How to go Star Wars one better.
White Box doesn't limit itself to a single intellectual product (I.P.). Hobbits (in the original printings) elves and dwarves can all be found as player characters in the original Little Brown Books, but the game isn't labeled role-playing in Middle Earth. In his Foreword to the White Box, Gary Gygax refers to Conan, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, and John Carter of Mars, but he doesn't make it a game about any one of those I.P.s. Part of the genius and appeal of Gary's decision is that White Box is all of those and so much more. By not being tied to a specific I.P., those who play the game are encouraged to make it their own game, to personalize the setting and thereby to own it. In Gary's words, "...decide how you would like it to be, and then make it just that way!"
Scum and Villainy (its title is a reference to a line in the original Star Wars movie) could be set in the SW universe, but it isn't and it is a much better game partly because of that simple fact. Creative freedom is thus granted to those who play S&V to make it their own game; to explore the stories each of us wants to without the implicit limits of an I.P. canon getting in the way. Any aspects you want to bring into S&V are viable because there are no limiting preconceptions. Each referee (and player) is free to borrow ideas from any source and incorporate it into the S&V setting.
Folks who lack imagination (are there any of those?) may prefer to have others do their imagining for them. Most of us prefer to think for ourselves and will enjoy the freedom to explore our own creations. Why not imagine the space game you would like to play and use a system such as S&V to do just that.
Mechanically S&V shares the Forged in the Dark system used in Blades in the Dark (and is similar in some ways to Powered By the Apocalypse). In short it is a d6 dice pool mechanic where you roll a number of d6s determined by your attribute and skill (if any) and rolling a single six gives you a complete success (multiple sixes yielding a critical success). If the highest roll is a 4-5 the result is a partial success (1-3 is a failure). Only the highest score rolled really matters. The dice mechanic has many of the same problems as the NDS mechanic of the current I.P. holding game. The system encourages over specialization and "bargaining" both to use the skills you are best at and to negotiate how the dice roll will be interpreted in terms of story. It is probably safe to say that if the SW dice system doesn't bother you, neither will the one used in S&V. Personally I find the system detracts from my immersion as a player (and frustrating as I don't enjoy negotiating as a game mechanic).
A feature of both S&V and Blades in the Dark which I am greatly impressed with (and find worthy of imitation) is the ship/crew mechanic. In S&V the players decide which of three ships they will crew and this determines what kind of missions they will pursue - smuggling, bounty hunting or rebelling against the evil empire. (In Blades... players are members of a gang that specializes in a certain aspect of crime and this choice determines how they earn their experience points.)
The Forged in the Dark system is designed around several narrative features. Dice rolls use Position, which the player can state as being controlled, risky or desperate with each Position helping to define possible consequences. Progress Clocks are used to track things which the players seek to accomplish and threats which may be mounting. Stress and Harm is the way characters take damage. Players can choose to take character Stress rather than injury (Harm) in most situations. Stress is then relieved (cured) during Downtime by the character recreating and indulging. Players can also choose to give their characters Stress in order to create a Flashback, which means the action is rolled back to play out how an Obstacle was dealt with in the past so that it doesn't pose a problem currently. In other words, the ship's drive system breaks down during a chase, but the crew just happens to have the part needed for repairs because of a Flashback...
The default setting is where S&V shines. It is set out among the far, far away reaches of space where every star system has unique and interesting features to explore and become entangled with. Certain jobs are more likely to be found in certain systems and each has its own power players, politics and legal codes. Factions abound and the crew never knows when an unwelcome NPC may appear.
So if SW is your thing, or Firefly or even Cowboy Bebop, S&V can handle it all, even though it isn't officially any of those things. Its strength is that by being influenced by a number of I.P.s, but not directly connected to any of them, players can incorporate ideas of their own along with those borrowed from almost any published source and it's all good and useful for game play. And S&V doesn't use proprietary dice!
Being the observations, recollections and occasional ramblings of a long-time tabletop gamer.
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Not a Storytelling Game
We Play to Discover
White Box, and by extension the later editions, is not a "storyteller" game at heart. Can you use it that way? Certainly, yes. There are lots of ways to play White Box, but as written, as designed, it is not a vehicle for the referee to plot out a story and have the players act through it using their characters. White Box is designed as a "wargame", just like it says on the cover. (the keyword is "game")
In the early 1970's there was a hobby called wargaming (it still exists in a somewhat diminished state). The hobby involved playing strategic games with maps and counters and sometimes with miniature figures and tabletop terrain. White Box is an extension of that idea in its original conception. Add some fantastic creatures, some magic spells and a character advancement system and that's the basis for the fantasy supplement to Chainmail and later the White Box. Stories are what the players tell after the game play is over.
The conversational nature of White Box quickly led to many players wanting to play the role of their character as we identified with "our guy". In response to the referee asking "What do you want to do now?" some responded that their character wanted to talk to someone/ something. The player stated what the character would say and the referee responded with what the NPC/ monster replied. And so "role-playing" takes on a more nuanced aspect and rather than just moving and fighting as figures had done in wargames, we began having "in character" conversations.
White Box is not a storyteller game because players have agency. (I know that may sound a bit odd, but stay with me.) Each player controls the actions of their own character, therefore they do not follow a script as actors in a play. The players choose how their characters will react to the referee's milieu and world. The referee describes a situation, the surroundings and actions of any non-player characters. The players then determine how the main actors, their characters, will behave. No one really has control of the ensuing story. It just develops as a result of the character actions and random outcomes of the dice.
