Box of Tenticled Terror

Spooky RPG Fun
Sandy Petersen's Call of Cthulhu RPG was released in 1981. My friend and I attended GenCon that year at the University of Wisconsin, Parkside and I recall Call of Cthulhu (CoC) being my big purchase that year.  I have acquired many games in my 40 years in the hobby, only a few stand out as "major" purchases - those that have had a profound affect on my experience with the hobby. CoC is one such game. The fantasy genre was my preference for role-playing with an emphasis on dungeon delving. I had experimented with a few games outside the fantasy genre, including Boot Hill and Gama World, Traveler and a Star Trek game all come to mind, but nothing seemed to satisfy my desire for adventure like White Box had. CoC was a totally new experience for me and would forever change my way of playing an RPG.
Player Characters in CoC are called "Investigators", because that's what they do. They aren't "Fighting Men" or "Magic Users". They ask questions, explore and discover. They sometimes fight, but often that is a fatal choice, ordinary people having little chance against the horrific monstrosities which can be encountered in a CoC game. Contact with such other-worldly beings can result in sanity loss even if the PCs physically survive. So playing at this weird 1920s investigator game I started to ask questions I thought my character should ask (rather than hitting everything with my sword). The referee (Keeper in CoC terms) probably talked in different voices for the NPCs and so somehow I got the idea that my character might have a different voice than the one I usually conversed with. The gun in my pocket tended to stay there and I talked my way through most encounters, all the while collecting information and uncovering plots.  A camera often came in more handy than a weapon as it could provide proof to authorities that something unusual was afoot.
Interest  in the game led to my exploring its source inspiration, the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and eventually others in the horror genre. Comics focused on weird tales had always been a favorite and horror movies I found thrilling, but converting those interests into gaming had not really occurred to me until Mr. Petersen showed us the way. CoC began to influence my other RPG play through incorporation of more role-playing elements and some horror themes. Our games got weirder in general after CoC.
Eventually I discovered that CoC could be taken outside the 1920s and I began running a game set in Outremer during the crusades for my friends. The dark ages seemed to add to the sense of mystery and wonder as the players explored exotic locales and uncovered ancient secrets. The mythos can really be used in any era from past, present and into the future depending on the preferred setting and lends itself well to alternative explanations for all sorts of events through the ages. Anything from the Fall of Rome to the Fukushima reactor disaster can be connected to mythos activity by an imaginative Keeper. And because the threat is always there, it can be fun to play out some scenarios lacking in anything really weird and unusual. Such sessions can lend verisimilitude to the game in general.
The game is now enjoying renewed popularity with the publication last year of the 7th Edition rules. The game design, originally based on the Basic Role Playing engine, has proven very robust and the 7th Edition remains essentially the same game it has always been, although I think there are some nice additions (and the books themselves are simply gorgeous). The d100 system is intuitive and I find it easy to run (provided previously created characters are available) even without the rule book present. The game can be rail-roady if the Keeper doesn't make an effort to avoid this and it can bog down if the Investigators fail to acquire an essential piece of information, therefore it is essential that the Keeper not allow a failed roll, or ignored lead, to stymie the game. Creativity and improvisation on the part of the Keeper can remedy these potential pitfalls. Some of the best CoC advice I ever got was to give the clue even though a roll is failed, just add a complication due to the failed roll. That way the game can progress and may even become more interesting.
White Box began as a game extension of fantasy literature. Mr. Petersen and Chaosium took the idea beyond fantasy and into the weirdness of the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. In doing so, they expanded the scope of the hobby and gave me a game that took my experience way beyond the way I played White Box. It wasn't long before I took those experiences and new gaming concepts back to White Box and fantasy gaming. One part of the hobby enriches another.

