Poets & Writers of Adventure take heed

Nexus Gates in Arduin

It has been too long since I last visited the world of Arduin, certainly one of the most magikal places in the adventure gaming multiverse. 

Arduin is everywhere. (It says so in the book!)

Arduin is full of ideas, inspiration and enthusiasm for the hobby.

The possibilities are limited only by what you can imagine.

I've kept it no secret that my enthusiasm for the hobby has been flagging o' these recent months. "Disappointment" is my preferred way to describe my feelings toward the current state of affairs. The OSR, once a bright spot for me has gone dark, having succumbed to the usual "differences of opinion". This prevalence seems to plague every aspect of our current culture - online and otherwise. 

As for the corporate side of the hobby, well the less said these days, the better. (and I don't desire to add to the "differences of opinion" by restating mine)

And then there is my disagreement with friends over "stuff" - everything from "what system to play" to who is, or is not, to blame for whatever ills we personally put front and center in our general "talking points" (anger is not a fun emotion to experience or to witness). Ho-Hum, and a sad sigh of despair...

Hence, I find myself casting about, searching for something to bring me cheer.

Enter Arduin...the off-the-rails imaginings of a free-spirited gamemaster, first published 40 years ago the words expressed in the pages of the Arduin Grimoire always seem fresh and full of excitement. For its multitude of possibilities, upbeat mood and fresh ideas that are brought into our hobby through its magikal "gates". A quick perusal of even one grimoire will reveal many ideas that first appeared in the pages of Arduin's "Grimoires" and have later reappeared in the wider hobby. Innovation!

Arduin began life as the personal game world of David Hargrave during the early days of the hobby, before there was an attempt to codify and control how people played the game. It is an artifact of its time, yet it remains relevant today. The publications have evolved and content has been added to by others who were inspired by the creativity of Mr. Hargrave. I consider myself fortunate - I have entered the nexus gates through the pages of Arduin many times. 

I have yet to find the outer limits of the creative imaginings contained within Arduin. Each journey to Arduin reveals new territory and is a fantastic discovery. Casting about online, I know mine is not a unique experience and others have encountered similar feelings. If you would journey forth through the gates to Arduin, you will find it is only a mouse click or two away. Many of the grimoires remain available, kept alive by a devoted following.

Each time I delve into Arduin I find it to be renewing, and energizing, and captivating. The genius of David Hargrave flows forth across the multiverse and seems timeless. What a gift!

Failing Nation

Drawing Inspiration from History.

On several occasions I have heard those who design fictional worlds, either for their novels or as a setting for games, remark that they look to history for inspiration. I have frequently shared my opinion about preaching with the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other. I have also remarked that I find old westerns to often have simple story plots that are easily adapted for use at the gaming table. Today I offer for gaming consideration my latest observation taken from current events, the failed nation scenario.

Conflict makes for good story-telling. The protagonist(s) in a story need something to do. A society under stress from the failure of its institutions and the subsequent chaos and struggles, perhaps to even survive, can make for a good gaming scenario. Any time there is an uncertain outcome, one which may be affected by the actions of our player character protagonists, there exists the protentional for rewarding game-play.

The universality of the scenario lends itself to use across many genres. Grab a year near the fall of Rome for a quasi-historical campaign, or set the space-age action on a faraway planet that is now abandoned and forgotten by the Empire in Decline. Give some thought to the many ways decline and fall may affect the citizens and pause to consider the opportunities a vacuum in power might offer.

By changing the names, adding fictional details drawn from our own imagination and creating an interesting cast of characters we may develop a setting ripe with possibilities for game-play. 

For example, the Legend of King Arthur is set in a time when the military might of Rome withdrew from Britain leaving its citizens to govern themselves, and to protect themselves from migratory invaders. Under Roman rule, the Britons had enjoyed a degree of prosperity that perhaps made their country attractive to their less well-off neighbors. In-fighting among the Britons who disagreed over who and how the power void should be filled, further weakens their resistance to raids and invasion. Re-skin the scenario as a space-age planetary adventure setting and we have alien invaders threatening an isolated outpost in turmoil and technological decline. Who will arise to lead the resistance? Will the PCs take up the mantel of legendary hero, or perhaps see the situation as an opportunity to go treasure seeking among the ruins left in the wake of war?

