What Roles does your game support?
White Box introduced the world to this thing we call tabletop role-playing or adventure gaming. White Box uses class to define role in the game. Obviously the roles White Box supports are fighting man, magic user and cleric. If you add Supplement I Greyhawk the additional class and role of thief and the subclass of paladin become available for play. The class system is an easy way to define what roles are expected to play an important part in the type of story that unfolds. Class defines the movers and shakers in the imaginary world and helps the payer know how they fit into the game.
Other games have followed White Box and many use the class system. Each game using the class system provides a similar structure for role-playing even though the classes may differ greatly. Popular early classes that went beyond the White Box three include alchemist, forester and beast master. Inclusion of these roles as player character classes helps to define the type of game likely to be played. In my experience the addition of the thief class has the greatest single effect on White Box and similar systems because it brings into the game a skill system and defines sneaking and stealing as something the game can be about. A campaign based around a thieves guild where everyone plays a thief is probably quite different from one where there are no thief PCs.
It wasn't too long after the White Box taught people about this new hobby of role-playing before a class-less system was created. PCs who are rolled-up or built on a point-buy system without class in the equation allow for virtually any role to be played as a PC. I think it is even more important in a classless system for the referee to have input on the PC make-up because they PCs really shape what the campaign is going to be about. I like several systems that have billed themselves as class-less, but they run the danger of becoming a one-class system if everyone optimizes their PC to the same standard producing virtually the same skill-set. It is easy to end up with everyone playing the same "adventurer" class character.
One of the advantages of White Box was the three classes each had their own strengths and weaknesses, each had a role to play in the adventure that unfolded during play. For some players this seems more important than others. The 4h Edition rules retained traditional class names like fighter and magic user, but redefined roles as Defender, Striker, Controller, etc. I think this is informative and can help players understand the role they are playing in the game while allowing some diversity among the Strikers, etc. so that not all PCs built as Strikers are the same. For some players diversity is more important than others.
I have found diversity can be the background, character and personality I bring to any "generic" PC created with just about any minimal chargen system. There is really no reason for two White Box fighting men PCs to be played the same even though they may be mechanically the same. "Color", "personality", or other ways of describing unique features that may play no mechanical role in the system go beyond the role of class, but can be great fun. There is no better way to bring "life" into a campaign than by thinking of the PCs as "real" people with lives beyond the game. It isn't necessary to do this and many a fun game has been played with two-dimensional PCs. Whether one prefers their PC as simply their playing piece or "pawn" in the game or enjoys fleshing them out, the idea is for everyone to have a role to play in the game and to have fun. There is no "one right way" to do this.
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Inspiration: Red Box
The Spanish RPG Aventuras en La Marca Del Este (Adventures in the East Mark) is a beautiful product both in the original version pictured above and in the English translation version. Both feature the same high quality art as demonstrated by A.J. Manzanedo's red dragon above. The inspiration for Aventuras... is the Red Box version of the World's Most Popular FRPG. In his introduction to the English version of the game author Pedro Gil notes the effect of the original Red Box in inspiring his imagination.
I find inspiration at several levels in this product that has come full circle, being inspired by an American RPG, which in turn inspired a translation from Spanish to English to be sold in America. The artwork throughout both versions of the game and from what I have seen the supplements currently only available in Spanish is astounding and inspires my imagination. Asking myself, who is this warrior, how did he arrive at this point, facing the red dragon whose own history involves what depredations? The shadow figures that adorn the title suggest yet more is to be learned if the whole story be known.
On the first page of the Spanish version of the game, the "creditos", appears the following quote:
"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules." - Gary Gygax.
If they don't need any rules, what is needed?
May I offer - inspiration! Inspiration to tell a good story, to create out of imagination...to borrow, re-frame and adapt. To go beyond experience. To be inspired.
My Ugly Post
Where I Go Negative
I love this hobby, I really do. I am grateful for everything it has given me; hours of enjoyment, dozens of friends, and more. I started this blog to express that (and how much I like the Original Game), so I really try to stick to saying positive things about this hobby. I am breaking with this policy in this post because what I want to say seems important and perhaps may be useful to consider despite the tone (which may seem negative).
One of the reasons I like White Box so much is the choices it presents, the limits to its rules - some might say "gaps" - the result of which is to force the referee to make a number of decisions about the game being played at their table. "Rulings not rules" - this empowers the referee, but can, with a poor referee at the table, lead to a bad game, one in which the players have little fun and perhaps are even taken advantage of. It also means that there is little in the way of standardized play - something Gary Gygax noted and sought to remedy with the Advanced game rules.
Many games written post White Box strive to tighten the loose ends, cover as many possibilities as possible and give players a "complete" set of rules that require no rulings or "making stuff up" on the part of the referee. Some systems are multi-volume with many official supplements together totaling thousands of pages of rules. Often the supplemental rules are exceptions that break the core rules in some circumstances. Much of the supplemental material in some systems seems aimed at increasing PC diversity to the delight of players (and making $$ for the publisher), some of whom seem to never tire of "trying out the latest". The result can be that while the player may know just the rules as they pertain to their PC, the referee using such system either must master all the available material or run a campaign where new rule material is constantly being thrown at them by players, material that may cause the referee to adjust "on the fly" and may in fact not really be to their liking. The result can become a bit like "herding cats" for a referee who tries to accommodate such players.
Rather than let this happen and potentially spoil the fun for all, I think some thought could go into the way a campaign handles their rules. Communication between players and referee about the kind of campaign they will all enjoy together can go a long way towards solving potential issues. The game system choice available today is quite large and it is both easy to find a game system that excites you and difficult to agree on the "best" system for a group. With choice comes diversity. Compromise may be necessary.
I am all for players knowing the rules, although it is certainly possible to have an enjoyable time with a group playing a game which is only well known by the referee, who is teaching the rules by playing. It is only by knowing the rules and mastering them, that players are able to anticipate their odds of success, develop specific strategies and demonstrate skill as players. The game is ultimately a social contract between all who participate and all are entitled to a fun time. A referee who frequently changes the rules during a game can expect to lose players. A rule system that constantly changes the rules with new supplemental materials can expect to lose referees who tire of players who spring something new on them every session. I personally approach every game as if the referee has total right to make it their own... I understand that is a cornerstone of "Old School" play.
The days of everyone in the hobby playing one game are behind us. If we really think about it, even White Box was never one game as each referee ran the game differently. Today the hobby is faced with "an embarrassment of riches", a situation causing problems of its own. Ron Edwards writes an essay, which appears at the end of his game Sorcerer, titled "System Does Matter". He is correct. What matters even more may be that friends agree on what system they will play together. Shared fun is the essence of the hobby, with the emphasis on "shared".
I love this hobby, I really do. I am grateful for everything it has given me; hours of enjoyment, dozens of friends, and more. I started this blog to express that (and how much I like the Original Game), so I really try to stick to saying positive things about this hobby. I am breaking with this policy in this post because what I want to say seems important and perhaps may be useful to consider despite the tone (which may seem negative).
One of the reasons I like White Box so much is the choices it presents, the limits to its rules - some might say "gaps" - the result of which is to force the referee to make a number of decisions about the game being played at their table. "Rulings not rules" - this empowers the referee, but can, with a poor referee at the table, lead to a bad game, one in which the players have little fun and perhaps are even taken advantage of. It also means that there is little in the way of standardized play - something Gary Gygax noted and sought to remedy with the Advanced game rules.