An Important Article

Clarifications & Explanations
The Strategic Review was the first magazine (fanzine really) published by the then new Tactical Studies Rules company. It covered the hobby and included articles on boardgames and minatures gaming as well as the new role-playing aspect of the hobby introduced by White Box. Vol. 1, No. 2 (Summer 1975) carried an article titled "Questions Most Frequently Asked About Dungeons & Dragons Rules" in which some important answers are given, presumably by author Gary Gygax himself.
Combat is the first topic addressed in the article and this seems appropriate given the White Box emphasis on combat.  The author points out that Chainmail is primarily a 1:20 scale ruleset and suggests that the alternative system (d20) be used for important fights involving characters. It is in this article that the idea of fighting men getting multiple attacks against "normal" types such as 1 hit die monsters. The author states that an 8th level superhero would get eight attacks against normal men or their equivalent, i.e kobolds, goblins, gnomes, dwarves, etc. The omission of initiative in the White Box is addressed by the suggestion a d6 is rolled by each side and the higher score going first. This is done each round. A high dexterity can grant a bonus of +1.
The combat example given makes it clear how multiple attacks and initiative work and also introduces the concept of grappling and stunning. In the example a group of orcs attempt to grapple and overpower, i.e. capture a hero (4th level fighting man). When the hero tosses aside the unsuccessful orcs, he stuns two of them. Overpowering to capture rather than attack to kill seems an important tactic to remember.
Morale is discussed and the author states the PC morale is determined by the player and their choices. Monsters run by the referee are subject to morale unless they are mindlessly attacking, such as would be the case with undead. Some NPC henchmen and hirelings may occasionally be subject to morale. The author suggests using the morale system from Chainmail or a simple two d6 roll with 2 being very bad morale and 12 being very good morale.
Experience in White Box is primarily earned by recovering treasure. Killing monsters earns somewhat less experience. In this article, the author indicates magic items are worth relatively small amounts of experience because they aid the player in gaining more treasure and therefore have their own worth.
Any uncertainty regarding spell use is dispelled by the author who clearly states in this article that a given spell can be used but once per day. The magic user or cleric may "equip himself with a multiplicity of the same spell so as to have its use more than a single time". It is also stated that the rules assume the user of magic gains new spells by preparations such as memorization of incantations and that once spoken, that memory is gone completely. Scrolls work similarly in that the words are inscribed on the scroll and once spoken disappear completely.
The Strategic Review is a relatively amateurish publication and this issue is only 8 pages in length (Vol. 2, No. 2 is the last and longest issue with 24 pages.). Only seven issues were printed before TSR replaced it with Dragon Magazine and the short-lived Little Wars. Having been involved with fanzines for years, Mr. Gygax seemed committed to having a periodical publication to support his products and the hobby in general as part of his new company. As can be seen on the cover above, this issue is dedicated to the memory of Mr. Gygax's first business partner and long-time friend Don Kaye (hence the GK logo).

Referee Reading

Ideas for the Game
Kurt Wiegel on his Game Geeks Youtube channel recently expressed the opinion that GMs/referees should read a lot. I agree. Reading is a great way to collect ideas that can later be used in whole, in part, or just as inspiration for a game session you are running.  The more one reads, especially history or fiction, the more useful material one is exposed to. Plots, characters, and events can all be used as fodder for your imagination mill. Re-skinning a story by changing the setting, the names of the people involved and some of the insignificant details can be one of the best ways to quickly come up with a game scenario. Where you draw that story from can vary quite a bit.
I find old western movies to be a great source of story. They don't even have to be very good movies, in fact often the weaker film plots turn out to be more useful as a game template than the more complex, better movies. Simple is good. Characters can be lifted and their hat and six-gun exchanged for medieval garb and again the most simple, stereotyped ones are often the best. Another source I frequently mine for story and character is comic books. The plots are often straight-forward and the villains and supporting cast iconic and easy to understand. Very complex plots or complex characters are difficult for me to successfully translate onto the gaming table. Music is often an inspiration for my gaming as well. Lyrics can suggest characters and story while the sounds inspire mood and atmosphere elements. Pictures often enter my imagination as I listen to music and the music can become a backdrop to an idea I work out mentally while listening.
Reading exercises the imagination. Being able to picture, in one's mind, the setting and action being described in writing is using one's imagination.  The imagination, so essential to tabletop gaming, is like a muscle. it responds to exercise by getting stronger. The more we use our imagination, the stronger our imagination becomes. Imagining the possible is helpful in life as well as gaming. An active imagination allows us to think outside the box and be more creative. I am a big fan of the imagination. 
Having just finished Glen Cook's excellent The Black Company series and looking for my next fantasy read, I took the advice of Sean Patrick Fannon who in his excellent Shaintar: Legends Arise setting book recommends The Fionavar Trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay and the Belgariad novels of David Eddings (among others) and ordered the trilogy and the first three Belgariad volumes. They are older '80s fantasy which means the stories are likely heavily Tolkien influenced and rather epic in nature. I am hoping to find them fertile ground for picking up ideas for use as referee as well as an entertaining read.