White Box is designed to uncover lots of stories with different themes, involving different worlds and different personalities, some heroic, some not. The rules imply a certain type of fantastic setting with alignments and magic, both arcane and divine, often involving fantasy beings taken from myth and literature who have adventures involving wilderness and underground places of mystery. It does not include mechanics to facilitate storytelling. There are no devices to allow players to interject new fiction into the setting. Players control the actions of their characters in a setting controlled by the referee. It is that way as part of its roots in wargaming where the map or table terrain, the troops, the objectives and victory conditions are all static. Can we add elements to White Box allowing for a more storytelling style of play? The answer is of course, "Yes, certainly", but in doing so it changes the nature of the White Box game (and perhaps makes the game more to your liking by doing so).
We play White Box to find out what will happen? Discovery, conflict and adventure... and sometimes glory are the result. White Box is a creative outlet for our imagination and a temporary escape from the everyday world. Taken to an extreme it can be bombastic epic, humorous foolishness or grim and perilous nihilism. A strength of the original design is how malleable the White Box rules are. They easily allow for customization and the exploration of lots of different play styles. I would say they encourage it.
White Box, and by extension the later editions, is not a "storyteller" game at heart. Can you use it that way? Certainly, yes. There are lots of ways to play White Box, but as written, as designed, it is not a vehicle for the referee to plot out a story and have the players act through it using their characters. White Box is designed as a "wargame", just like it says on the cover. (the keyword is "game")
In the early 1970's there was a hobby called wargaming (it still exists in a somewhat diminished state). The hobby involved playing strategic games with maps and counters and sometimes with miniature figures and tabletop terrain. White Box is an extension of that idea in its original conception. Add some fantastic creatures, some magic spells and a character advancement system and that's the basis for the fantasy supplement to Chainmail and later the White Box. Stories are what the players tell after the game play is over.
The conversational nature of White Box quickly led to many players wanting to play the role of their character as we identified with "our guy". In response to the referee asking "What do you want to do now?" some responded that their character wanted to talk to someone/ something. The player stated what the character would say and the referee responded with what the NPC/ monster replied. And so "role-playing" takes on a more nuanced aspect and rather than just moving and fighting as figures had done in wargames, we began having "in character" conversations.
White Box is not a storyteller game because players have agency. (I know that may sound a bit odd, but stay with me.) Each player controls the actions of their own character, therefore they do not follow a script as actors in a play. The players choose how their characters will react to the referee's milieu and world. The referee describes a situation, the surroundings and actions of any non-player characters. The players then determine how the main actors, their characters, will behave. No one really has control of the ensuing story. It just develops as a result of the character actions and random outcomes of the dice.
White Box is designed to uncover lots of stories with different themes, involving different worlds and different personalities, some heroic, some not. The rules imply a certain type of fantastic setting with alignments and magic, both arcane and divine, often involving fantasy beings taken from myth and literature who have adventures involving wilderness and underground places of mystery. It does not include mechanics to facilitate storytelling. There are no devices to allow players to interject new fiction into the setting. Players control the actions of their characters in a setting controlled by the referee. It is that way as part of its roots in wargaming where the map or table terrain, the troops, the objectives and victory conditions are all static. Can we add elements to White Box allowing for a more storytelling style of play? The answer is of course, "Yes, certainly", but in doing so it changes the nature of the White Box game (and perhaps makes the game more to your liking by doing so).
We play White Box to find out what will happen? Discovery, conflict and adventure... and sometimes glory are the result. White Box is a creative outlet for our imagination and a temporary escape from the everyday world. Taken to an extreme it can be bombastic epic, humorous foolishness or grim and perilous nihilism. A strength of the original design is how malleable the White Box rules are. They easily allow for customization and the exploration of lots of different play styles. I would say they encourage it.
Friday, May 24, 2019
Queen of Cities
Constantinople
Mythic Constantinople is a setting book for the Mythras RPG system published by The Design Mechanism and written by Mark Shirley. The Design Mechanism offers a series of "Mythic" setting books including Mythic Britain and Mythic Rome. All are first rate game aids for their Mythras game and are based on a magical interpretation of a period in Earth's past civilizations. (A Mycenaean or Babylonian "mythic" book is on my personal "wish list". Perhaps I should be working on it?) Mythic Constantinople is set in the year 1450 A.D., not long before it will be conquered by the Ottomans (1453). The author takes some liberties with fact as this is a work of fiction aimed at game-play and therefore includes reference to real magic and fantastic creatures such as minotaur people.
Historically, Constantinople served as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and later Byzantine Empire. By 1450, however, the "Empire" has shrunk to contain not much more than the city itself. Ravaged by the European crusaders in the 13th Century, Constantinople is a shadow of its former self. It is a city in decline and the center of a culture under siege.
Mythic Constantinople is an urban setting. Adventures seeds abound as the capital city is filled with power hungry political factions, religious struggles, foreign interests and if you wish to include them, alien races and magical mysteries. The adventurers may get involved in palace politics, help a merchant recover his kidnapped daughter or investigate a crime ring operating near the docks. Mythras as a system that grew out of RuneQuest makes use of religion and cult membership as part of the core rules. Islam, Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism offer three competing religions in Mythic Constantinople that the referee may use or ignore. Mythras offers four different types of magic, folk magic, divine magic, sorcery and mysticism, and each is addressed in Mythic Constantinople with suggestions regarding how each may be used to good effect in this particular setting.
The Mythras system is among my favorite role-playing games. Based on the d100 (Basic Role Playing) mechanic, Mythras started life as RuneQuest 6 and has roots in Chaosium's RuneQuest 2e which was recently reprinted after a very successful Kickstarter. The return of the name RuneQuest to Chaosium led to The Design Mechanism changing the title of their game to Mythras in 2016. Although it retains a d100 roll under mechanic and is a skill based system, Mythras differs significantly from RuneQuest 2e and Chaosium's new RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha (RQ4e). Like RuneQuest, Mythras is a class-less role-playing game that allows for a lot of customization of the player's character. The Design Mechanism folks have stream-lined combat and Mythras melee plays out much faster than RQ2e. Gone are the attack, parry, attack, parry long drawn out sequences which were so common with the earlier edition. Mythras uses dice rolling success to allow players to choose tactical outcomes such as forcing surrender, disarming and other choices that will either give the character a distinct combat advantage or end the conflict quickly, often without creature death.