Many games written post White Box strive to tighten the loose ends, cover as many possibilities as possible and give players a "complete" set of rules that require no rulings or "making stuff up" on the part of the referee. Some systems are multi-volume with many official supplements together totaling thousands of pages of rules. Often the supplemental rules are exceptions that break the core rules in some circumstances. Much of the supplemental material in some systems seems aimed at increasing PC diversity to the delight of players (and making $$ for the publisher), some of whom seem to never tire of "trying out the latest". The result can be that while the player may know just the rules as they pertain to their PC, the referee using such system either must master all the available material or run a campaign where new rule material is constantly being thrown at them by players, material that may cause the referee to adjust "on the fly" and may in fact not really be to their liking. The result can become a bit like "herding cats" for a referee who tries to accommodate such players.
Rather than let this happen and potentially spoil the fun for all, I think some thought could go into the way a campaign handles their rules. Communication between players and referee about the kind of campaign they will all enjoy together can go a long way towards solving potential issues. The game system choice available today is quite large and it is both easy to find a game system that excites you and difficult to agree on the "best" system for a group. With choice comes diversity. Compromise may be necessary.
I am all for players knowing the rules, although it is certainly possible to have an enjoyable time with a group playing a game which is only well known by the referee, who is teaching the rules by playing. It is only by knowing the rules and mastering them, that players are able to anticipate their odds of success, develop specific strategies and demonstrate skill as players. The game is ultimately a social contract between all who participate and all are entitled to a fun time. A referee who frequently changes the rules during a game can expect to lose players. A rule system that constantly changes the rules with new supplemental materials can expect to lose referees who tire of players who spring something new on them every session. I personally approach every game as if the referee has total right to make it their own... I understand that is a cornerstone of "Old School" play.
The days of everyone in the hobby playing one game are behind us. If we really think about it, even White Box was never one game as each referee ran the game differently. Today the hobby is faced with "an embarrassment of riches", a situation causing problems of its own. Ron Edwards writes an essay, which appears at the end of his game Sorcerer, titled "System Does Matter". He is correct. What matters even more may be that friends agree on what system they will play together. Shared fun is the essence of the hobby, with the emphasis on "shared".
Thursday, March 24, 2016
dedicated to Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson...
With this dedication author Junichi Inoue acknowledges the contribution of the authors of White Box in his Japanese RPG, Tenra Bansho Zero. The hobby spread internationally not long after White Box and other titles became available. The new hobby, first developed in the Midwest, quickly gained followers across the nation and beyond the American borders. Today we have many fine games developed around the globe and being translated into English from other languages. I consider this a great boon as I am finding many of the translated titles to be very captivating.
Wonderfully translated by Andy Kitkowski who takes extra pains to include extra explanatory text so that those of us not intimately familiar with Japanese culture references can "get it", Tenra Bansho Zero (TBZ) is beautifully illustrated "Hyper Asian Fantasy" (as it bills itself) and a game with revolutionary mechanics sometimes compared to kabuki theater. Written by an Anime artist, TBZ makes use of Japanese Anime and Manga tropes. I think of Ninja Scroll, but there are also giant armors, mannequins and high tech gadgets. TBZ comes as two large volumes and is packed with cultural goodness describing the imaginary world of Tenra. Rules fall into the more narrative style and use a dice pool system.
Ryuutama, written by Atsuhiro Okada and translated by Matt Sanchez and Andy Kitkowski, is another Japanese TRPG (Table-talk Role Playing Game as it refers to the hobby) I really like. Ryuutama is a game about traveling adventure and PCs represent more mundane folks than the heroes found in most RPGs; merchants, farmers, and artisans, rather than fighting men, magic users and clerics. The referee creates and runs the Ryuu (dragon) who sometimes assists, points the way and rewards the party of travelers. Together the players and referee create a story which "feeds the young dragons", keeping the land healthy. The game book is beautifully illustrated and has an environmental theme that runs throughout. It reminds me of Princess Mononoke.
Two Swedish RPGs I find particularly inspiring are Whitehack by Christian Mehrstam and Symbaroum published by Jarnringen, authors Martin Bergstrom, Mattias Johnsson, Anders Lekberg, Mattias Lilja and Johan Nohr. Physically Whitehack and Symbaroum couldn't be more different, but both are packed with great gaming ideas and fantastic settings. Whitehack is a thin 64 page book with a simple character-sheet cover and no interior illustrations - there isn't even a map of the White Curse world, but it isn't missed. Whitehack makes good use of the reader's imagination to visualize the setting. In contrast, Symbaroum is lavishly illustrated with color images on nearly every one of its 264 pages. I like dark fantasy settings and Symbaroum's artwork invokes one of the darkest moods I have seen in gaming books. The setting for the Symbaroum core book is Davokar, a dark forest on the edge of civilization inhabited by hostile elves and worse. It is very rich in detail and definitely not cookie-cutter stuff. Symbaroum uses a unique (to me) d20 system where only the player rolls the dice. The referee takes their cue from the player roll and describes what happens, so it's bit on the narrative side. Whitehack uses two d20's rolled together (similar to 5th Edition) and has a chargen system that I think is genius! There are three classes, Deft, Strong and Wise. Each classes has a number of slots that give the PC special abilities, such as combat abilities or spell abilities. Whitehack classifies species (race), vocation and affiliation as Groups and uses these to greatly individualize the PC. Groups can be virtually anything the player and referee agree to and empower the PC to have advantages (take the higher roll of two d20s) when performing an activity relevant to one of their Groups.
Among the more traditional translated games I have encountered are Aventuras en La Marca del Este (Adventures in the East Mark) by Pedro Gil and friends, and Epees & Sorcellerie (Swords & Sorcerie) by Nicolas Dessaux. Adventures... is a Spanish take on the Red Box version of the World's Most Famous RPG and follows the original pretty well (although there are some changes like the addition of the Paladin and Explorer classes). It is a strong product that comes in a nice box with a referee screen and dice, has excellent artwork, reads well and includes an original setting, the "East Mark", that I find very engaging. Epees... uses a 2d6 system and is not a direct clone, but has a strong White Box feel about it, although with a bit less Tolkien and a bit more sword & sorcery. Epees draws on the Chainmail rules as well as White Box and the OSR in general to create a game with its own feel. Comparing it to White Box, I find Epees illustrative of the subtle ways rule changes can influence implied setting.
I have not had the privilege of gaming with a group outside my own country, but I am very encouraged for the hobby by the things I read on the web and the games I have come in contact with that originate outside the United States. The hobby seems to be thriving beyond North America and many good ideas and games are coming in as well as going out these days. I think Gary and Dave would be pleased.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Resource Management
Torches, Rations, Hit Points, and Spell Slots
White Box is a game of managing limited resources as much as it is about adventure, discovery and treasure acquisition. Hand waving the resources can break major links with reality and make the whole experience seem less real. Managing scarce resources can also add an element of tension that may otherwise be lacking, tension that heightens excitement and ultimately, enjoyment.
One of the things I enjoy about reading (and playing) some of the indie RPGs is they often help me bring aspects of the hobby into more clear focus. Torchbearer by Thor Olavsrud and Luke Crane (The Burning Wheel) is a thought-provoking dungeon crawl game that brings into focus the need to manage the resources and condition of one's party of adventurers. White Box was certainly designed with dungeon crawling in mind and although it does much more than facilitate dungeon adventure, the dungeon is perhaps the easiest environment for a referee due to its limited scope.
