Savage Rifts

Dialed Up to Eleven
"Gonzo gaming gone wild" might describe the property that is Rifts! Rifts is the brain-child of one of the hobby's most creative talents, Kevin Siembieda, head guru at Palladium Books. Rifts has been around in its original Palladium format since 1990 and is one of those games that nearly everyone has heard of if not played. Rifts is known for its very extensive inclusion of just about everything imagined. It is in some ways the ultimate setting because everything fits somewhere. Anything that can be imagined can be part of Mr. Siembieda's Megaverse, which includes all the places the inter-dimensional rifts connect to.
Rifts now comes in two versions, the original by Palladium Books powered by the Palladium role-playing engine and a new version using Savage Worlds. Savage Worlds has been around since 2003 as a universal role-playing game that can be used for almost any type/genre of role-playing. It is on the rules lite side and has proved to be very adaptable with respect to setting. Savage Worlds is designed to be miniatures friendly, but certainly does not require miniatures to play.
The beauty of Rifts, and I do see beauty in this, is the wide-open setting that supports anything imagined. Rifts is a futuristic setting, with links to the past, and to any other dimension or universe the referee can dream up. The apocalyptic event which ended the advanced level of Earth's civilization some time in the future created "magic" ley lines and "rifts" opened connecting to other worlds, dimensions and times. Things entered and things exited the rifts and now everything is possible for adventure. Want technology, yes, Rifts has cyborgs, laser rifles, giant robots and Glitter Boys! Want traditional medieval fantasy, yes, Rifts has pockets of elves, dwarves, knights and wizards to adventure with. Want magic wielding wizards facing down giant robots, yes, that is supported as well.
There is a long tradition in the hobby for "gonzo" gaming. David Hargrave of Grimoire Games famously added dinosaurs, T.I.E. fighters and flying (explosive gas filled) sharks ridden by goblins to his Arduin milieu White Box game and gave popular following to his style of gaming through publication of the Arduin Trilogy. The concept is a freedom to include whatever you like in your game. The rules are there to inspire your creative imagination, so if you think it would be fun, include it. If you see it someplace else and think it would be fun to add to your game, just do it. After all, isn't that just what White Box creators Gary Gygax and David Arneson did?
Having read through the big box of awesome that is the Savage Rifts Collector's Box Set my head is swimming with possibilities. That, I think is something similar to the mind-stretching experience White Box was when first I set myself to learning it. The Collector's Box includes the three main volumes: Tomorrow Legion's Player's Handbook, Savage Foes of North America, and the GameMaster's Handbook along with a GM screen, several map sets, custom bennies and dice. Palladium Books has taken the Rifts setting much further, but North America is the portion covered here. Long-time Rifts fans will notice The Tomorrow Legion as a new organization created just for the Savage Worlds version. Rifts is a challenging setting, but basically a simple idea that can get as complex as one likes depending on how far you want to take it. Starting small and local and adding in as play continues seems the way to go here...but there is that temptation to dial it up to eleven and include everything imagined.

Elves

How Big Are Those Pointy Ears?
Dwarves, hobbits, maybe even orcs, all seem to follow the Tolkienesque model in White Box and later editions of the game, but Mr. Gygax definitely went outside Middle Earth for inspiration for his elves. With an average height of 5' (5'-6" max in AD&D) that alone indicates they aren't any Noldor present in this milieu. In AD&D, Mr. Gygax talks about grey elves and high elves, wood elves and aquatic elves and even mentions the legendary "Drow", or black elves. Player characters are stated as being mostly high elves.
The elven abilities in Chainmail (which groups them together with fairies) includes becoming invisible as well as seeing invisible, can perform split moving and firing, and are frequently armed with magic weapons (swords & bows). At this point the connection between what he calls "fairies" and Gygaxian elves is obvious. White Box gives elves the unique ability to alternately act as fighting men and magic users and an increase ability to spot hidden doors, suggesting they are generally more observant.
White Box includes other "fairies" such as brownies, pixies and sprites, not as player character races, but as part of the milieu to be encountered. The world of "fairie" is obviously known to Mr. Gygax and included in the game and it seems game elves are a part of that tradition rather than Tolkien. The inspiration for elves, what the designer had in mind when he included elves, can be helpful in knowing how to run an elf character. White Box is largely a do-it-yourself approach to gaming and the milieu of setting is only loosely implied by character class, monster list, playable races, and magic system, but having said that, playing an elf as a member of fairie seems consistent with the implied setting. Fairie, fairy, faerie or however one spells it has roots in English folklore and examples appear in numerous sources from the Andrew Lang Fairy Books (various colours)  to Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword.
More modern role-players may draw their conceptual thinking about elves from World of Warcraft or other sources as elves have become a staple of role-playing in all its forms. Regardless of system, dwarves seem to be dwarves and hobbits, even when renamed halflings (despite undersized feet in 5th Ed.) remain hobbits. Pathfinder elves are taller than humans, despite otherwise resembling TSR elves. Often the most noticeable differences between game elves are the size of the pointy ears. They range from normal size, but slightly pointy Tolkien ears to the wildly exaggerated WOW ears. Size of ear shouldn't affect how elves are role-played too much. Where one draws their inspiration from probably has more effect on how one plays their elf, hence the legions of noble, good-hearted Drow I have encountered over the years, so many in fact that one might think that was the normal state of Drow to be kind, honest creatures and good adventuring companions. It's starting to feel like this post is becoming too long, so let's end it with the original observation, that elves seem to come in lots of flavors, more so than other non-human races.
Oh, wait, what about those Elric - Melniboneans...aren't they elves?