Mythras is not tied to a particular setting and one of the strengths of the system according to The Design Mechanism is how well it works across many different settings. My interest is primarily fantasy and ancient and medieval history, but The Design Mechanism offers setting books for modern vampires, adventures in space and others. Their Classic Fantasy volume is aimed at using Mythras as an old fashioned dungeon crawler game.
Mythic Constantinople, like Mythic Britain a couple years ago, has tapped into the inherent "magic" of the historic period. Myths and legends are very real aspects of our human past and making use of them in our role playing games is almost unavoidable to some degree. Our knowledge of traditions past and present fuels our imagination and we draw upon this knowledge in our creations. I am particularly impressed with the creative re-framing of some bit of past history combined with new ideas. This is what Mythic Constantinople accomplishes. It is historically based, so is familiar enough to seem real, but adds in a bit of the fantastic, often borrowed from beliefs and superstitions linked to the historical period and region, and produces a playground rich in possible adventures just waiting for some players to roll-up Mythras characters and dive into the streets of the Queen of Cities.
Mythic Constantinople is a setting book for the Mythras RPG system published by The Design Mechanism and written by Mark Shirley. The Design Mechanism offers a series of "Mythic" setting books including Mythic Britain and Mythic Rome. All are first rate game aids for their Mythras game and are based on a magical interpretation of a period in Earth's past civilizations. (A Mycenaean or Babylonian "mythic" book is on my personal "wish list". Perhaps I should be working on it?) Mythic Constantinople is set in the year 1450 A.D., not long before it will be conquered by the Ottomans (1453). The author takes some liberties with fact as this is a work of fiction aimed at game-play and therefore includes reference to real magic and fantastic creatures such as minotaur people.
Historically, Constantinople served as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and later Byzantine Empire. By 1450, however, the "Empire" has shrunk to contain not much more than the city itself. Ravaged by the European crusaders in the 13th Century, Constantinople is a shadow of its former self. It is a city in decline and the center of a culture under siege.
Mythic Constantinople is an urban setting. Adventures seeds abound as the capital city is filled with power hungry political factions, religious struggles, foreign interests and if you wish to include them, alien races and magical mysteries. The adventurers may get involved in palace politics, help a merchant recover his kidnapped daughter or investigate a crime ring operating near the docks. Mythras as a system that grew out of RuneQuest makes use of religion and cult membership as part of the core rules. Islam, Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism offer three competing religions in Mythic Constantinople that the referee may use or ignore. Mythras offers four different types of magic, folk magic, divine magic, sorcery and mysticism, and each is addressed in Mythic Constantinople with suggestions regarding how each may be used to good effect in this particular setting.
The Mythras system is among my favorite role-playing games. Based on the d100 (Basic Role Playing) mechanic, Mythras started life as RuneQuest 6 and has roots in Chaosium's RuneQuest 2e which was recently reprinted after a very successful Kickstarter. The return of the name RuneQuest to Chaosium led to The Design Mechanism changing the title of their game to Mythras in 2016. Although it retains a d100 roll under mechanic and is a skill based system, Mythras differs significantly from RuneQuest 2e and Chaosium's new RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha (RQ4e). Like RuneQuest, Mythras is a class-less role-playing game that allows for a lot of customization of the player's character. The Design Mechanism folks have stream-lined combat and Mythras melee plays out much faster than RQ2e. Gone are the attack, parry, attack, parry long drawn out sequences which were so common with the earlier edition. Mythras uses dice rolling success to allow players to choose tactical outcomes such as forcing surrender, disarming and other choices that will either give the character a distinct combat advantage or end the conflict quickly, often without creature death.
Mythras is not tied to a particular setting and one of the strengths of the system according to The Design Mechanism is how well it works across many different settings. My interest is primarily fantasy and ancient and medieval history, but The Design Mechanism offers setting books for modern vampires, adventures in space and others. Their Classic Fantasy volume is aimed at using Mythras as an old fashioned dungeon crawler game.
Mythic Constantinople, like Mythic Britain a couple years ago, has tapped into the inherent "magic" of the historic period. Myths and legends are very real aspects of our human past and making use of them in our role playing games is almost unavoidable to some degree. Our knowledge of traditions past and present fuels our imagination and we draw upon this knowledge in our creations. I am particularly impressed with the creative re-framing of some bit of past history combined with new ideas. This is what Mythic Constantinople accomplishes. It is historically based, so is familiar enough to seem real, but adds in a bit of the fantastic, often borrowed from beliefs and superstitions linked to the historical period and region, and produces a playground rich in possible adventures just waiting for some players to roll-up Mythras characters and dive into the streets of the Queen of Cities.
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Initiative
...and Other Unnecessary Rolls
"Roll for initiative!" How many tense and exciting moments at the gaming table have started out with that referee announcement? The LBBs I am so very fond of don't actually spell out how to do initiative. The combat system from the Chainmail man-to-man system on which the fantasy supplement is based doesn't either. The basic mass combat rules state that a die roll determines which side acts first. This is the basis of the roll a d6 per side to determine who goes first in a combat round. It could be high score or low score. Ties could result in simultaneous attacks. As the game progresses through its subsequent editions, the initiative die becomes a d10 and finally a d20 with a complex initiative order often the result. Players wait their turn and hopefully think about what actions they wish their character to attempt so as to be ready when their turn arrives. I find this slows my game down and for me personally, that is not how I want to referee combat. I want to keep the melee fast and exciting. "You go, they go, repeat!"