In order to succeed at White Box dungeon crawling, the party of adventurers have a set of tools including items purchased or acquired, such as food, torches, potions, etc. and expendable aspects of the individual character that are not unlimited, such as hit points and spells that can be cast. The idea is to enter the dungeon, grab as much wealth and experience as possible during the time the resources hold out and get back to safety in order to reap the benefits of their accomplishments. A skillful referee may add some mystery to unravel giving the party reasons to go into the underworld other than treasure and experience, but at its most basic it's pretty simple fun. The challenge is to work together, be smart about getting the treasure and managing the resources to maximize profit.
In order to build tension and excitement, the referee needs to track the passage of in-game time carefully. Using up torches and other sources of light, consuming food and water, tracking healing and other health conditions and recharging of spells all requires accounting for time in a fair manner. There aren't many monsters that can cause terror as easily as the prospect of a party plunged into darkness from which they have no ready remedy.
Resources are important when traveling across the wilderness as well. Again I am reminded of a game that particularly highlights this aspect of the hobby, but it applies to White Box and most other RPGs as well. Ryuutama (Dragon-egg) by Atsuhiro Okada and translated from Japanese by Matt Sanchez and Andy Kitkowski, is a delightful RPG about travel in a medieval-esque landscape where the journey is the story. Ryuutama makes sleep, weather, terrain and equipment such as clothing and footwear (often taken for granted) all important resources to be managed along the journey. It does so smoothly and in a manner that incorporates it all into the "story" rather than making it a bookkeeping chore. Ryuutama is one of those games that have changed my attitude about some aspect of gaming and is likely to influence how I referee all other games.
The positive outcome of resource management is that of adding depth and flavor to the game. The resources seem real and helps connect the game-play with reality. We can all identify with being sleepy, hungry or in the dark. Managing certain resources add to the verisimilitude as long as it is handled in a quick, easily understood manner that has realistic consequences. Some players may even find a new calling as "party quartermaster".
White Box is a game of managing limited resources as much as it is about adventure, discovery and treasure acquisition. Hand waving the resources can break major links with reality and make the whole experience seem less real. Managing scarce resources can also add an element of tension that may otherwise be lacking, tension that heightens excitement and ultimately, enjoyment.
One of the things I enjoy about reading (and playing) some of the indie RPGs is they often help me bring aspects of the hobby into more clear focus. Torchbearer by Thor Olavsrud and Luke Crane (The Burning Wheel) is a thought-provoking dungeon crawl game that brings into focus the need to manage the resources and condition of one's party of adventurers. White Box was certainly designed with dungeon crawling in mind and although it does much more than facilitate dungeon adventure, the dungeon is perhaps the easiest environment for a referee due to its limited scope.
In order to succeed at White Box dungeon crawling, the party of adventurers have a set of tools including items purchased or acquired, such as food, torches, potions, etc. and expendable aspects of the individual character that are not unlimited, such as hit points and spells that can be cast. The idea is to enter the dungeon, grab as much wealth and experience as possible during the time the resources hold out and get back to safety in order to reap the benefits of their accomplishments. A skillful referee may add some mystery to unravel giving the party reasons to go into the underworld other than treasure and experience, but at its most basic it's pretty simple fun. The challenge is to work together, be smart about getting the treasure and managing the resources to maximize profit.
In order to build tension and excitement, the referee needs to track the passage of in-game time carefully. Using up torches and other sources of light, consuming food and water, tracking healing and other health conditions and recharging of spells all requires accounting for time in a fair manner. There aren't many monsters that can cause terror as easily as the prospect of a party plunged into darkness from which they have no ready remedy.
Resources are important when traveling across the wilderness as well. Again I am reminded of a game that particularly highlights this aspect of the hobby, but it applies to White Box and most other RPGs as well. Ryuutama (Dragon-egg) by Atsuhiro Okada and translated from Japanese by Matt Sanchez and Andy Kitkowski, is a delightful RPG about travel in a medieval-esque landscape where the journey is the story. Ryuutama makes sleep, weather, terrain and equipment such as clothing and footwear (often taken for granted) all important resources to be managed along the journey. It does so smoothly and in a manner that incorporates it all into the "story" rather than making it a bookkeeping chore. Ryuutama is one of those games that have changed my attitude about some aspect of gaming and is likely to influence how I referee all other games.
The positive outcome of resource management is that of adding depth and flavor to the game. The resources seem real and helps connect the game-play with reality. We can all identify with being sleepy, hungry or in the dark. Managing certain resources add to the verisimilitude as long as it is handled in a quick, easily understood manner that has realistic consequences. Some players may even find a new calling as "party quartermaster".
Thursday, March 17, 2016
White Box Combat and Beyond
The Rest of the Story...
White Box provides rules for combat, moving, surprise, encountering monsters, really all the things one might expect given its wargame roots and dungeon crawl setting. When the main in-game activity is exploring an underground, fighting hostile "monsters" and grabbing their treasure in order to "level-up" between dungeon delves, combat is perhaps the most important activity. What White Box doesn't give are rules for interacting with NPCs. Well, there is the Loyalty Base Charisma modifier, but that is about it. The rest is role-play.
Playing White Box, it won't be long before some enterprising player will propose to "trick the monster out of his treasure rather than risk a fight". Enter role-playing. Some games give extensive rules for social interaction, some I enjoy like Luke Crane's The Burning Wheel. Other games seem to go half-way allowing for social skills like "persuasion" and "diplomacy" which can be rolled against in order to change an NPC's mind about something. White Box leaves all that "talking stuff" up to the players and referee to actually "talk out".
Skill-based systems include many "skill" activities other than those involved with social interaction. White Box doesn't have "skills", but the idea does show up in Supplement I Greyhawk under the Thief class abilities. The same concepts covered by "skills" in some systems can be handled by discussion between player and referee followed by a die roll if deemed necessary. I personally favor allowing players to state their PC should have some skill in the area because of something specific to the PC's background. If the argument sounds reasonable, I allow it as referee.
There are no rules in White Box for backgrounds or personality traits beyond alignment, which I see as more "what team one plays for" rather than as a definition of personality (although it certainly can be used that way). It's White Box, so alignment is also open for interpretation. Putting alignment aside, personality can develop through play as players "get to know their PCs" through their in-game actions, or personality can follow a preconceived character concept. Backgrounds can be briefly stated or written out extensively. Often a few words are sufficient. "Born on a farm and ran away to sea at the age of 14." gives one a pretty fair idea of a PC background.
In White Box it is perfectly acceptable to hand-wave all pretense at fleshing out the PC and playing the game with characters as little more than a series of stats on paper and a marker on the game table for spacial reference, similar to a ship in a naval wargame. It's also possible to bring the imagination into play and mentally construct a fully rounded avatar or alter ego for play. White Box encourages making the game your own, expanding where you like and that's one of the things I like best about it.
White Box provides rules for combat, moving, surprise, encountering monsters, really all the things one might expect given its wargame roots and dungeon crawl setting. When the main in-game activity is exploring an underground, fighting hostile "monsters" and grabbing their treasure in order to "level-up" between dungeon delves, combat is perhaps the most important activity. What White Box doesn't give are rules for interacting with NPCs. Well, there is the Loyalty Base Charisma modifier, but that is about it. The rest is role-play.
Playing White Box, it won't be long before some enterprising player will propose to "trick the monster out of his treasure rather than risk a fight". Enter role-playing. Some games give extensive rules for social interaction, some I enjoy like Luke Crane's The Burning Wheel. Other games seem to go half-way allowing for social skills like "persuasion" and "diplomacy" which can be rolled against in order to change an NPC's mind about something. White Box leaves all that "talking stuff" up to the players and referee to actually "talk out".
