and even with his ring mail didn't have much of an AC. Curiously, in S&W, Clerics do not cast spells until 2nd level, though they only take 1,250xp to level up the first time. I found I liked these "average joe" heroes. Sure, each had a stat or two above average, but nobody was near the top of their range. They'll earn the right to call themselves heroes soon enough I suspect

We played the dungeon of Akban adventure. For motive, I had a local town put out a call for adventures to investigate a newly discovered staircase, believed to be the lair of some goblin bandits that had started to cause trouble in the region. The local cleric gave them two healing potions to assist them, and the mayor told them they were free to keep any loot they found, so long as they brought back evidence that they had found and removed the goblin threat.

Some well rolled Undead Turning and a timely sleep spell allowed the players to get through most of the dungeon in a little over 4 hours. (I kept very careful track of time, had one of the players draw a map, and only told them about stuff within 30 feet, the limit of their lantern.)


Even still, the two fighters almost got killed, with one needing to use a healing potion, as he had been reduced to 1hp. They made some good and bad choices, and both they and I got used to the flow of this sort of game. (We all play Pathfinder, and the various cantrips make certain things like light sources less relevant.)

I had originally thought to use some house rules, like allowing wizards to detect magic as a full-turn action, etc, but honestly things seem to be going well without such measures. I may still do 4e's "three strikes" rule for death though, unless an opponent finishes them off while they're down.

It seems our Pathfinder game is losing steam, and with two of the three players on board with S&W, I'm hoping we can switch rules for the next campaign. Honestly, none of them really understands Pathfinder. S&W is so simple, yet familiar (since it's still D&D), that I think I'll have less trouble running the game since I won't spend as much time helping the players run their own characters.


They got the goblins and discovered that there was more going on down there than just some unruly humanoids. But after 4 hours of exploring and fighting, they were in need of rest, and had treasure to redeem. The party returned to the surface to head back into town to recuperate and sell their non-coin loot. Gold pieces become XP in S&W, so after they sold whatever loot they wanted, we found the final GP total, and divided it out. More than half of their XP came from their treasure, which was novel from a Pathfinder perspective. On the other hand, they got no experience from braving various dangers, though the adventure was pretty good about placing gold in places with traps.

They decided to rest up for a week to get their hp back up to full and prepare for their next trip into the cave. I'm using the "100gp per level per month" AD&D costs, so I charged them 25gp to cover the expenses of living, partying, getting their weapons and armor repaired, etc. Even after that, they now have around 100gp each to spend. I suspect at least a few of them are going to grab some better armor. I think I'll just let them buy it rather than try to enforce some kind of "this town is too small to sell chain" type ruling.
I know my wife was enthusiastic about S&W. I'm not as sure about my son, who, as one might expect given his age, is a bit more detail oriented.

Plus I have to admit I get a (possibly perverse) pleasure out of playing S&W, with its simplified AD&D feel. With no gods, feats, skills, etc. the game feels more wide-open. Yeah, I know I can use Pathfinder or any other RPG this way, but I'm lazy, and if you give me structure, I'll use it. I look forward to some unbelievable (or maybe barely plausible) dungeon lay outs, cunning but untrustworthy goblinoids, strange oozes and molds, golden idols, lizard folk performing strange rites, lost temples,dangerous wildlife, and small keeps on the borderlands.

Vancian Magic and some Old School D&D

I'm a fan of "Vancian" casting. In my rationalization for it, the wizard creates magical "constructs" that exist only in a metamagical plane. The wizard carries these around with him and essentially throws them at the enemy like a grenade. If the wizard has a focus object, that object tethers the constructs. The casting ritual is the way to bring these constructs forth from the void and into reality. Metamagic Feats (as in 3e) involve the caster deriving new "designs" for these constructs, scrolls bind the constructs to paper with special inks, etc. Cantrips are spells so simple to construct that you can make them and release them in almost a single gesture (or word). Spell limits represent the wizard's ability to "multitask" and keep track of these constructs. When you sleep, your spells can "wander off", so it's best to dismantle them. If you go unconscious, you can probably keep your spells; I have the wizard make concentration checks for each spell left.

Sorcerers in this model can perceive the metamagic realm, and therefore can make whatever constructs they understand. There is still a limit on their stamina, though I'm coming around to the idea that it's more of a personally set limit, and the sorcerer realizes that to push beyond that limit most likely means losing control.

That's all fine and dandy for 3e or Pathfinder, but what about Old School D&D versions, like AD&D or my current brainworm, Swords and Wizardry?