A Little Time-Line Magic

RuneQuest Revisited
In anticipation of playing in a RuneQuest Classic game soon, I was reading the reprint edition and noted the editors have changed some of the text near the front of the box.  RuneQuest 2, currently called RuneQuest Classic by publisher Chaosium, is an older game dating back to the late 1970's. As such, it has some history as a game, having passed through a number of publishers and at least six (official) editions. Through most editions, RuneQuest has been closely tied to a default setting, Glorantha, one of the hobby's seminal game worlds. Glorantha is a dynamic setting used for HeroWars, HeroQuest and a couple boardgames. As new Glorantha material is released to story progresses to a degree. Therefore RuneQuest Classic includes an introduction to Glorantha which differs slightly from that found in the older printing. One difference that attracted my attention is the timeline.
The timeline included in RuneQuest 2nd Edition took the history of Dragon Pass through the year 1613 when Starbrow leads an unsuccessful Sartarite rebellion against the Lunar occupiers. That is the last entry and for the past 40 years, the beginning of the adventure. The Heortling warriors were scattered, many heading toward the colony at New Pavis, in order to improve their skills through adventure and to ready themselves for the next rebellion.
RuneQuest Classic continues the timeline through 1627 when Argrath becomes Prince of Sartar. There are a number of events which take place along the way and are recorded thus:

1613 Kallyr Starbrow leads another Sartarite rebellion, quickly
crushed by the Empire.
1616 God-King of the Holy Country disappears and the Masters
of Luck and Death fail to bring forth a new incarnation.
1619 Lunar Empire invades Heortland.
1621 Whitewall falls to Lunar Empire.
1624 Lunar Empire defeated in Esrolia by Harrek the Berserk.
1625 True Dragon devours new Lunar Temple in Sartar.
1626 Sartarites repel Lunar invasion but Kallyr Starbrow is
killed in battle.
1627 Argrath becomes Prince of Sartar.

These events cover 14 years of game-time and 40 years of gaming for those of us who started our campaigns in 1613. The "official" history is not exactly how it played out for me, but there are more than one way to remember events. One of the challenges when playing in a published campaign is the "official canon" may not coincide with events as they occur at your table. Most of my play has involved side-plots and historically insignificant characters, so it isn't a big deal, but it got me thinking. A timeline is an invitation to adventure!
Take an establish timeline, historic or fictional, grab a few years off the timeline and let your imagination set the stage for playing out "the rest of the story" - the details that don't make it onto the timeline. During those 14 years on the Dragon Pass timeline, countless groups have played for the past 40 years. The stories that happened at our table are "real" to us. They are part of our memories. How they relate to the "official" history is a matter we can speculate upon as players. That is part of the imaginary fun of it all.
Rather than be put-off by a timeline that tells what has already happened, I have found that with properties such as J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, the timeline is a good way to begin imagining. You may feel some obligation to make sure the One Ring gets to Mount Doom, but there are a whole lot of stories going on in a wide world such as Middle Earth, stories that can be created at your gaming table. If a relatively less well known period on the timeline is chosen, then a feeling of playing second to the main action can even be avoided.
So take the year 1616 above. The God-King of the Holy Country disappears. What happens to him? The Masters of Luck and Death fail to bring forth a new incarnation. Why? There is a lot of room for adventure in this one entry. Involve the players in the story and the mysteries will be revealed. What happened, why and how will become part of the memories of the group and yes, I think there is a little magic in that.