Skill-based systems include many "skill" activities other than those involved with social interaction. White Box doesn't have "skills", but the idea does show up in Supplement I Greyhawk under the Thief class abilities. The same concepts covered by "skills" in some systems can be handled by discussion between player and referee followed by a die roll if deemed necessary. I personally favor allowing players to state their PC should have some skill in the area because of something specific to the PC's background. If the argument sounds reasonable, I allow it as referee.
There are no rules in White Box for backgrounds or personality traits beyond alignment, which I see as more "what team one plays for" rather than as a definition of personality (although it certainly can be used that way). It's White Box, so alignment is also open for interpretation. Putting alignment aside, personality can develop through play as players "get to know their PCs" through their in-game actions, or personality can follow a preconceived character concept. Backgrounds can be briefly stated or written out extensively. Often a few words are sufficient. "Born on a farm and ran away to sea at the age of 14." gives one a pretty fair idea of a PC background.
In White Box it is perfectly acceptable to hand-wave all pretense at fleshing out the PC and playing the game with characters as little more than a series of stats on paper and a marker on the game table for spacial reference, similar to a ship in a naval wargame. It's also possible to bring the imagination into play and mentally construct a fully rounded avatar or alter ego for play. White Box encourages making the game your own, expanding where you like and that's one of the things I like best about it.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Tower of the Dead
Perilous Lands' Site Book describes fifteen locations in detail and mentions two others, one of these is the Tower of the Dead (Tower). The Tower comes in a very thin box with a nice cover illustration on the front showing the main baddie on his throne and a color map of the adventure area on the back of the box. Using the back of the box this way is an interesting concept I have not seen on another product. Inside the box is a tri-fold referee screen with specific information for Tower and a 56 page adventure book.
Tower is what I call an "adventure path" in today's vernacular. It tells a story in several scenes scattered about several locations. It involves interaction with a number of PCs, some investigative work and several decisions on the part of the players to continue down the path. It's not exactly rail-roadie, there are choices, but choosing to get off the path usually means the referee is in improvisation mode. "Adventure paths" are common these days, but probably less so in 1984 when this product was published.
Written by Powers & Perils author Richard Snider, Tower is firmly grounded in both the P&P system and the default Perilous Lands setting. Tower begins in the city of Porta where the local gangs openly battle for dominance - reminds me of the Al Capone era in Chicago. If the players go along with the story arch they will be drawn into some bad dealings - beatings and murder. If they take the moral high road, it's improvisation time for the referee. on the positive, the gangs and NPCs are all described in some detail giving the referee plenty to work with. I can't help but wonder what playing one gang off against another (Yojimbo, Fistful of Dollars, Last Man Standing) might be like.
Eventually information will lead the PCs to a farm outside town and an opportunity to acquire an ancient sword that can be helpful. They will also learn of an ancient evil in the form of a powerful lich that threatens to "take over the world". If they accept the challenge to "save the world" they move on to the tower where said lich resides plotting his evil. From this point on it's a tower crawl.
The other location mentioned in Perilous Lands is Doom Manor which was printed in Heroes magazine Vol. 1 No. 2. Doom Manor is a haunted house adventure with a twist...the house itself is sentient evil and actively trying to destroy the PCs. Heroes magazine printed several useful articles related to P&P, including Vol. 1 No. 1 which has a history/traveler's guide of the country of Donara and Vol. 1 No. 5 which has a nice lengthy article on the Royal City of Donara. Taken together the published material available for P&P is enough to run a lengthy campaign, maybe lasting years. The P&P world setting and adventure ideas seem to compare nicely with more modern products and I wonder how influential this body of work has been in the hobby.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
White Box Favorite
Some Reasons Why
Almost 40 years gaming Fantastic Medieval Wargames Campaigns and I am still in love with my first system. Maybe we all are. I have had this conversation with more than one gamer who still has a soft spot for their "first game". White Box wasn't my first "game", just my first in what has become known as role-playing games. Maybe it is because I worked so hard to "get it" in the sense of deciphering the text and understanding the new concepts that I have convinced myself all that effort was worth it. Maybe nostalgia plays a more prominent role in my preference than I am willing to admit. I do have some rational reasons why I still prefer White Box and how it continues to influence every game I play.
I view White Box as a "tool kit" game. It doesn't advertise itself that way, not like some others have ( looking at you GURPS or Rolemaster or RuneQuest 6th). The fact that it gives you a choice of combat systems in a game where combat is central to gameplay says "tool kit" to me. At least that is the way I approach White Box and incidentally every other RPG since. I like to tinker and use my imagination. I like to read and borrow from other sources. I like to combine ideas and see how well (or not) they work together to give a desired effect. The term "modular" isn't applied to White Box by its authors either, but I believe it fits. One can change things in White Box without breaking the rest of the system, so to me its "modular".
I like the abstract and quick combat system. Combat for me needs to be quick to keep the action flowing like a good sword & sorcery story. Furious hacking, splashing blood and bodies dropping almost every round. Combats that bog down into multiple rounds can give the impression of two massively powerful opponents wearing each other out and that can be useful to game out at times, but generally I like my combat quick and dirty, then move on to the next scene/room. I prefer much of the action take place in the player's imagination rather than micromanage some miniature figures on a grid and try to remember, or worse look up, some half forgotten rule during swordplay and spell-slinging.
I still enjoy dungeon and hex crawls and White Box does crawling well. The advice in Underworld & Wilderness Adventures to add additional outside materials, specifically the Avalon Hill Outdoor Survival game, to aid in some interesting wilderness adventures, and the Chainmail rules for jousting, strongly suggest to me that adding to the White Box is exactly what the designers had in mind for us to do. What fun that has been discovering new products (some never intended to be used in role-playing) to add to the game and figuring out clever ways to use them.
I am a fan of the White Box "Saving Throw Matrix". I like the categories, "Death Ray or Poison", "All Wands Including Polymorph and Paralization", "Stone", "Dragon Breath" and "Staves and Spells". I like "save or die" (in some instances), I like "save verses death" to avoid dying and as a referee I like to be able to pick and choose among the saves determining when to use which. I prefer the very minimal attribute bonuses of White Box over the more substantial bonuses given in Greyhawk and beyond. I prefer the character classes without the thief allowing all PCs to attempt thief stuff. I like d6s for Hit Points and for weapon damage - it makes sense to me that any (1st level) person can potentially be killed with any weapon. I prefer a deadly campaign and rules that are not too complicated so players can run more than one PC. I like using henchmen and hirelings, big parties, ten-foot poles and lots of rope (good for creative solutions to challenges). I like Law Neutrality and Chaos as alignments and good and evil as morality rather than alignment. I like coin as experience because it rewards getting the money not necessarily killing the monster.
I also like the Vancian magic system in White Box. White Box magic is easy to use "in game" and the spell selection presents opportunities for creative use. I like divine magic being distinct from arcane magic and I like all the color and details (schools of magic, spell components, deities, etc) left for the players and referee to furnish making each campaign unique. I also like how easy it is to pull out the magic system and insert an alternative if that is the referee's pleasure.
I prefer humanocentric campaigns where human PCs predominate, so I am OK with level limits for demihumans because it makes one think twice before opting for the non-human character. I like it that White Box only includes three nonhuman races. Referees can always make more and unique races are part of what can distinguish a campaign setting.
I am a fan of the old style b&w art of White Box. It has an amateur press, DIY feel to it that fits right in with how I feel about the hobby in general. There is a bit of comic book, sword & sorcery, dark fantasy, and mythology mix with some hints of Tolkien - elements of popular culture that all come together in White Box. I also like magic swords with ego.