Over the decades I have refereed combat using a number of different methods. I have experimented and borrowed ideas from players, other referees and from authors who write about such things. (Allowing higher level/HD beings to act first.) I keep returning to the thought that what makes White Box combat so great is how quick it is, how it is incremental in hit point loss therefore allowing players to judge how well their characters are doing and when it is time to run, and finally how abstract it is allowing for imaginative interpretation of the dice rolls. "Quick" is the most important characteristic.
Quick combat adds to the excitement and sense of chaos I find feels right when involved in a melee. I can "see" the cuts and parries, the jockeying for position, the pushing and shoving, and bleeding that occurs as creatures struggle in a life and death , hack and slash free-for-all, all happening in a split second in my mind's eye. Quick feels right. It feels real. And it allows for lots of exploration and role-play during an average session because fights don't take hours.
Some editions have attempted to account for weapon speed and length while determining who strikes first in a combat. While this makes intuitive sense, it can also slow the game. As referee I will occasionally state that one side or the other gets first strike due to situational factors such as presenting a wall of spears. At other times I will describe a monster as having the character in its tentacles and therefore only a dagger can be used by the character being held in such a manner. This is primarily to add to the feeling of realism and to help "paint a mental picture" of what is transpiring in our collective "theater of the mind".
As referee I try to keep dice rolling to a minimum. I do not favor rolling to spot something, or rolling to jump or climb or swim. Saving throws are used to avoid nasty consequences and I tend to use them if and when the player describes a risky action that looks to me like it may well end in disaster/ damage. In combat I usually say, "The creatures move to attack. What do you do?" rather than, "Roll for initiative." Unless surprised, I usually allow the players to roll first out of courtesy. Roll your attacks, roll for damage. Roll any saving throws. New turn. If the fight looks hopeless for the baddies rather than letting it turn into a boring thing, intelligent creatures will "run away" or surrender. "What do you do, adventurers?"
When a melee is over, I hope my players breath a sigh of relief. I hope they feel like they have just experienced some high energy excitement and a bit of danger (for their characters). I want them to reflect momentarily on what just happened and for me that is where the story happens in role-playing. After the action, what goes through the players' minds? What comments do they make regarding what just happened to each other?
There are a lot of ways to play White Box - that's one of its strengths in my opinion. If players want more detail and slower mechanics and to roll for searching the bedroom and for their character to persuade the merchant to give them a deal on that new sword, it's certainly no problem to play that way. I prefer to keep the dice rolling to a minimum and to handle as much as possible through dialogue. White Box is a conversation game the way I run it. The dice are dangerous, unpredictable and rolling them can lead to taking character damage. Teach your players to avoid them if possible and it can make combat even more exciting. There has to be a little "danger" in risk-taking in order to make it exciting.
"Roll for initiative!" How many tense and exciting moments at the gaming table have started out with that referee announcement? The LBBs I am so very fond of don't actually spell out how to do initiative. The combat system from the Chainmail man-to-man system on which the fantasy supplement is based doesn't either. The basic mass combat rules state that a die roll determines which side acts first. This is the basis of the roll a d6 per side to determine who goes first in a combat round. It could be high score or low score. Ties could result in simultaneous attacks. As the game progresses through its subsequent editions, the initiative die becomes a d10 and finally a d20 with a complex initiative order often the result. Players wait their turn and hopefully think about what actions they wish their character to attempt so as to be ready when their turn arrives. I find this slows my game down and for me personally, that is not how I want to referee combat. I want to keep the melee fast and exciting. "You go, they go, repeat!"
Over the decades I have refereed combat using a number of different methods. I have experimented and borrowed ideas from players, other referees and from authors who write about such things. (Allowing higher level/HD beings to act first.) I keep returning to the thought that what makes White Box combat so great is how quick it is, how it is incremental in hit point loss therefore allowing players to judge how well their characters are doing and when it is time to run, and finally how abstract it is allowing for imaginative interpretation of the dice rolls. "Quick" is the most important characteristic.
Quick combat adds to the excitement and sense of chaos I find feels right when involved in a melee. I can "see" the cuts and parries, the jockeying for position, the pushing and shoving, and bleeding that occurs as creatures struggle in a life and death , hack and slash free-for-all, all happening in a split second in my mind's eye. Quick feels right. It feels real. And it allows for lots of exploration and role-play during an average session because fights don't take hours.
Some editions have attempted to account for weapon speed and length while determining who strikes first in a combat. While this makes intuitive sense, it can also slow the game. As referee I will occasionally state that one side or the other gets first strike due to situational factors such as presenting a wall of spears. At other times I will describe a monster as having the character in its tentacles and therefore only a dagger can be used by the character being held in such a manner. This is primarily to add to the feeling of realism and to help "paint a mental picture" of what is transpiring in our collective "theater of the mind".
As referee I try to keep dice rolling to a minimum. I do not favor rolling to spot something, or rolling to jump or climb or swim. Saving throws are used to avoid nasty consequences and I tend to use them if and when the player describes a risky action that looks to me like it may well end in disaster/ damage. In combat I usually say, "The creatures move to attack. What do you do?" rather than, "Roll for initiative." Unless surprised, I usually allow the players to roll first out of courtesy. Roll your attacks, roll for damage. Roll any saving throws. New turn. If the fight looks hopeless for the baddies rather than letting it turn into a boring thing, intelligent creatures will "run away" or surrender. "What do you do, adventurers?"
When a melee is over, I hope my players breath a sigh of relief. I hope they feel like they have just experienced some high energy excitement and a bit of danger (for their characters). I want them to reflect momentarily on what just happened and for me that is where the story happens in role-playing. After the action, what goes through the players' minds? What comments do they make regarding what just happened to each other?