Character Generation

... and Time Spent
Playing a role-play game means having a character to play. An artificial game constructed being who will serve as your playing piece and alter-ego in the game. In White Box the character is made up by rolling 3 six-sided dice six times for the characters abilities, Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. The scores rolled give some suggestion about what the character is good at and what challenges them in terms of ability. You pick one of four races, human, elf, dwarf or hobbit and if human, a character class such as fighting man, cleric or magic user (dwarves, elves and hobbits are more limited). Roll hit points according to class and give your character a name and alignment. It takes almost as long to type it as it does to do it. In other words, it's a quick process...maybe 5 minutes. (Buying equipment can take longer.)
An advantage to this system is it gets one playing quickly and makes replacing a dead character little chore. Characters generated this way can achieve a great deal of "personality", individuality or "character", but such either comes as a result of play at the table or is reflected in the way the player role plays the character. Players in my game are encouraged to take this as far as their imagination allows.
In contrast I have spent hours generating a character for some of the more complex and involved fantasy role-play systems, producing characters with a number of skills, advantages and disadvantages, talents, traits, backgrounds, feats, quirks, and abilities, both prime and derived. Point buy systems can be rather tedious as the player tweaks and recalculates looking for the most economical combinations of optional characteristics to purchase. Generating a character using this method allows the player to tailor their per-concieved character concept into what they will eventually play. Having a well defined prior concept of the character in mind is a practical necessity here. There are a few lengthy chargen systems that make use of a number of random rolls, but be prepared to play almost anything when using that approach (it's all random!). There are a number of players that really enjoy "building" characters and for them this lengthy, point-buy system of character customization is an important aspect of their hobby.
Purchasing equipment can also become a rather time-consuming task even with otherwise simple chargen mechanics such as White Box. The referee can save time by assigning a "starter" set of equipment based on class. This has the additional condition that all characters of a particular class start out with equal wealth in terms of goods. It also encourages each player to spend some treasure re-equipping themselves according to taste once they have earned a little coin. Shopping can be great role-playing fun, but time consuming at the same time. Unless as referee, you would like to spend a good amount of your first session "shopping", I highly recommend assigning equipment according to class and maybe race (or at least offer an adventurer's pack).
How long it takes to generate a character often influences how attached the player is to their PC and how upset they are losing the character early on. This in turn also influences lethality in game play. Character death and the resulting need to roll up a new character can be a relatively small affair or a big deal depending on a number of factors (emotional loss, discouragement, coming up with a new concept, time lost). How much time must be spent in chargen is one of those factors, one which is perhaps more important early in a campaign than late, where raise dead is often an option for higher level PCs.
Chargen plays a part in setting the tone for the game. It helps determine if the campaign is going to be about gamesmanship, about story or narrative, about exploring the world or setting, about players or about characters. Chargen can be done differently depending on the desired tone and emphasis. It is probably a good idea to spend some time talking among the players about expectations for the coming game and what the emphasis will be. Most campaigns are a mixture, but often one aspect or "style" will dominate. It's always helpful for everyone to start on the same page. Some game systems are more geared to one or another of these style tones, but there are many, including White Box, that can be taken in many directions because the mechanics don't specifically dictate one over another.