Almost 40 years gaming Fantastic Medieval Wargames Campaigns and I am still in love with my first system. Maybe we all are. I have had this conversation with more than one gamer who still has a soft spot for their "first game". White Box wasn't my first "game", just my first in what has become known as role-playing games. Maybe it is because I worked so hard to "get it" in the sense of deciphering the text and understanding the new concepts that I have convinced myself all that effort was worth it. Maybe nostalgia plays a more prominent role in my preference than I am willing to admit. I do have some rational reasons why I still prefer White Box and how it continues to influence every game I play.
I view White Box as a "tool kit" game. It doesn't advertise itself that way, not like some others have ( looking at you GURPS or Rolemaster or RuneQuest 6th). The fact that it gives you a choice of combat systems in a game where combat is central to gameplay says "tool kit" to me. At least that is the way I approach White Box and incidentally every other RPG since. I like to tinker and use my imagination. I like to read and borrow from other sources. I like to combine ideas and see how well (or not) they work together to give a desired effect. The term "modular" isn't applied to White Box by its authors either, but I believe it fits. One can change things in White Box without breaking the rest of the system, so to me its "modular".
I like the abstract and quick combat system. Combat for me needs to be quick to keep the action flowing like a good sword & sorcery story. Furious hacking, splashing blood and bodies dropping almost every round. Combats that bog down into multiple rounds can give the impression of two massively powerful opponents wearing each other out and that can be useful to game out at times, but generally I like my combat quick and dirty, then move on to the next scene/room. I prefer much of the action take place in the player's imagination rather than micromanage some miniature figures on a grid and try to remember, or worse look up, some half forgotten rule during swordplay and spell-slinging.
I still enjoy dungeon and hex crawls and White Box does crawling well. The advice in Underworld & Wilderness Adventures to add additional outside materials, specifically the Avalon Hill Outdoor Survival game, to aid in some interesting wilderness adventures, and the Chainmail rules for jousting, strongly suggest to me that adding to the White Box is exactly what the designers had in mind for us to do. What fun that has been discovering new products (some never intended to be used in role-playing) to add to the game and figuring out clever ways to use them.
I am a fan of the White Box "Saving Throw Matrix". I like the categories, "Death Ray or Poison", "All Wands Including Polymorph and Paralization", "Stone", "Dragon Breath" and "Staves and Spells". I like "save or die" (in some instances), I like "save verses death" to avoid dying and as a referee I like to be able to pick and choose among the saves determining when to use which. I prefer the very minimal attribute bonuses of White Box over the more substantial bonuses given in Greyhawk and beyond. I prefer the character classes without the thief allowing all PCs to attempt thief stuff. I like d6s for Hit Points and for weapon damage - it makes sense to me that any (1st level) person can potentially be killed with any weapon. I prefer a deadly campaign and rules that are not too complicated so players can run more than one PC. I like using henchmen and hirelings, big parties, ten-foot poles and lots of rope (good for creative solutions to challenges). I like Law Neutrality and Chaos as alignments and good and evil as morality rather than alignment. I like coin as experience because it rewards getting the money not necessarily killing the monster.
I also like the Vancian magic system in White Box. White Box magic is easy to use "in game" and the spell selection presents opportunities for creative use. I like divine magic being distinct from arcane magic and I like all the color and details (schools of magic, spell components, deities, etc) left for the players and referee to furnish making each campaign unique. I also like how easy it is to pull out the magic system and insert an alternative if that is the referee's pleasure.
I prefer humanocentric campaigns where human PCs predominate, so I am OK with level limits for demihumans because it makes one think twice before opting for the non-human character. I like it that White Box only includes three nonhuman races. Referees can always make more and unique races are part of what can distinguish a campaign setting.
I am a fan of the old style b&w art of White Box. It has an amateur press, DIY feel to it that fits right in with how I feel about the hobby in general. There is a bit of comic book, sword & sorcery, dark fantasy, and mythology mix with some hints of Tolkien - elements of popular culture that all come together in White Box. I also like magic swords with ego.
Friday, March 11, 2016
More Powers & Perils
The Book of Tables play aid for Avalon Hill's Powers & Perils RPG is one of those additions that while not necessary to play the game, add a certain bit of convenience for the referee and allows the publisher to make some extra cash off their game. The Avalon Hill Game Company is now a property of Hasbro and I doubt they will be republishing any of the Powers & Perils (P&P) line, so making money now only applies to the second-hand sellers. Fortunately for me, there are plenty of them around who seem willing to take my money for a 30+ year old product.
I have recently reacquainted myself with the P&P line of products and find they have an appeal beyond the colorful box cover art. P&P is on the complex side, partially due to the numerous tables and charts used. The Book of Tables is obviously all about those charts and tables. Included in the thin box are three tri-fold reference screens with colorful illustrations, one each for combat, magic use and encounters. The reference screens and the 48 page book probably reproduce every table from the core rules and although I have not refereed a game of P&P, I can see some utility to having those charts and tables assembled in a handy manner.
I must confess to a personal fondness for tables and charts - one of my favorites in this set is the spell language table. P&P uses a magic system resembling colleges or schools of magic and there is a bonus to casting a spell if you have competency with the native language the spell was developed with. I like the idea and am borrowing this native language of magics as "color" for my campaign.
The default setting for P&P is the Perilous Lands. The above pictured box comes with three books, a map collection, a Culture Book and a Site Book and together they comprise a very detailed world setting full of material that can be mined for years of adventure. Much of the material could be used for any rules and is not tied to P&P specifically. P&P distinguishes between an upper world of the gods and demons, a middle world, the place where humans dwell and the subject of this box set, and a lower world of eternal twilight where troll and faerry folk dwell.
The Map Book is 30 pages of color maps that together cover the continent in enough detail to make a hex-crawl type campaign possible. Terrain features of all kinds are in evidence and there are deserts, jungle, mountains, plains, islands, cold tundra - virtually all the climatic regions we have on earth. For the most part the geography seems to make sense, although there are a few anomalies as often appear in fantasy maps such as a river that flows up-hill. I have seen much worse.
The 68 page culture book details around seventy cultures, their language families, relationship between barbarian nations and civilized countries, religions, histories and current political climate. The detail in this book is dense and compares very favorably with other similar products of it's day and even those of much more recent development. The peoples described here are given personality traits, a physical description and small drawing and often a real-world comparison such as "similar to Native American Plains Tribes" to help form an impression of how to referee them.
Seventeen locations scattered about the world are described in the 36 page Site Book which also includes additional cultural information.Two of the locations are only briefly located on the map and the reader is referred elsewhere for details. One of those locations, a haunted mansion, appears in an issue of the Avalon Hill RPG magazine Heroes (Vol. 1, No. 2). The other is a boxed adventure titled Tower of the Dead. The other fifteen sites cover a wide spectrum of adventure ideas and could easily be imported into other worlds, but together give a good feel for the Perilous Lands.
The sites covered in detail include a lost city of a forgotten evil race, a city of jinn, a city built around an evil demon-god, a faerry wood with connection to the lower world, a faerry castle, a dwarf citadel extending into the lower world, a dragon's lair, a valley of Chaos, a tower dedicated to Balance, a ruined city of dead spirits with a portal to hell, a temple of Law, a mountain home of an evil god, a feudal land ruled by competing wizard lords, and an island home to giants. Some of the sites are reminiscent of classic sword & sorcery and sword & planet tropes, others are more original, all lend a grim, gritty atmosphere to P&P's default setting.