Gnome, Gnoll & Troll

A Discourse on Genetics
Long before the  hyena man made his appearance in the Monster Manual, Gnolls were being encountered and bested by hardy adventurers. The White Box Gnoll is described in Volume 2, Monsters & Treasure as "A cross between Gnomes and Trolls", hence the name. Gnolls are a bit tougher than Hobgoblins (big hairy Goblins) having 2 full hit dice (as opposed to 1+1 for Hobgoblins). Presumably they look something like a mixture of Gnome features and Troll features. The illustration from Vol. 2 shown above seems to confirm this. Gnomes are described as short and bearded like dwarves, Trolls as greenish, rubbery and thin. They lack the regenerative power of the Troll, but the bigger Gnolls fight as 6+3 hit dice monsters just like Trolls. Obviously they are weapon users (unlike Trolls who rely upon their claws).
The Monster Manual of the Advanced game alters the Gnoll's appearance to resemble hyena men, otherwise much of the description is similar. They retain a greenish hue to their skin. Game statistics including Armor Class and Hit Dice remain the same. They even speak Troll as if perhaps the relationship with Trolls remains, but is unstated. They are clearly depicted as slavers in the Monster Manual and are generally found below ground often in competition with and/or cooperation with Hobgoblins, Orcs, Bugbears, Ogres and Trolls. They keep hyenas and hyenadons as pets.
In Volume 2, Monsters & Treasure there is an obscure reference to a "Lord Sunsany" who is credited with the theory that Gnolls are a cross between Gnomes and Trolls, but he "did not really make it all that clear". I wonder which came first, the name or the monster. A quick search reveals that Gnoles appear in stories by Lord Dunsany, "How Nuth Would Have Practiced His Art Upon The Gnoles" and Margaret St. Claire, "The Man Who Sold Rope To The Gnoles". Is "Lord Sunsany" actually Lord Dunsany?
Immersion in the game and our willingness to suspend disbelief and treat the imaginary world as real in order to more fully enjoy the game can lead us to think of its troupes as realities. So how would a dwarf-like race of Gnomes cross-breed with Trolls, a traditional enemy of the dwarves and presumably the Gnomes. In Volume 1, Men & Magic Dwarves and Gnomes are listed on both the Law and Neutrality lists while Trolls and Gnolls are certainly Chaos creatures. I would think this alone would make them enemies. Of course this may not preclude violent interbreeding.
Magic is another possible explanation for the Gnoll. Chaos magic users may have experimented with various racial combinations and be responsible for combining Gnome and Troll DNA to create the race of Gnolls. I rather prefer this "magical" explanation.
The somewhat primitive and amateurish drawing of the Gnoll in White Box gives me the impression of a rather large, stooping fiend, with an evil, teeth baring grin and bulging eyes. I can easily picture the Gnoll as a formidable adversary for a low level character. How ever the referee interprets the Gnoll's heritage, Gnolls provide yet another bad guy race to flesh out for your campaign, distinct from Orcs, Hobgoblins, Ogres, Bugbears and the rest of the humanoids. That's where the fun comes into play, using our imagination to create something uniquely ours, then sharing it with friends.

Gaming Vacation

The Sweet Spot
Back from a great visit with friends in the Carolinas.  We pretty much gamed sun-up to sun-down (and beyond) for nine straight days. We played lots of RuneQuest Classic (2nd Edition); we started and finished Ballastor's Barracks, an adventure in the Big Rubble written back in the '70s. In my opinion the adventure still holds up well. It had been about 30 years since I had played it last and so it seemed all new to me as my memory could pull up very few details concerning the "Barracks". Also played a full campaign of Legion of Honor (LoH), Clash of Arms Napoleonic RPG that uses a card driven system to take players from 1792 through 1815 as an officer in Napoleon's Grande Armee.  We all finished as full Generals in the service of the Emperor in 1815.  My Grognard accompanied Napoleon to Egypt where his career took off as a light cavalryman.  A buddy stormed the bridge at Lodi with Massena in Italy.  My character came back from Russia in very bad health and missed Lutzen and Bautzen. Another spent a period as a prisoner of war. My character fought several duels and ended his career as commander of the cavalry of the Imperial Guard during the Hundred Days. For those with an interest in Napoleon, LoH is a fun way to play something unique and works well as a solo game. It reminded us of En Garde! the GDW RPG from the '70s. We played several boardgames, Fire & Axe which is a Viking saga game where you play a Viking raider/explorer and can discover and settle Iceland, Greenland, and America like Lief the Lucky. Star Trek Ascendancy is a newer boardgame and the best of the many Star Trek games which I have played, but it only supports 2-3 players right now. We also played an introductory scenario for the Star Wars RPG from Fantasy Flight and it was a big hit with my friends. We also played the Arkham Horror Living Card Game from Fantasy Flight which is a card deck roleplaying game of Cthulhu mythos and has great potential for long term play. Each of the several characters available is "built" using various cards to form a deck of skills, equipment and special abilities. There are already a number of supplements for the game and promises of more to come, hence the "Living". A friend ran us through a Dungeon Saga game which was also a lot of fun. Dungeon Saga is Mantic Game's dungeon tile and minis game and I think it is one of the better ones in a crowded market. I ran a short adventure using the Dragon Age RPG and we had fun with that. Also played Advanced Squad Leader (ASL), which is always something I look forward to. ASL is a tactical WWII boardgame with an emphasis on infantry which has been a staple in our gaming since the '70s. We broke out the historical miniatures and played the new Swordpoint rules using Carthaginian and Polybian Roman armies. We also played a game using L' Art De Guerre rules ( Greek colonial vs. Campanian armies) and enjoyed them as well. I try to make a couple trips a year south to visit with and game with these very special friends I met through gaming over 40 years ago. We are fortunate to have stayed in touch despite several hundred miles separating us today. Gaming with and hanging out with such old friends is one of the real pleasures in this hobby for me.