S&W is a relatively faithful clone of the Original D&D (OD&D), which I never played. I started with Basic and then Advanced, which were a bit more detailed. S&W, like many old school games, doesn't really lay out a lot of rules. For example, though it says a Wizard can prepare X spells "per day", it does not define how long it takes to prepare them, how long you need to rest, or what happens if you go unconscious. Given the brutality of old school games, I have little doubt that an unconscious wizard should lose their spells, but that's a DM's judgement call.

So, since it's the DM's call, here are some ideas I'm thinking about for spell preparation in S&W:

First, it takes (Spell Level) divided by (Caster Level) hours to prepare each spell, plus one turn to set up/take down your preparation materials.

Second, each hour of rest will reset one spell level of slots. One hour resets your 1st level slots, 2 hours resets 1st and 2nd level, etc.

In other words, a 1st level wizard can re-prepare his spell after a 1 hour lunch, but it will take him an extra hour to do so. A second level wizard still only takes 1 hour to reset his 1st level slots, and can prepare twice as many spells per hour.

The upshot of this is that low level wizards can often have two "15 minute work days", and high level wizards may not bother preparing low level spells, since if the need arises, they can prepare such spells in a turn or two. A smart high level wizard will leave a slot or two empty so if, for example, the party really needs that Knock spell, he can spend some time preparing it.

Of course if the wizard is high level enough, he will prepare scrolls for these contingencies.

Player Character Cost of Living

All RPGs have ways of separating players from their hard-looted (or maybe even earned) money. Of course, there are equipment expenses, which make up the majority of expenses. Then, sometimes, players need to hire specialists (sages, transportation) or bribe someone in a position of power.

But everyone needs to eat and sleep. In most games I've been in, the GM will charge for a room and meal at the inn, but since the characters rarely spend more than a few days in any one town, and nobody ever seems to buy more clothing :), the idea of a monthly cost of living usually doesn't come into play.

However, many games have rules for such expenses.

In Traveller, it's your Social Standing stat times 100Cr per month, and if you don't spend it routinely, your Social Standing suffers. Players with ships generally also have a ship payment and maintenance costs, but that is offset by their ability to earn money with their ship in many cases.

AD&D (1st ed) had a cost of 100gp per level per month, to be charged automatically by the DM. The stated goal of this rule is to make sure players burn through money, just like the Traveller rule.

Pathfinder has expenses too, but they're not by level, they're by how "high" you want to live. In practice, it means 100gp per month to "live large" - much less expensive than OD&D. Perhaps this rule has changed because of the split between gp and xp, and expected character wealth? I'm not sure, but it certainly is a shift in the way the game works.

In D&D 4e, I couldn't find any equivalent rules, but I'll admit I'm not as familiar with the rules layout and may simply have missed it. I guess it fits the more adventure-centric focus of 4e, though it's possible they just moved those rules to a "Dungeon Mastery" expansion. <shrug>

Games like Mekton, BESM and other light systems don't concern themselves too much with bean counting, preferring to abstract those ideas into the character's background.

So, any thoughts? Traveller and OD&D charge you a lot to cover the various expenses of your Social Standing or Level's equipment and entertainment requirements. Is it even reasonable to port that sort of thing into Pathfinder, or will it skew the "wealth by level" mechanism too much?

UPDATE:
I found my D&D 3.5 books, and found that their is a variant rule for cost of living (instead of bean-counting), but it's the same rule Pathfinder adopted - a fixed price for how large you want to live, with 100gp being "pretty large" and 200gp being "like a king". This is still well short of AD&D's "100gp per level" though.

My Top RPGs from 2012

Taking up a meme from Bravo Zulu, I'm listing my top played (and even just fooled around with) RPGs of 2012.