System author Richard Snider, a member of Dave Arneson's Minneapolis Blackmoor group I believe, has brought an interesting world setting to the gaming community in the P&P products. The more I read of it the more impressed with it I become. The P&P RPG appeared at a time when many gamers, myself included, were searching for more realism and detail in our rules. My own preference in system rules has reverted to a less detailed, "rules lite" approach. I find much to like, however, in the P&P family of products.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Robert E. Howard
Writer Robert E. Howard remains a major figure in sword & sorcery literature despite his relatively short career. His character Conan the Barbarian is arguably the best known hero of the genre. Comics, movies and of course the original stories featuring the fictional barbarian have remained popular since he first appeared in the 1930s. In the 1960s Lancer Books published the Conan stories of Mr. Howard and his imitators in a collection of several mass market paperbacks which inspired a generation of imaginative gamers, including the creators and future players of White Box.
Mr. Howard wrote for the "pulp" audiences of the 1920s and '30s - mostly a male audience and one with "older" more stereotyped beliefs. Despite this, the tales are action-packed and full of graphic depictions of "worlds undreamed of". Good fodder for the imagination of anyone playing White Box or the games that have come since. Conan was a relative late-comer in Mr. Howard's career, but tales of other bigger-than-life heroes such as Kull, Bran Mac Morn and Soloman Kane are similar in many ways. The Swords & Sorcery genre is closely tied to the character of Conan and some give Mr. Howard credit for largely creating the sub-genre of fantasy fiction. Set in an antediluvian past drawing heavily on historic types for his inspiration, Mr. Howard created an entire world or milieu for his Conan character to adventure in. One-time thief, pirate, mercenary, conqueror and eventually king, Conan's fictional career is a model for many players wishing to recreate in the game some degree of the thrill they have experienced reading the stories.
The 1960s publication of both the collection of Conan stories, often with eye-catching covers by artist Frank Frazetta (above image), and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy in paperback greatly boosted interest in heroic fantasy. White Box arrived on the scene allowing us to take the fantastic adventure stories we were passively reading about and convert them to active tabletop play. Since the publication of White Box, several game aids and separate game systems have specifically focused on the Conan properties and it looks like there is still a lot of interest in gaming the world Robert E. Howard created for his Conan stories.
My introduction to the great barbarian was through the Marvel Comics series. Many of the early issues followed the plots of some of the Howard stories. In the back of the comics,there were articles on the world setting, Mr. Howard and other related topics. A larger graphic magazine, Savage Sword of Conan (later Savage Tales) had b&w adaptations of some Howard stories as well as other features and helped broaden my interest in fantastic fiction and the supernatural. Eventually I of course found my way to the Lancer Books Conan series and many other sword & sorcery titles. So by the time I got my White Box, I was well steeped in fantastic stories of imagination and jumped in with both feet. I still read and re-read the old favorites and continue to mine them for ideas and inspiration for the gaming table.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Gardner F. Fox
Mr. Fox was a prolific author who wrote for comics, pulps, men's publications and the fantasy, swords & sorcery market. His heroes, at least the two I am familiar with are big, muscular barbarians who fight hard, love hard and encounter many demons along the way, both friendly and hostile. Mr. Fox is not as well known as R.E. Howard, Fritz Leiber or Michael Moorcock and maybe for good reason, but that may be an advantage when reading for game inspiration.
Comics and short stories often provide excellent details that can be added to one's own adventures. Mr. Fox brings a powerful presence to "demonolotry" as he refers to it in many of his stories. A naked sorceress, burning rare incense kneeling inside a pentagram chanting in a singsong voice while the temperature outside the pentagram drops to well below freezing, covering the rest of the room in frost and ice. A tinkling of crystals as a shape moved in the far corner... Mr. Fox writes much better than I, but with his ideas in my head, I can describe such a scene to my players with confidence. The inspiration comes from the above short novel.
Comics, short stories and novelas often have plots that are easily adaptable for tabletop adventure. A simple plot often works best in gaming and as long as enough details are changed to make the source unrecognizable a borrowed plot works as well as an original one. Mr. Fox's sword & sorcery tales can be mined for game ideas or simply read for enjoyment. Either way I find them wonderful inspiration for my imagination.
The works of Mr. Fox helped inspire the creators of White Box and therefore the entire hobby. Their ability to inspire doesn't end with Mr. Arneson and Mr. Gygax. Anyone who reads them today is likely to experience the same sense of wonder and excitement that first made someone want to bring adventures like these to the gaming tabletop. (The original publisher, Lancer Books is "defunct" and modern readership sensibilities probably preclude any widespread republishing of the Kyrik and Kothar books, so for now the second-hand market is the only place to find them.)
Friday, March 4, 2016
Reading Whitehack
I enjoy reading. Reading is the hobby I engage in more often than gaming or anything else. I especially like to read fantasy novels and fantasy roleplaying games and their support material. Therefore the "Old School Renaissance" (OSR) has been a source of great enjoyment for me. The OSR has produced many interesting blogs, rule books and supplements, many are free downloads. I have found all are full of thoughtful ideas and the kind of DIY, innovative creativity that characterize the early days of this hobby. Much of the same can be said for the indie game scene. One recent discovery is Christian Mehrstam's "Whitehack", which combines some elements of both.
According to gamer legend (or as best as I can figure out) Whitehack is a "hack" of White Box as it is reinterpreted in Swords & Wizardry Whitebox edition. Whitehack, like Swords & Wizardry is based on the d20 "alternate" combat system of White Box, but alters the way much of the mechanics work. For starters in Whitehack one usually rolls two d20's together and takes the higher or lower score much like in the 5th Edition rules for advantage/disadvantage in a "roll high under" mechanic. Like Swords & Wizardry, Whitehack uses a single Saving Throw value. Both games use the OGL making sharing ideas freely a lot easier.
Whitehack uses the familiar six attributes rolled for using 3d6 each. The basic character classes are the Strong, the Deft and the Wise, so named to emphasize each class's key attribute. Groups are a feature of character that includes race, vocation and affiliation, each is written next to an attribute and each can give a mechanical benefit (roll two d20's and take the higher) to a roll for success against that attribute. Vocations include what we often think of as class names such as Barbarian or Paladin. Combing vocation with Whitehack's class system allows a Strong Paladin or a Wise Paladin, etc. Being a neo-OSR game, death seems likely, but there is a provision to finish out the session in "ghost form" and it is suggested there are ways to come back from the dead, but this may involve an adventure into the shadow.
Magic spell casting is called "working miracles" and is the specialty of the Wise. The exact nature of such "miracles" is somewhat free-form and requires the referee and player to discuss the desired outcome, cost to cast in terms of hit points and risks involved in failure if any. A saving throw number may be assigned by the referee based on this discussion. Miracles can be modified by certain conditions such as using a ritual, drugs or spell ingredients. There is some advice on how to set hit point costs for working certain miracles, but ultimately this is up to the referee. Whitehack therefore helps the referee determine how prevalent magic will be in the campaign.
Mr. Mehrstam includes a novel mechanic he calls "the auction" that can be used to adjudicate the outcome of things such as a discussion attempting to persuade NPCs, pushing through a potential combat area without actually fighting, or an extended contest. Each participant rolls a secret d6 then makes bids to roll higher than the bid, but under their attribute plus the d6 score. Narrative accompanies each round of bidding. The participants then attempt to roll success starting with the highest bidder and proceeding until someone succeeds.