There are a lot of ways to play White Box - that's one of its strengths in my opinion. If players want more detail and slower mechanics and to roll for searching the bedroom and for their character to persuade the merchant to give them a deal on that new sword, it's certainly no problem to play that way. I prefer to keep the dice rolling to a minimum and to handle as much as possible through dialogue. White Box is a conversation game the way I run it. The dice are dangerous, unpredictable and rolling them can lead to taking character damage. Teach your players to avoid them if possible and it can make combat even more exciting. There has to be a little "danger" in risk-taking in order to make it exciting.
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Conflict
...and Expectations
One of the conflicts that may be occurring at your table today might involve the expectations among players and the referee being quite different. A few years ago what I will call "story style games", those with a focus on shared narrative, introduced a change to the power dynamic in some tabletop role playing. Players in story style RPGs are given more say in world creation and in the application of rules as well as some narrative control. Old school games are frequently referred to as "the referee's (insert name) game" because it is the referee who controls all aspects of the game except the player's character who is free to go about interacting with the referee's world using the referee's rules. In such games each referee is expected to be fair and to assist the player in having fun playing in "their world", but control of the world and rules is firmly in the hands of the referee.
Imagine my shock when as an old school gamer I first sat down at a table being run using a "narrativist" style. I asked what some aspect of the world is like and rather than the referee telling me what my character knows about "her world", she turned the question back to me... "What did I think?" she asks in return. I believe I was paralyzed (having failed my intellect saving throw). With the help of other players who were more familiar with this style of play, I began to get the idea that the world was to be shaped collaboratively and that the underlying assumptions of this particular game were very different from anything I had experienced before.
Now imagine the reverse scenario; one where a person accustomed to a more narrative/collaborative game style, in which players are encouraged to freely add to the fiction by introducing aspects of the shared setting that might appeal to them, is now sitting down with an old school referee who expects to be asked what the player's character knows about the world. The referee at this table has a definite idea in mind for how his world works and does not anticipate design suggestions coming from the players during session play. Sounds like a potential conflict between expectations based on dissimilar assumptions.
In game conflict makes for interesting play. Conflict between a player and referee is not so much fun. It is not as simple as labeling some systems narrativist, or others gamest or simulationist. Those are terms which may have merit when talking theoretically about game design, but may have little impact once the dice start rolling. At this point I can run White Box as any of the three styles by altering the way I referee. Pre-communication about the game parameters so that everyone is expecting a similar style of game seems more to the point and therefore more helpful.
One of the conflicts that may be occurring at your table today might involve the expectations among players and the referee being quite different. A few years ago what I will call "story style games", those with a focus on shared narrative, introduced a change to the power dynamic in some tabletop role playing. Players in story style RPGs are given more say in world creation and in the application of rules as well as some narrative control. Old school games are frequently referred to as "the referee's (insert name) game" because it is the referee who controls all aspects of the game except the player's character who is free to go about interacting with the referee's world using the referee's rules. In such games each referee is expected to be fair and to assist the player in having fun playing in "their world", but control of the world and rules is firmly in the hands of the referee.
Imagine my shock when as an old school gamer I first sat down at a table being run using a "narrativist" style. I asked what some aspect of the world is like and rather than the referee telling me what my character knows about "her world", she turned the question back to me... "What did I think?" she asks in return. I believe I was paralyzed (having failed my intellect saving throw). With the help of other players who were more familiar with this style of play, I began to get the idea that the world was to be shaped collaboratively and that the underlying assumptions of this particular game were very different from anything I had experienced before.
Now imagine the reverse scenario; one where a person accustomed to a more narrative/collaborative game style, in which players are encouraged to freely add to the fiction by introducing aspects of the shared setting that might appeal to them, is now sitting down with an old school referee who expects to be asked what the player's character knows about the world. The referee at this table has a definite idea in mind for how his world works and does not anticipate design suggestions coming from the players during session play. Sounds like a potential conflict between expectations based on dissimilar assumptions.
In game conflict makes for interesting play. Conflict between a player and referee is not so much fun. It is not as simple as labeling some systems narrativist, or others gamest or simulationist. Those are terms which may have merit when talking theoretically about game design, but may have little impact once the dice start rolling. At this point I can run White Box as any of the three styles by altering the way I referee. Pre-communication about the game parameters so that everyone is expecting a similar style of game seems more to the point and therefore more helpful.
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Torchbearer
Shedding Light
Torchbearer is written by Thor Olavsrud and Luke Crane and published by The Burning Wheel. Torchbearer decribes itself as a "riff on the early model of fantasy roleplaying games". In Torchbearer you do not play a hero as such, but rather an adventurer - one who explores dangerous places (frequently underground) battling monsters in order to retrieve their treasures. It is a game of resource management and of survival... and the fun is found in doing just that. You "win" at Torchbearer by keeping your player character alive.
Sometimes we gamers forget what the World's Most Popular Role Playing Game is/was all about. In its early days, the game was about exploration and survival in a fantastic milieu created by the referee from imagination. The fun and the stories that emerge from playing this game come from what happens at the table as the referee and players discover together just what could happen when their characters interact with the setting. The rules govern game probabilities and time and resources and the dice determine what happens when chance is involved. Many aspects in the game are abstracted, often intentionally so, in order to better facilitate the use of our imagination. The game rewards creative play and clever solutions through not limiting to a set of skills or abilities just what players may try. Succeed at your attempt and your character survives, gets rich and levels up. Failure at the attempt simply results in rolling up a new character, which can also be fun. Everything that happens during the game is part of the unfolding story of your game experiences. The basic concept and style of play of the original game remains popular to this day - after all it gave rise to a new hobby and has arguably changed popular culture in a number of ways.