Taking Your Game Beyond RAW

Looking Back to the Future of our Hobby

In this the 50th anniversary year of the publishing of the world's first fantasy role-playing game I suppose it is only natural to look back on our personal history with the game at the center of our shared hobby. Each of us has a unique journey and every story has some merit, if only to those who personally lived it. A message board, a blog or video channel or podcast can be an outlet for those memories and hopefully share some insight.

I came to the hobby during a time when everyone added some personal customization to the game. The year 1977 saw the publication of the first "Basic" version of D&D in response to a perceived need for a version of the rules that would be more user friendly than the collection of little brown volumes that had been published up to that date. The original game had grown by leaps and bounds, both in terms of popularity and in terms of available support material. The original three volumes had grown to include five volumes, not to mention Chainmail on which the game mechanics were originally based. Various supplemental ideas were floated in the official TSR publications Strategic Review and Dragon Magazine often penned by co-creator Gygax himself, but even more frequently by one of a host of amateur hobby enthusiasts. In this way we in the hobby received new character classes, new monsters and new ways to implement rulings at our table. Some might describe this situation as a hodge-podge or miscellany. 

I found it much to my liking. As an enthusiast of games in all their varied forms, I found the idea that the rules to a game could be added to, modified or even rewritten by the players to be immensely empowering. Anything was possible - and wasn't that the point of fantasy? 

The essence of the hobby for me is imagining. To Imagine new worlds, new challenges, fictional characters, mysteries and yes, new ways to roll dice and to share stories is a delightful pastime. 

In the 1977 version of "Basic" there is reference to the "Advanced" game which was being developed alongside the introductory version product. The idea around which "Advanced" was being written was that the game rules needed a standardized version to facilitate tournament play involving players from all over who obviously could benefit from knowing how the rules were going to be applied at any given table. An obvious answer to a recognized challenge was for the "creator" of the game to give/sell the hobby an "official" version of the rules. This was an undertaking of some proportion and it understandably took time for this one person, who had other responsibilities running a company, and having a family. The volumes comprising the "Advanced" game were released over a number of years and ultimately all were necessary to complete the game. In the meanwhile, we gamers would continue to play the game we loved with whatever mix of officially published rules we had available or could improvise using other sources and our imaginations.

And of course the game's development didn't stop with publication of the "Advanced" rules.

For members of the tabletop role-playing hobby there are so many ways to play today. We are a hobby that is blessed (and cursed) to have games that reflect a variety of preferences, approaches, themes and sensibilities which we can choose from and sometimes argue about. 

If I think about it, this has always been the case. Arguments were frequent in the days before we were given the "Advanced" rules that were meant to standardize play. The publication of "Advanced" didn't settle all of the disputes and Sage Advice often gave conflicting interpretations on various rules questions. Of course the publication of "Advanced" didn't meet everyone's desires and various "homebrew heartbreaker" versions of the game were also published (should we also include "Basic/Expert"). Choices can lead to disagreement. 

 So what are some lessons of a half century of tabletop role-playing as a hobby?

The publishers of the game want to sell you a new book.

There is no "one game" that will appeal to everyone in this hobby.

Homebrewed rules and rulings can feel arbitrary and unfair to players.

Rules lawyering and attempts to game the system can be a frustration to the referee/GM.

Playing a game is about cooperation.

At the end of the day, it's just a game - one that we can hopefully play for fun and shared enjoyment.

1974 & Beyond

Fifty Years Ago...

A couple of middle-aged gamers and lifetime friends (named Kaye and Gygax) pooled their resources and self published the world's first fantasy role-playing game. The kernel of ideas which inspired Mr. Gygax to write said rules came from other gamers who traveled from Minnesota and shared their innovative style of game play with the Wisconsin group including Mr. Gygax.  About three years later I stumbled upon the game designed by Misters Gygax and Arneson and have played one version or another of said game right up to the present. Along the way, I rather fancy that I may have learned a few things about life, friendship and shared gaming. Some of those lessons find their way into this blog.

Creativity and imagination are the only absolutely necessary components of play. Mr. Gygax and Mr. Arneson gave us gamers a new way to play a game. We imagine fantastical worlds, can populate our shared fantasy with heroes, villains and various imaginary beings, and tell each other stories about what happens in this shared imaginary space, all while playing a game. It's all make-believe, but with some guidelines and mutual buy-in, it's also a game. The actual mechanics of our particular game are often less important than the game publisher would like us to believe.