Whitehack packs a lot into it's 64 pages and is a complete game with bestiary, world setting and two adventures. White Curse is a rather dark and grim setting where years ago the forces of good destroyed the evil baddie who bled out his evil infecting the land and laying a curse on all who dwell there. The evil lives on in the shadow (the Black) and perpetual winter (the White) of the curse. Civilization is under siege as the snow and cold drive people into the remaining cities and the wilderness is overrun with monsters and "the Twisted" - those corrupted by the curse. The curse also makes people greedy and cruel, further sowing the seeds of their destruction. Unto this world step the "Watchers" or good ones, to oppose the "Witch Cult" who worship the fallen baddie. I like dark and gritty settings and White Curse reminds me, in a pleasant way, of the work of Zak Smith ("Vornheim" and "A Red and Pleasant Land") and Robert Schwalb ("Shadow of the Demon Lord") and 13th Age (Rob Heinsoo and Jonathan Tweet).
Reading is the best advice I know for the referee. Reading new rule systems can broaden one's understanding of rule principles and expose the referee to many innovative ways of handling situations that arise at the game table. Reading game supplements for any system can broaden the referee's repertoire of plots, monster ideas, ingenious traps and unique locations, all of which can be re-skinned for use in the campaign. Reading of blogs and articles on game design and refereeing itself can add to one's skills as well and help the referee better realize how to achieve the goals he/she has for the campaign. General fantasy stories and novels can assist the referee in developing tone, atmosphere, and suspense and expose one to both the roots of the hobby and some new ideas that can inspire the referee's imagination and may be useful to draw upon when designing one's own campaign. One aspect of good improvisation is having a wealth of ideas stored in the memory banks from which to draw on at a moments notice.
Thursday, March 3, 2016
Rolling-Up the PC
DETERMINATION OF ABILITIES:
"Prior to the character selection by players it is necessary for the referee to roll three six-sided dice in order to rate each as to various abilities, and thus aid them in selecting a role." So states White Box in Men & Magic on p. 10. Yes, the referee rolls-up the character and the player then chooses what class they would like to play with that set of ability scores. This is probably one of the first rules to get house-ruled and I have yet to set at a table where I didn't roll-up my own character, or in more recent games "buy" my character abilities using a point-buy system. However, as I have found many of the early practices espoused in White Box to have important underlying meaning for the game, I think Mr. Gygax and Mr. Arneson are on to something big here that may have gotten lost in subsequent editions.
One approach to the game is that it is all about the PCs. It is true that even if the setting or milieu is the most consistent element of a campaign and the story that develops from play is that of the changes that occur in the imaginary world, the PCs are the actors, the means of the change. It is through their careers that the story unfolds. They are obviously a very important element of the campaign. Leaving their creation totally to chance can be challenging and interesting, but I think the authors of White Box are saying the referee should have some control over PC creation.
Establishing what the parameters are for PCs is an accepted role of the referee. The classes and races available as PCs help shape the campaign. Limiting PC choices can avoid problems that can potentially derail a campaign. With point-buy systems establishing caps ensures the PCs are relatively balanced with regard to each other and the with tasks and challenges the referee expects them to confront in play. Vetting the character sheet is an essential referee task when PCs are brought into play from another game/campaign or when created by players on their own. I think this is especially true with systems that support lots of PC options and "builds".
White Box suggests character creation be a collaborative activity involving both the player and the referee. I think this is the best system and provides an opportunity for discussion of what players seek in their game and what the referee is interested in in terms of milieu. Selection of appropriate player characters for a game is an important aspect of getting started "on the right foot" and is essential for the long term health of a campaign. With a desire for everyone, including the referee, to enjoy the game, it just seems a good idea for character creation to be a cooperative endeavor rather than the referee creating a campaign and each player creating their own PC, all done independently with little or no attempt at coordination and then hoping it all "magically" falls together well. I am guessing the authors of White Box had seen this approach in action and wrote the above rule with the benefit of experience.
"Prior to the character selection by players it is necessary for the referee to roll three six-sided dice in order to rate each as to various abilities, and thus aid them in selecting a role." So states White Box in Men & Magic on p. 10. Yes, the referee rolls-up the character and the player then chooses what class they would like to play with that set of ability scores. This is probably one of the first rules to get house-ruled and I have yet to set at a table where I didn't roll-up my own character, or in more recent games "buy" my character abilities using a point-buy system. However, as I have found many of the early practices espoused in White Box to have important underlying meaning for the game, I think Mr. Gygax and Mr. Arneson are on to something big here that may have gotten lost in subsequent editions.
One approach to the game is that it is all about the PCs. It is true that even if the setting or milieu is the most consistent element of a campaign and the story that develops from play is that of the changes that occur in the imaginary world, the PCs are the actors, the means of the change. It is through their careers that the story unfolds. They are obviously a very important element of the campaign. Leaving their creation totally to chance can be challenging and interesting, but I think the authors of White Box are saying the referee should have some control over PC creation.
Establishing what the parameters are for PCs is an accepted role of the referee. The classes and races available as PCs help shape the campaign. Limiting PC choices can avoid problems that can potentially derail a campaign. With point-buy systems establishing caps ensures the PCs are relatively balanced with regard to each other and the with tasks and challenges the referee expects them to confront in play. Vetting the character sheet is an essential referee task when PCs are brought into play from another game/campaign or when created by players on their own. I think this is especially true with systems that support lots of PC options and "builds".
White Box suggests character creation be a collaborative activity involving both the player and the referee. I think this is the best system and provides an opportunity for discussion of what players seek in their game and what the referee is interested in in terms of milieu. Selection of appropriate player characters for a game is an important aspect of getting started "on the right foot" and is essential for the long term health of a campaign. With a desire for everyone, including the referee, to enjoy the game, it just seems a good idea for character creation to be a cooperative endeavor rather than the referee creating a campaign and each player creating their own PC, all done independently with little or no attempt at coordination and then hoping it all "magically" falls together well. I am guessing the authors of White Box had seen this approach in action and wrote the above rule with the benefit of experience.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Fun for All
Including the Referee
Campaigns can end prematurely for lots of reasons. One of the most common is someone isn't having fun, maybe several someones. If one of those not having fun is the referee, the campaign is probably doomed. The referee has a strong influence on the tone of the campaign and an unhappy referee sets an unhappy tone. By contrast, a happy referee can inspire players and enthusiasm is contagious. It is certainly not all about making the referee happy, but neither should the referee's job be one of thankless suffering and work, always putting the needs of others ahead of their own.
White Box introduced the world to the new type of game and most of us were happy just playing. It was fun because it was new and a constant discovery. Most of us took turns refereeing in order to share an adventure idea we had or simply to take our turn behind the referee screen. Eventually we started to analyze what made some games better fun than others, why some campaigns seemed to last longer and why nobody really wanted to play when so-and-so was referee.
Fairness and player agency are goals which have found expression in more recent discussions about game design and mechanics. Some rule editions have become tighter and more restrictive in an effort to mitigate the effects of a poor referee. Personally I find them generally less fun to play as they are too restrictive for my taste, disallowing the flexibility to be imaginative in problem solving and feel too "mechanical". The rules lite approach may be more risky regarding what happens at the table of a poor or inexperienced referee, but also it's more rewarding when run by a gifted referee as the rules seldom get in the way.
Experience is the best teacher for a referee, but today we also have access to some very good advice on the art of refereeing an RPG. Paying attention to the desires of your players, listening to what they want in their game and how they would like their PCs to be challenged is a good start. Action and pace are important and giving players at least the impression that they have meaningful choices. Setting limits is also good referee advice. In the spirit of old school gaming, players should not coerce the referee into making things too easy, allowing the PCs to become too wealthy, too powerful and too destructive of the milieu. Such behavior really ends up making the game less fun for everyone eventually. Success in roleplaying games really boils down to everyone having a good time. If everyone is laughing and enjoying the game, then you are doing it right.