Physically, Torchbearer reminds me immensely of that original Advanced Game hardcover in its size, layout and feel (even down to the texture of the cover!). The description of the default setting set forth in the opening chapter, "The Light of Civilization Flickers", brings to mind my own gritty campaign world which I have developed over many decades of play. Characters adventure because there are few opportunities for social advancement and wealth other than monster slaying and treasure hunting. In such a world adventurers carry their torch into the darkness, pushing back the forces that would snuff out the light of human civilization if left unchecked.
The Torchbearer game mechanics revolve (wheel metaphor!) around a pool of six-sider dice. Skill and frequent assistance from other characters may determine how many d6 to roll. Success is rolling each four, five or six on a die. The difficulty of a thing is expressed in terms of how many successes are required in order to avoid negative consequences. Torchbearer keeps track of food, water, ammunition, character health and any sources of light. Running out of resources can lead to increased difficulties and ultimately your character's demise. Characters start out in a "Fresh" condition and can become "Hungry and Thirsty", "Angry", "Afraid", "Exhausted", "Injured" "Sick", or "Dead" as play progresses, resources run out, and tests are failed.
Much like its inspiration, the ancestral Advanced Game, Torchbearer is not a simple system. It takes a couple reads to get a working understanding of the unique concepts involved, but it all makes so much sense once mastery is achieved. Torchbearer focuses on the essential game concepts that made playing an adventure game such special enjoyment the way many of us remember having enjoyed it back in the '70s and '80s. This isn't "high fantasy/ high adventure", rather Torchbearer is a game about discovery and survival and it rewards players who develop skill at playing the game.
Torchbearer is written by Thor Olavsrud and Luke Crane and published by The Burning Wheel. Torchbearer decribes itself as a "riff on the early model of fantasy roleplaying games". In Torchbearer you do not play a hero as such, but rather an adventurer - one who explores dangerous places (frequently underground) battling monsters in order to retrieve their treasures. It is a game of resource management and of survival... and the fun is found in doing just that. You "win" at Torchbearer by keeping your player character alive.
Sometimes we gamers forget what the World's Most Popular Role Playing Game is/was all about. In its early days, the game was about exploration and survival in a fantastic milieu created by the referee from imagination. The fun and the stories that emerge from playing this game come from what happens at the table as the referee and players discover together just what could happen when their characters interact with the setting. The rules govern game probabilities and time and resources and the dice determine what happens when chance is involved. Many aspects in the game are abstracted, often intentionally so, in order to better facilitate the use of our imagination. The game rewards creative play and clever solutions through not limiting to a set of skills or abilities just what players may try. Succeed at your attempt and your character survives, gets rich and levels up. Failure at the attempt simply results in rolling up a new character, which can also be fun. Everything that happens during the game is part of the unfolding story of your game experiences. The basic concept and style of play of the original game remains popular to this day - after all it gave rise to a new hobby and has arguably changed popular culture in a number of ways.
Physically, Torchbearer reminds me immensely of that original Advanced Game hardcover in its size, layout and feel (even down to the texture of the cover!). The description of the default setting set forth in the opening chapter, "The Light of Civilization Flickers", brings to mind my own gritty campaign world which I have developed over many decades of play. Characters adventure because there are few opportunities for social advancement and wealth other than monster slaying and treasure hunting. In such a world adventurers carry their torch into the darkness, pushing back the forces that would snuff out the light of human civilization if left unchecked.
The Torchbearer game mechanics revolve (wheel metaphor!) around a pool of six-sider dice. Skill and frequent assistance from other characters may determine how many d6 to roll. Success is rolling each four, five or six on a die. The difficulty of a thing is expressed in terms of how many successes are required in order to avoid negative consequences. Torchbearer keeps track of food, water, ammunition, character health and any sources of light. Running out of resources can lead to increased difficulties and ultimately your character's demise. Characters start out in a "Fresh" condition and can become "Hungry and Thirsty", "Angry", "Afraid", "Exhausted", "Injured" "Sick", or "Dead" as play progresses, resources run out, and tests are failed.
Much like its inspiration, the ancestral Advanced Game, Torchbearer is not a simple system. It takes a couple reads to get a working understanding of the unique concepts involved, but it all makes so much sense once mastery is achieved. Torchbearer focuses on the essential game concepts that made playing an adventure game such special enjoyment the way many of us remember having enjoyed it back in the '70s and '80s. This isn't "high fantasy/ high adventure", rather Torchbearer is a game about discovery and survival and it rewards players who develop skill at playing the game.
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Swords & Wizardry
OSR DIY Core and More
Swords & Wizardry, designed by Matt Finch and published by Mythmere Games and Frog God Games, is a retro-clone of the earliest edition(s) of the World's Most Popular RPG. The S&W Core Rules draw upon the Little Brown Books for inspiration and, include some material from the Original LBB Supplements together with the 3e Standard Reference Document (SRD) and Open Game License (OGL) to produce a game that feels very much like my beloved White Box even if it makes a few glaring changes (like the use of a single saving throw).
Swords & Wizardry is the basis of a number of Old School Renaissance (OSR) fantasy role-play game products. Using the core mechanics of S&W in creative ways a number of authors have published their own RPG products under the Swords & Wizardry license. Continual Light is a version of Swords & Wizardry which strives to reduce the written rules to a bare minimum and in the process serves a nice introductory or rules light fantasy RPG.
Crypts & Things modifies the Swords & Wizardry system to support a very pulp era feel, sword and sorcery game. Crypts & Things introduces new character classes including Barbarian, Sorcerer, Beast Hybrid, Disciple, and Elementalist and new magic spell lists (White, Grey, and Black). Consistent with its portrayal in the swords & sorcery genre, black magic can corrupt the using character's soul if dabbling into the destructive side of magic is your passion. The default Crypts & Things setting, which makes up the second half of the book, is called The Continent of Terror and it is located on a planet called The Dying World.