What we bring to the game table in terms of experience, especially the books we have read including the stories that will inspire and focus our imagination, is  more important in many ways than the specific game we choose to play. Our individual imagination is what shapes the character of the setting we imagine, the action that takes place and the wonder of it all as we experience it. Without a point of reference, without examples we are limited in what we can imagine. Imagination is like so many other human capacities in that our ability to make use of it improves with practice. The more imaginings we take in, the more we have at our disposal when we start to create (borrow, steal from or be inspired by) and the more varied and interesting our creations are likely to be. The best advice I have heard (and I have sought lots of advice over the years) for improving our game is to read everything you can asking yourself all the while, "How can I use this in my game?"

As an exercise, let's imagine we are creating a story together. Let's agree that our story involves something we'll call "a goblin". What does our goblin look like? You tell me.

Most of you reading this blog have some concept of what a goblin is that is based on various sources you have encountered over your lifetime. Obviously, there is no real "goblin" to compare our version to or that can definitively establish what a goblin looks like. The only thing that really matters regarding our goblin's appearance is that we share certain assumptions regarding the nature of our goblin in order for us to develop our story. 

Let's agree that our goblin is a short, bestial and mischievous creature that otherwise resembles a human. Let's say, the goblin is threatening and waving a rusty sword at us. Slobber and spit runs down its sloping chin as it grins evilly and advances upon us. What do we do?

Imagine!

The game will likely involve us rolling some dice, it's a game after all. The outcome will contain some degree of doubt until the conflict is resolved and not knowing what may happen before is part of the fun. The result is our shared "story" we have just imagined together.

It's really that simple. Regardless of the particular rule mechanic we are using, the concept comes down to one person describing the situation, then perhaps another person deciding what action to attempt, then we insert some game mechanics and describe the outcome. 

So one may ask, does the game system really matter at all?

I would say, yes it does. We all have our unique preferences in game mechanics (etc.) and since it is a "game" we are playing, each of us will find certain mechanical aspects more or less appealing and this will certainly affect our enjoyment while playing our game. (In my opinion, some mechanics fit certain styles of play better than others and are more likely to deliver a specific experience while playing.) Some systems are specifically geared to work well with certain genres and feel more or less "real" when playing under those assumptions. This and other preferences likely accounts for why there are so many game systems available today.   

Ultimately, the rules of a game come down to what is mutually acceptable among the players.

In 1974 there was only one game and it wasn't even called "role-playing" because nobody at that time would know what a role-playing game was. Today, fifty years later, we have thousands of games marketed as "role-playing". If you have read this far it should be obvious that I tend to view them all as "variations on a common marvelous theme".

Yet more advice on How to Referee

Ideas Borrowed

If we have read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit we have an idea of how an adventure to defeat a dragon and take its treasure may begin, progress and even end. In the novel we are introduced to the concept of an adventuring party or "company" is comprised of individual characters possessing unique skills including warriors, a wizard and a burglar. We have some idea of how to describe a journey across the wilder lands, encounters with monsters and with helpful folk met along the way, and with the big "showdown" at the finale. In effect, we have the pattern for developing our own adventure story through game play.

Many a game of the world's most popular fantasy role-playing game has followed this model.

If we have read Fritz Leiber's Ill Met in Lankhmar we have before us the blueprint for an urban adventure. The novella Ill Met in Lankhmar features two companions , a fighting barbarian and thieving ex-wizard apprentice who dabble with romance, crime and intrigue with a thieves' guild, murder and arson, carousing, and other flavorful aspects to be found in a fantasy urban setting. Again, reading about Lankhmar prepares us to think through our own tabletop adventures in an urban fantasy setting.

The best referee advice I have come across to date is to run as many games as one can and play in as many games run by another as possible. 

Next to that, the next best referee advice I can think of is to read lots, and always with the thought in mind - Can I use this in my game?

The Hero's Journey

...From One Fool's Perspective.

The tabletop-roleplaying experience has at times been compared to the mythic "hero's journey" (see the works of Joseph Campbell and others if this topic intrigues you). My fool's understanding of the epic hero myth is that our hero starts small, learns from failure, then grows in stature so as to be able to achieve a great task. It is a story of metamorphosis, "from zero to hero" as it is often described in classical tabletop gaming circles.

A slight variation on the Journey theme is known as the "Fool's Journey", which is the journey from ignorance to enlightenment. Again our protagonist or "hero" starts as something small, a foolish person in this version, and through various adventures learns wisdom so as to eventually be redeemed and usually accomplish some good in the world often in spite of a poor understanding of the situation. In my eyes the two journeys are closely related.