Campaigns can end prematurely for lots of reasons. One of the most common is someone isn't having fun, maybe several someones. If one of those not having fun is the referee, the campaign is probably doomed. The referee has a strong influence on the tone of the campaign and an unhappy referee sets an unhappy tone. By contrast, a happy referee can inspire players and enthusiasm is contagious. It is certainly not all about making the referee happy, but neither should the referee's job be one of thankless suffering and work, always putting the needs of others ahead of their own.
White Box introduced the world to the new type of game and most of us were happy just playing. It was fun because it was new and a constant discovery. Most of us took turns refereeing in order to share an adventure idea we had or simply to take our turn behind the referee screen. Eventually we started to analyze what made some games better fun than others, why some campaigns seemed to last longer and why nobody really wanted to play when so-and-so was referee.
Fairness and player agency are goals which have found expression in more recent discussions about game design and mechanics. Some rule editions have become tighter and more restrictive in an effort to mitigate the effects of a poor referee. Personally I find them generally less fun to play as they are too restrictive for my taste, disallowing the flexibility to be imaginative in problem solving and feel too "mechanical". The rules lite approach may be more risky regarding what happens at the table of a poor or inexperienced referee, but also it's more rewarding when run by a gifted referee as the rules seldom get in the way.
Experience is the best teacher for a referee, but today we also have access to some very good advice on the art of refereeing an RPG. Paying attention to the desires of your players, listening to what they want in their game and how they would like their PCs to be challenged is a good start. Action and pace are important and giving players at least the impression that they have meaningful choices. Setting limits is also good referee advice. In the spirit of old school gaming, players should not coerce the referee into making things too easy, allowing the PCs to become too wealthy, too powerful and too destructive of the milieu. Such behavior really ends up making the game less fun for everyone eventually. Success in roleplaying games really boils down to everyone having a good time. If everyone is laughing and enjoying the game, then you are doing it right.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Class Levels
A Game Changing Idea
White Box class levels are the major way PCs improve. The rules list 8 levels for the cleric class, 9 levels for fighting men and 11 levels for the magic user. Upon achieving those "name" levels, human PCs can acquire baronies or their equivalent and enter another largely undefined level of play where managing estates, commanding armies and engaging in politics presumably replaces adventuring. This makes sense as White Box grew from wargames where managing estates and fighting battles are the main activities. For human characters the rules state there is no upper limit and levels may continue on indefinitely. The non-human character is limited with a hard cap on level as part of the "game balance" system.
The highest level character I currently play is 14th level. My experience in almost 40 years of gaming White Box and later editions of the game is that rarely do PCs progress much above 9th level. Many campaigns which I have been a part of have ended way before any PC reaches even that level. For years I gamed under the impression that low-level play, basically under 5th level, was the sweet spot for the game. Everything was potentially deadly and each class relies on the others for support. I have come to appreciate the nuances of higher level play, but I still don't see much advantage gained beyond 10th level. The game doesn't drastically change beyond that level unless using house-rules or a later edition that adds significant abilities for higher level PCs.
With many campaigns ending while still at lower levels do the "balances" based on leveling make any sense? I prefer a humanocentric setting and I think the class limits for demihumans help achieve this by discouraging some players from taking demihuman characters. Even if they never reach the class limit, the idea of being limited may be enough to discourage interest. Most of us tend to dream big and imagine our paper hero growing powerful one day. I think race-as-class has a similar effect also limiting the number of non-human PCs in the game because they aren't special enough. It's a subtle effect, but subtle limits are usually best. A similar side-effect may help to keep the number of magic users lower than the number of fighting men and clerics. Magic users with a half-dozen or less hit points, no armor, a dagger and one spell can have limited appeal as a PC.
A nice feature of White Box is that higher level PCs are not so powerful as to be immune from even 1- hit die monsters, who in numbers can still pose a challenge. That tribe of orcs that have been a thorn in the PC's side since 1st level remains a force to contend with at 10th level and beyond. In many ways the lower power level of PCs means the White Box version of the game seems more "realistic" than many later games where PCs become supermen and at higher levels, virtually immune to the threats of lower level monsters.
The basics of leveling are to reward success in the game by making the player's alter ego a bit stronger, able to tackle problems with a higher probability of success or to take on greater challenges previously beyond the capabilities of the PC. Improvements in hit points and the ability to hit in combat, improved saving throws and increasing number of available and power of spells for casters is what gaining in level means in terms of mechanics. Growing out of the war game where playing pieces have an unchanging value, this concept of getting better at the things one does is a novel idea with a feel that brings "life" to the playing piece. People learn and get better with practice and the level mechanic allows this to happen in the game. There are other ways to mechanically simulate the learning process and many games have developed systems other than "leveling", but White Box's class and level system redefined the nature of war games even laying aside the fantastic elements and "magic".
White Box class levels are the major way PCs improve. The rules list 8 levels for the cleric class, 9 levels for fighting men and 11 levels for the magic user. Upon achieving those "name" levels, human PCs can acquire baronies or their equivalent and enter another largely undefined level of play where managing estates, commanding armies and engaging in politics presumably replaces adventuring. This makes sense as White Box grew from wargames where managing estates and fighting battles are the main activities. For human characters the rules state there is no upper limit and levels may continue on indefinitely. The non-human character is limited with a hard cap on level as part of the "game balance" system.
The highest level character I currently play is 14th level. My experience in almost 40 years of gaming White Box and later editions of the game is that rarely do PCs progress much above 9th level. Many campaigns which I have been a part of have ended way before any PC reaches even that level. For years I gamed under the impression that low-level play, basically under 5th level, was the sweet spot for the game. Everything was potentially deadly and each class relies on the others for support. I have come to appreciate the nuances of higher level play, but I still don't see much advantage gained beyond 10th level. The game doesn't drastically change beyond that level unless using house-rules or a later edition that adds significant abilities for higher level PCs.
With many campaigns ending while still at lower levels do the "balances" based on leveling make any sense? I prefer a humanocentric setting and I think the class limits for demihumans help achieve this by discouraging some players from taking demihuman characters. Even if they never reach the class limit, the idea of being limited may be enough to discourage interest. Most of us tend to dream big and imagine our paper hero growing powerful one day. I think race-as-class has a similar effect also limiting the number of non-human PCs in the game because they aren't special enough. It's a subtle effect, but subtle limits are usually best. A similar side-effect may help to keep the number of magic users lower than the number of fighting men and clerics. Magic users with a half-dozen or less hit points, no armor, a dagger and one spell can have limited appeal as a PC.
A nice feature of White Box is that higher level PCs are not so powerful as to be immune from even 1- hit die monsters, who in numbers can still pose a challenge. That tribe of orcs that have been a thorn in the PC's side since 1st level remains a force to contend with at 10th level and beyond. In many ways the lower power level of PCs means the White Box version of the game seems more "realistic" than many later games where PCs become supermen and at higher levels, virtually immune to the threats of lower level monsters.
The basics of leveling are to reward success in the game by making the player's alter ego a bit stronger, able to tackle problems with a higher probability of success or to take on greater challenges previously beyond the capabilities of the PC. Improvements in hit points and the ability to hit in combat, improved saving throws and increasing number of available and power of spells for casters is what gaining in level means in terms of mechanics. Growing out of the war game where playing pieces have an unchanging value, this concept of getting better at the things one does is a novel idea with a feel that brings "life" to the playing piece. People learn and get better with practice and the level mechanic allows this to happen in the game. There are other ways to mechanically simulate the learning process and many games have developed systems other than "leveling", but White Box's class and level system redefined the nature of war games even laying aside the fantastic elements and "magic".
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