One of the strengths that makes Swords & Wizardry a great contribution to the RPG Hobby and OSR in general can be found in the number of game aids and modules that have been written for use with this system (most are also compatible with any other OSR system). Designed by Glynn Seal, Edwin Nagy and Mark Nolan and published by MonkeyBlood Design & Publications, The Midderlands setting and campaign material books present an evocative and very green (mossy) version of a fantasy English Midlands that is both highly creative and full of atmosphere. The art, colorful (green) descriptions and award winning cartography of The Midderlands product reveals an immersive (green) world through a growing number of very attractive products that have to be held in-hand to fully appreciate.
The Majestic Wilderlands by Robert S. Conley bills itself as Supplement VI in reference to the original LBB supplements which numbered I-V. The Majestic Wilderlands is Mr. Conley's long running home campaign which I find to be one of the more appealing products on the market. The Majestic Wilderlands is a framework with enough original content to inspire my own creativity and imagination while not overburdening me with lots of details and background reading. Inspired by and often making use of the fine products of a similar name published by Judges Guild many decades ago, The Majestic Wilderlands uses Swords & Wizardry as the basis for its rules.
Swords & Wizardry stands out in a crowded field as a leader in old school rules design. Matt Finch, author of S&W and many other gaming products, holds a special place at the forefront of the OSR and he continues to support and promote the hobby through many endeavors including an online presence at Matt Finch's RPG Studio.
Swords & Wizardry, designed by Matt Finch and published by Mythmere Games and Frog God Games, is a retro-clone of the earliest edition(s) of the World's Most Popular RPG. The S&W Core Rules draw upon the Little Brown Books for inspiration and, include some material from the Original LBB Supplements together with the 3e Standard Reference Document (SRD) and Open Game License (OGL) to produce a game that feels very much like my beloved White Box even if it makes a few glaring changes (like the use of a single saving throw).
Swords & Wizardry is the basis of a number of Old School Renaissance (OSR) fantasy role-play game products. Using the core mechanics of S&W in creative ways a number of authors have published their own RPG products under the Swords & Wizardry license. Continual Light is a version of Swords & Wizardry which strives to reduce the written rules to a bare minimum and in the process serves a nice introductory or rules light fantasy RPG.
One of the strengths that makes Swords & Wizardry a great contribution to the RPG Hobby and OSR in general can be found in the number of game aids and modules that have been written for use with this system (most are also compatible with any other OSR system). Designed by Glynn Seal, Edwin Nagy and Mark Nolan and published by MonkeyBlood Design & Publications, The Midderlands setting and campaign material books present an evocative and very green (mossy) version of a fantasy English Midlands that is both highly creative and full of atmosphere. The art, colorful (green) descriptions and award winning cartography of The Midderlands product reveals an immersive (green) world through a growing number of very attractive products that have to be held in-hand to fully appreciate.
The Majestic Wilderlands by Robert S. Conley bills itself as Supplement VI in reference to the original LBB supplements which numbered I-V. The Majestic Wilderlands is Mr. Conley's long running home campaign which I find to be one of the more appealing products on the market. The Majestic Wilderlands is a framework with enough original content to inspire my own creativity and imagination while not overburdening me with lots of details and background reading. Inspired by and often making use of the fine products of a similar name published by Judges Guild many decades ago, The Majestic Wilderlands uses Swords & Wizardry as the basis for its rules.
Swords & Wizardry stands out in a crowded field as a leader in old school rules design. Matt Finch, author of S&W and many other gaming products, holds a special place at the forefront of the OSR and he continues to support and promote the hobby through many endeavors including an online presence at Matt Finch's RPG Studio.
Friday, May 10, 2019
New Favorites
New Editions
It's Fun to have something new to explore, even when that something new contains something familiar, but now comes in a new format. I recently received a trio of gaming products which have been on my "can't wait" list for some time.
North Wind Adventures recently shipped the Players' Manual for Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea 2e. the players' manual is the result of a successful Kickstarter I backed. I do not have a lot of experience with Kickstarter, but North Wind Adventures ran an excellent one from my perspective delivering a great product in a timely manner while keeping everyone informed along the way via email postings. Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea is an excellent pulpy rake on the Advanced Game genre and the Players' Manual is handsomely illustrated. AS&SH is one of my favorite game systems which I don't play nearly enough.
While I am on the subject of nicely illustrated game books I will mention the new Runequest Roleplaying in Glorantha published by Chaosium. It is hard to find a better looking volume than this newest edition of a beloved classic game. This book is coffee table gorgeous! Parking it on the coffee table just to show off one's good taste would be an injustice however because inside the stunning cover is a whale of a good game. Built using the basics of the classic Runequest 2nd Edition, which experienced a recent reprint due to a major Kickstarter, Runequest Roleplaying in Glorantha is compatable with all the older RQ 2e material which has been recently republished by Chaosium. The new Runequest (which is sometimes referred to as RQ 4e) does an excellent job of introducing the reader/player to the d100 Basic Role Playing system and to the default setting called Glorantha - one of the oldest and richest fantasy settings on the market. Glorantha and Runequest are an epic combination and the word "epic" is a good descriptor of the play-style one finds in RQ Glorantha. RQ has long been what I refer to as my "second love" in roleplaying and the new addition is definitely a favorite.
The Black Hack 2e is the product of another successful Kickstarter. The Black Hack takes its name from designer David Black and is among the best of a growing crop of rules lite old school style roleplaying games. Using modern mechanics (roll a d20 under your attribute score) to create a game that relies on referee rulings for areas not specifically covered in the brief (approximately 45 pages) rule section and lots of random tables, The Black Hack has an old school vibe with a fresh, new scent. A game like this really inspires my creative side and I can easily get excited about The Black Hack. Yes, its a new favorite of mine, and judging by the number of "hacks" using the engine from The Black Hack that are currently available, its a favorite of a lot of other folks as well.