So how is this discourse connected to tabletop gaming you may be asking? Our paper heroes are essentially on an epic journey to better themselves, to right wrongs and perhaps to save others from a dastardly fate that is being plotted by an evil villain. There are successes and failures along the way, but our paper hero, should they survive danger, will grow in stature and power so as to eventually be prepared to take on the "big bad evil" and through heroics, save the world. It is essentially an exercise in turning the "Journey" into a game.

With its roots (arguably) in literature, tabletop role-playing games have drawn inspiration from many versions of this classic myth cycle. Tales of King Arthur, the works of Professor Tolkien and the pulp adventure stories of authors such as Fritz Leiber and Robert E. Howard are all recognizable in the classic editions of the game (and specifically named in the Appendix). CRPGs often draw heavily from the TTRPG traditions and have frequently repeated this rags-to-riches character progression. The Hero's Journey is a concept that plays well with an audience who can imagine that a humble beginning is no barrier to a life of high adventure and heroic questing.

So my question today is what happens to the game when the journey ends before it begins? What is there to accomplish when our hero starts life as a nearly invincible protagonist, can easily defeat all challenges and when our "story" becomes a laundry list of various messes that we have cleaned up. The spectacular (and heroic) become the mundane?

Sometimes it feels just so.

Gateway to Another World

Fighting Fantasy and other adventure books offer the reader a chance to have a gaming experience much like role playing while reading a book (and rolling some dice), no friends required. The first in a series of the Fighting Fantasy logo books, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, was written and published by Ian Livingston and Steve Jackson back in 1982 (it's still in print). The Fighting Fantasy books are a fun introduction to the concept of fantasy adventure gaming, or a nice diversion from gaming with a group and they have once again become an entertaining solo gaming experience for an old adventurer such as myself.

I recently re-visited The Warlock... and found this book still offers a fun challenge. The book is not an adventure that one is likely to complete on our first try/read and the author of the book warns us to expect to lose a few characters before we learn all the secrets of success. Yes, some might call this "metagaming" but the idea is to use what we learn from the last delve to help make wiser choices in the next attempt, even though it is with a fresh character.

Warlock is a classic fantasy setting complete with underground corridors inhabited by orcs and an evil warlock/mastermind to defeat. The game system is mechanically fairly simple, but it still offers all that is necessary to get the imagination going. The reader starts by "rolling up a character/adventurer" who is your imaginary self as you make choices and suffer the consequences of failure through damage to the character's stats. This should sound familiar to anyone who has played any tabletop roleplaying game. The Fighting Fantasy books use three stat scores, Skill, Stamina and Luck. Magic in the book is found in the form of potions and items and in the fantastic elements of the setting.

Skill is a generic ability score that represents combat prowess, sneaking about, tinkering with locks and traps and opening doors (and anything else that "skill" might cover). You test Skill by rolling two six sided dice and adding your Skill number for a total which is often compared to a monster's total (generated in the same manner) in combat or to a target number for a non-combat task.

Stamina is health or hit points and an adventurer loses Stamina when they take damage. Lost Stamina can be restored by taking time-out and eating a ration or by quaffing a "magic" potion.

Luck is tested in a manner similar to saving throws found in some other games and success can get you out of a bad situation or outcome. Luck diminishes as it is used/tested however and the Luck score is lowered by one each time it is rolled against. The player can also choose to test luck in an effort to inflict more damage on a on a monster as part of a successful attack or to reduce the amount of damage your character takes when the monster has won a round of combat. Luck is replenished by drinking a fortune potion or as a reward for accomplishing some task as instructed to do so in the text.

The adventure presented in The Warlock... book recently entertained me for most of a day as I worked my way through the tunnels, lost a few adventurers along the way and defeated the boss warlock. Revisiting the Fighting Fantasy system also inspired some ideas regarding modifying it for further solo or group play using some adventures of my own design involving some random dice roll tables. 

The idea of moving the FF game out of the book and onto the table is an obvious outgrowth of the system. The authors would publish their own Fighting Fantasy tabletop role-playing game doing just that in 1984. 

This book is no longer in print and therefore is a little harder to come by these days. Fortunately, the mechanics of the FF game system lend itself easily to adding homebrew innovations - and who doesn't enjoy making things up!