1. Dungeons and Dragons, 4th EditionThis is the game system we use in the in-office RPG group, and it's probably the game I play the most. While I'm not entirely enamored with the 4e system, it definitely works, and the "at-will/encounter/daily" system is easy enough to handle. The on-line character builder, though not free, is quite simple to use, and you certainly can't claim Wizards doesn't support their players. I'm on the D&DNext playtest list, and what I see is intriguing. It will be interesting to see how that develops, and if it will cause me to abandon both 4e and Pathfinder. Maybe.
2. PathfinderI use Pathfinder in my home campaign, and it's the game I probably spend the most time being involved with. Though I was never a huge fan of D&D 3e, which seemed too much like a game for professional roleplayers and not a game for just having some adventures, Pathfinder feels good to me. I realize my acceptance of Pathfinder was probably made easier by the fact that I'd been playing 4e for a while when I got it. That's an easier transition than from AD&D 2e to D&D 3e. I do have to admit though, I'm still drawn to more old-school D&Ds, like Swords and Wizardry. Maybe I'll give that game a proper shake in the future.
3. Classic TravellerI actually had the good fortune to be able to run a CT game with some friends - that's the "Death Station entries I've made here. CT holds a special place in my heart, since (alongside AD&D 1e), that's what I grew up playing. The game is brutally minimalistic in some ways (combat sequence), and equally hyper-detailed in others (weapon and armor data), but with a little preparation work (which would be helped by a decent character sheet design - hmm, a topic for another entry...) and a group willing to abandon or handwave through the more precise grid-based combat systems of D&D, you can have a fast-paced adventure that matches up pretty well with harder SciFi movies for tone.
4. Mongoose Traveller
   The first of the "RPGs I didn't play, but still spent a non-trivial amount of time playing with" in this list, MgT is very much like CT on the surface, and has the advantage of having a huge library of stuff to buy for it and easy conversions for the older material. Some of the new stuff is awesome, some not so much, but Mongoose has done a respectable job trying to make a Traveller experience for today's gamers that mirrors what we had back in the day. Not all improvements are for the better IMHO, specifically the "Level 0" skill concept. This idea looks great on paper, and matches well with how people view skills these days ("your skill list is your playbook"), but Traveller has classically been more of a "skills are what you put on your resume, but you can try anything" system. That's what the Education stat was for. But I digress.
5. Mekton II and to a lesser extent, Mekton Zeta
   I love mecha anime. I used to be a inveterate BattleTech player, and though I flirted with Heavy Gear back when it first came out, I hadn't found an RPG/Combat system that felt right to me until I recently discovered Mekton II. (I bought Zeta a few years ago, but I suppose it was a "D&D 3e" thing - it just didn't capture my attention at the time.) I watch Robotech (and Starblazers) with the kids, and when they're a little older, we'll pick up some less "America Friendly" series. Mekton is almost a direct fit for Robotech or Gundam gaming, and the Interlok game system looks like a strange fusion between D20 (with its flat probability curves) and Traveller (with its skill focus, random character "life path" and more crunchy rules), though of course it predates D20, so I don't mean that comparison literally. Mekton brings in a lot of Anime tropes. My son and I worked up many of the Robotech characters (including MinMei) with very little trouble. With the right group, this game would be a blast. I'm not sure I have the right group though.
6. Traveller D20 (T20)
   Having said all that, D20 has to my mind a better "skills" system than MgT, and T20 has done some clever things adapting D20 to a harder SciFi setting. My at-home crew is more accepting of a game that has very strong ties to the game they're already familiar with (Pathfinder), and given that I have more recent experience GM-ing D20 games, I suspect that T20 is going to get a lot more play.

Hello, it's me.

After being, um, "politely informed" by some friends that G+ was not the correct venue to discuss the intricacies of my various gaming activities, I've decided to start up a blog.

So, "hDan" is me - an old handle I've used since back in the BBS days. Sadly yes, I'm that old.
"YAGB" is of  course "Yet Another Gaming Blog". Not very creative, but at least it's a 4CC and not a TLA.

The sorts of gaming I will be talking about are RPGs and miniature wargaming, often with an historical twist.

Though I love miniature wargaming, lately it seems I've done considerably more "thinking about" and "preparing for" than actually playing. I still consider myself a miniatures gamer, though it seems I have less and less evidence to support that assertion. Still, when I do play, I mostly like to play games like "Chain Reaction" and "DBA". I've recently acquired "Dux Bellorum", which seems like it would be right up my alley. Maybe I'll even get to play it some day.

For RPGs, I mainly play Dungeons&Dragons 4th Edition with friends, Pathfinder (which is a close cousin to D&D 3.5 Edition) at home, and Traveller (both "Classic Traveller" and "Mongoose Traveller") with anyone who is willing to play.

At the moment, I'm in three active RP games. I'm fortunate enough to have a job where many of my coworkers are also avid gamers, and I'm in two active lunchtime games. One is a long running D&D 4e campaign in which I'm playing a cleric. Sort of amusing, since I'm not really that into clerics, but I'm enjoying myself none the less.

The other game is a Traveller game I have just started. We're running Traveller as a "one shot" adventure, using "Death Station" as the scenario. I expect the game to run maybe 3-4 more sessions, then we'll see if people are interested in more. One of the beauties of Traveller is that it is so simple to create characters that it really lends itself to doing one-off adventures, and people don't mind as much when their characters die. Which in Traveller, happens a lot. Sometimes even during character creation.

Enough prologue. What you can expect to see here is thoughts on various games, small reviews, "house rules" ideas, and RPG session reports. I don't plan to put any sort of political or personal thoughts here, aside from maybe "Carthage Rules, Rome Drools" type nonsense.

We'll see if I keep this one up better than some of my older attempts, such as mindsay.