It's Fun to have something new to explore, even when that something new contains something familiar, but now comes in a new format. I recently received a trio of gaming products which have been on my "can't wait" list for some time.
While I am on the subject of nicely illustrated game books I will mention the new Runequest Roleplaying in Glorantha published by Chaosium. It is hard to find a better looking volume than this newest edition of a beloved classic game. This book is coffee table gorgeous! Parking it on the coffee table just to show off one's good taste would be an injustice however because inside the stunning cover is a whale of a good game. Built using the basics of the classic Runequest 2nd Edition, which experienced a recent reprint due to a major Kickstarter, Runequest Roleplaying in Glorantha is compatable with all the older RQ 2e material which has been recently republished by Chaosium. The new Runequest (which is sometimes referred to as RQ 4e) does an excellent job of introducing the reader/player to the d100 Basic Role Playing system and to the default setting called Glorantha - one of the oldest and richest fantasy settings on the market. Glorantha and Runequest are an epic combination and the word "epic" is a good descriptor of the play-style one finds in RQ Glorantha. RQ has long been what I refer to as my "second love" in roleplaying and the new addition is definitely a favorite.
The Black Hack 2e is the product of another successful Kickstarter. The Black Hack takes its name from designer David Black and is among the best of a growing crop of rules lite old school style roleplaying games. Using modern mechanics (roll a d20 under your attribute score) to create a game that relies on referee rulings for areas not specifically covered in the brief (approximately 45 pages) rule section and lots of random tables, The Black Hack has an old school vibe with a fresh, new scent. A game like this really inspires my creative side and I can easily get excited about The Black Hack. Yes, its a new favorite of mine, and judging by the number of "hacks" using the engine from The Black Hack that are currently available, its a favorite of a lot of other folks as well.
Thursday, May 9, 2019
Recent Experience
What I Learned on an Adventure with Friends
I am back from a nearly two week vacation, much of it spent gaming with my oldest and dearest friends. These are gamers I grew up with and who now live several states away, so it is only a couple of times a year that we get to see each other. I met these guys through gaming, but they have become my best friends. I guess that is part of the magic of the gaming hobby. It is certainly one of the best perks of the hobby.
We play a lot of boardgames these days. Games played this trip included Dungeon Run, Heroes of Terrinoth, The Witcher, Legends of Andor, Advanced Squad Leader, Folklore the Affliction, Call of Cthulhu, Four Against Darkness, Arkham Horror, Mage Knight, and The Fantasy Trip. It was our first time playing some of these and The Witcher, Legends of Andor and Mage Knight stand out to me as games I definitely would like to play more of.
Of particular interest this trip was Steve Jackson Games' new Legacy Edition of The Fantasy Trip. We spent our last Saturday playing through the old MicroQuest module The Grail Quest, which is a knights of the round table, King Arthur programmed adventure for solo or group play. We have all played The Grail Quest many decades ago (long ago enough for me to forget all the encounters, etc.) using the original Melee and Wizard rules and there may have been a bit of nostalgia involved, but we all three greatly enjoyed the game.
One take-away from our play of The Grail Quest is the experience system used. Knights (that is what you play in The Grail Quest) receive experience for each point of damage they score during combat and the figure (what The Fantasy Trip calls your PC) that deals the "killing" blow also receives experience points equal to the adversary's Dexterity score. Additionally, time spent gaming earns experience at the rate of 5 points per actual hour of play. Additional experience may be awarded (or deducted) by a referee based on playing your knight "in character".
Awarding experience points based on points of damage scored during combat seems like a mechanic that I could "borrow" for use in other RPGs, including White Box. I do like awarding experience for treasure as it encourages getting the loot rather than killing the creatures, but awarding some experience for combat seems appropriate.
I am back from a nearly two week vacation, much of it spent gaming with my oldest and dearest friends. These are gamers I grew up with and who now live several states away, so it is only a couple of times a year that we get to see each other. I met these guys through gaming, but they have become my best friends. I guess that is part of the magic of the gaming hobby. It is certainly one of the best perks of the hobby.
We play a lot of boardgames these days. Games played this trip included Dungeon Run, Heroes of Terrinoth, The Witcher, Legends of Andor, Advanced Squad Leader, Folklore the Affliction, Call of Cthulhu, Four Against Darkness, Arkham Horror, Mage Knight, and The Fantasy Trip. It was our first time playing some of these and The Witcher, Legends of Andor and Mage Knight stand out to me as games I definitely would like to play more of.
Of particular interest this trip was Steve Jackson Games' new Legacy Edition of The Fantasy Trip. We spent our last Saturday playing through the old MicroQuest module The Grail Quest, which is a knights of the round table, King Arthur programmed adventure for solo or group play. We have all played The Grail Quest many decades ago (long ago enough for me to forget all the encounters, etc.) using the original Melee and Wizard rules and there may have been a bit of nostalgia involved, but we all three greatly enjoyed the game.
One take-away from our play of The Grail Quest is the experience system used. Knights (that is what you play in The Grail Quest) receive experience for each point of damage they score during combat and the figure (what The Fantasy Trip calls your PC) that deals the "killing" blow also receives experience points equal to the adversary's Dexterity score. Additionally, time spent gaming earns experience at the rate of 5 points per actual hour of play. Additional experience may be awarded (or deducted) by a referee based on playing your knight "in character".
Awarding experience points based on points of damage scored during combat seems like a mechanic that I could "borrow" for use in other RPGs, including White Box. I do like awarding experience for treasure as it encourages getting the loot rather than killing the creatures, but awarding some experience for combat seems appropriate.
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