DragonQuest by SPI

On My To-Play List
I recently picked up this second hand DragonQuest 2nd Edition hardcover. It is in good shape with no interior markings, no musty smell, tight binding. It's really pretty nice and cost me less than it would have new. I really enjoy the fact that second hand hobby product has never been easier to get. The internet has made virtually all things out-of-print available once again, either through print-on-demand, digital format or via the second hand dealers. Used bins in the local stores are somewhat less common and gone are the days of $0.25 game product at the local used book store. That was always hit-or-miss finding anything of interest, but the search was enjoyable.
DragonQuest is one of those older games (1st ed. 1980) that continues to draw me in. I usually pick up an inexpensive copy when I find one, either as a keeper against the day I may find a group and play the system or as a give-a-way to a friend who shares my interest. I have only played DragonQuest maybe once or twice back around the time it was published and those memories are fuzzy, of course. I frequently read through the game rules, however, as the mechanics speak to me in a way that makes me think the game would be fun to play if I ever find the right group. I know the internet is also a wonderful way to play those hard-to-find-players-for games, but I so much prefer the face-to-face gaming experience.
"What is it about DragonQuest that I like so much?" I ask myself in hope that if I can answer this question, maybe I can convince some of my friends they should give it a try. A common sense approach, one which generally agrees with me, is the basis for the overall game philosophy. DragonQuest is old school in that the designers expect some do-it-yourself from the referee. DragonQuest is a non-class character system, but there are many of those these days, so that isn't really a selling point. DragonQuest does have a slight twist on the class-less theme in the way the game handles skills.  Skills in most skill-based systems are things like perception (which like strength and agility is a basic PC characteristic in DragonQuest) and stealth. In DragonQuest skills are Ranger and Thief, each include a number of abilities associated with the skilled Ranger, Thief, etc. One tests these abilities by rolling against a characteristic, such as agility, modified by rank and skill (if applicable).
Combat is conducted on a tactical display, or hex-map, using miniatures or counters.  Facing, terrain and tactics play a significant part in gaining advantages in combat and can often allow smart, but weaker opponents to best foes that out-rank them. In this way, DragonQuest rewards smart combat play over luck. Damage comes in the form of fatigue and endurance loss. Fatigue is easily recovered, whereas endurance loss can result in serious injury or death. In this way the damage system seems a bit more logical than "hit points". The folks who designed DragonQuest were experienced wargame designers and even though the second edition removes some of the tactical elements of the combat system in an attempt to simplify it, the mechanics still reward thoughtful play.
The Magic system is one of the selling points for DragonQuest. Based on magic traditions from myth and literature, it is easy to see from where several of the "schools" or "colleges" of DragonQuest magic are likely to have been influenced. DragonQuest details 15 colleges of magic, including talents and general knowledge spells that can be learned by anyone with the aptitude for magic, special knowledge spells only available to devotees of the specific college, and college rituals of general knowledge and special knowledge. The colleges and rituals give DragonQuest magic a lot of flavor and make it much more appealing than most magic point systems. Magic is supplemented by skilled healers and herbal lore. An extensive listing of herbs and their "powers" again adds an extra dimension to the variety of "magical" effects available in DragonQuest.
A game system influences player behavior through "experience" awards. DragonQuest awards experience for efficiency in accomplishing a goal or mission and for good role-playing. The rules suggest experience be awarded every so many hours of play, so playing the game gets one experience. Quality play increases one's experience award. Experience is used to increase character attributes, skill, spell and weapon ranks. Acquiring training costs money and training is also necessary for advancement.
Throughout the system, DragonQuest seems mindful of verisimilitude, how to make the game seem more believable or "real" to the players. Believable, logical, immersive, these qualities do appeal to me. I am also a fan of old school, do-it-yourself approaches to design and appreciate that element of DragonQuest. Add a tactical combat mechanic that rewards giving some thought to combat, an engaging and interesting magic system and I believe I know what attracts me to DragonQuest.

The Black Company

Grimdark Fantastic Fiction
The Black Company by Glen Cook introduces us to a world where right and wrong, good and evil get all mixed up and it's hard to tell who the "bad guys" are and whether anyone really deserves the title "hero" (the being on the cover is called Soulcatcher, one of the Ten Who Were Taken). Grimdark is a sub-genre of fantastic fiction which has been described as amoral, violent and realistic. For me it is a tone or feeling, an atmosphere, a style of fictional setting that sets my teeth on edge and evokes many emotions. I am frequently guilty of trying to evoke a similar feel and reaction in my game setting.
Glen Cook has written several novels centered on the history of his fictional "Black Company" of mercenaries. In doing so he admittedly draws upon his own experiences of war during service in Vietnam. Mr. Cook virtually invented "grimdark" with The Black Company and it has become a popular style seen in popular fiction by Joe Abercrombe (The Blade Itself), Mark Lawrence (Prince of Thorns), George R.R. Martin (A Game of Thrones), and games including Warhammer 40,000, Diablo, Shadow of the Demon Lord and Symbaroum.
In addition to its own form of entertainment, fantastic fiction can be leveraged as inspiration for fantastic role-playing. That's arguably how the hobby began as Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson sought to create a game that allowed them to incorporate ideas they first encountered reading fantastic stories and viewing fantastic films. Today we might add video games, themselves an outgrowth of tabletop role-playing, the video game industry has produced several settings rich in style and atmosphere such as Skyrim and Dragon Age. Coming around full circle Dragon Age and the setting of Thedas is inspiration for a fine table-top RPG (also titled Dragon Age) by Chris Pramas and Green Ronin.
If playing the good guy again just isn't appealing. If the world as you see it isn't defined by strict good races and bad races. If it seems unreasonable that a dark lord can be defeated so everyone lives happily ever after, if things are often a matter of which side of the conflict you are on, grimdark may be what you are looking for. If raw realism is what passes for your version of truth and the effects of violent solutions don't bother you, perhaps you are already living the grimdark? There is a side of me that feeds on this fictional approach...it's why my own gameworld is called Dreadmoor and it's why I enjoy books like The Black Company.