Beyond 2021

What to look forward to...

The start of a new year and its promise of good things to come is an aspect of winter months here where I live that makes the shorter periods of sunlight a little brighter. And, crowdfunding doesn't exactly "promise" anything, but it certainly can lead to expectations. Looking ahead to 2022, I am anticipating the arrival of a number of FRP game products which started life in crowdfunding. On my list of eagerly anticipated games are the following:

Savage Worlds Pathfinder

Combining the mechanical aspects of two major role-play system traditions, this game intrigues me more than most. Savage Worlds is a popular "generic" game system that has been successfully adapted to run the Palladium classic game Rifts as well as many others. It is perhaps best described as giving a "pulp" game feel and describes itself as "fast, fun and furious". Okay, sounds promising and I have purchased a couple of editions of SW, but have not yet played the system. Pathfinder, however, has been a favorite FRP game and I have logged many hours playing at that system. The SW PF leverages the first edition of Pathfinder in an attempt to offer the game community something new. The classic adventure path Rise of the Runelords is adapted for use with the new system and it accompanies the release of SW PF giving the hobby what promises to be a complete ready-to-run package.

Level Up Advanced 5e

Although the 5th edition of The World's Most Popular Role-Playing game is not my very "favorite" edition of that system, it is the FRP game I have played most frequently in 2021. As this 2021 draws to an end, I find myself currently running one campaign as its DM using 5e, and as a player in two (soon to be three) other 5e campaigns, but there are a number of things about this edition that I am not completely satisfied with. One solution ay be The Level Up Advanced 5e system which consists of four volumes and is essentially what the name implies, an "advanced 5e". Level Up is a complete FRP game. You do not need a copy of 5e to use this system, but at its core are game mechanics based on 5e, so it can be described as a "leveled up" version of the basic 5e standard rules. 

In Level Up Advanced 5e there are even more spells, more classes, more heritages and cultures and backgrounds, more monsters, more magic items, in other words the usual "more of everything" one often finds in a new "advanced" book and it's all 5e compatible so you can mine Level Up for homebrewing your own version of 5e. Rather than just a player's cornucopia of tricks and treats, Level Up is also more options for the DM/referee to use. If you are like me, there are things about your 5e that you would like to "fix", and Level Up may provide answers for us thereby making our 5e more satisfying to run and play than standard 5e -provided that is what you seek. Personally, I appreciate game complexity or "crunch" (unless I want a fast and rules-lite game!) and  Level Up Advanced 5e promises to be a game, that while resembling bog standard 5e in many ways, offers me more complexity in other ways. Level Up gives me an opportunity to experience fresh enthusiasm for a rules system that is at this point wearing a bit thin, and it has been for me.

(If you are a fan of 5e and desiring "more", but would rather stick with just the official products designed and released by the wise wizards on the coast, there is an expansion set up for preorder and should drop early in 2022 so that you also have something to look forward to.)

Hyperborea

For something new in old school goodness, and a FRP game that is centered around perhaps the best fictional setting I have personally seen in any game, try Hyperborea! It is the new name for a fresh looking two volume 3rd edition of Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea. I really am sorry to see that wonder of a mouth-filling, fun to say aloud title retired, but I think I understand why the name change is happening. Hyperborea (borrowed from Clark Ashton Smith, Plato and others) is a key selling point for Jeffrey Talanian's old school sword & sorcery version of what is an Open License version of our favorite old game system. I have been a fan of AS&SH since I first acquired the 2012 version which was published in a box (which includes some nice sharp-edge old school dice) and although I have only briefly ran the game for a short time after acquiring it, and I have only been an AS&SH player at conventions, I really am fond of this game and count it as among the best in its genre. The AS&SH rules deliver a proper feel for the Sword & Sorcery genre and as I implied, its inherent setting of Hyperborea is simply a masterpiece of world design. Of course you may disagree, but this is me writing this post!  

The One Ring 2nd edition

Another edition to update a FRP game, The One Ring 2e promises to improve on what I already consider to be a very good system for gaming in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. The fictional setting of Middle-earth has arguably been a significant influence on popular culture in general and upon all literature and games, especially of the fantasy genre since its rise to popularity in the 1970's. Various FRP games have attempted to use the setting by name, but most have fallen short of achieving a good fit - at least in the eyes of its many fans. Having played quite a few of the published Middle-earth games, I find TOR and by extension its 5e adaptation, Adventures in Middle-earth, to offer perhaps the best adaptation to role-playing of what most gamers seem to feel are the essential characteristics that define Middle-earth and does so while also keeping faith with the particular narrative styling of J.R.R. Tolkien's work.

Having received digital versions of all these products in 2021, I feel reasonably certain that the physical books may be delivered in 2022. Anticipating good things to come is its own sort of enjoyment. 

So here's to anticipation and hoping for a Happy New Year!

Paizo & Pathfinder

Taking the Game Beyond Edition 3.5.
As this year draws to a close, I suppose it is appropriate to look back on what has recently passed in our gaming lives and also ahead to what the future may bring us in the coming year. I recently wrote about my experience with the 4th edition, mentioning briefly some of the controversies that are frequently associated with that version of the World's Most Popular Roleplaying Game and offering some of the reasons I still like the edition. Closely associated with the era of 4e in my thinking is Paizo's Pathfinder RPG. The 3rd edition of D&D is famously associated with the Open Game License which allows anyone to use the Standard Reference Document as the basis for a roleplaying game - giving appropriate credit as is due, of course. The OGL as it is often referred to, quickly became the basis for many roleplaying games, several remain with us today. Pathfinder is one of those.

Paizo Inc. began life as a publisher of the Dragon and Dungeon magazines. Founded during the 3e era (in 2002), Paizo during that time produced some of my favorite RPG magazine content of any era. The magazines published under Paizo's production were colorful and the art quality was top shelf. The writing was excellent and their adventures were often better than those being produced in-house by the brand holder and company publishing that famous parent game. Of course this is all just my humble opinion. YMMV - as the saying goes.

What is more a matter of record is that during that 3e era Paizo developed a loyal following and when the trade-mark brand holder decided to drop Paizo as their magazine publisher in 2007, the folks at Paizo struck out on their own and begin publishing their popular line of adventure paths on their own that continue to feature excellent writing and stellar fantasy art right up to the present. 

Without the contract to publish Dragon and Dungeon, Paizo soon began developing their own game based on the OGL and with significant fan-based playtesting and feedback. The finished product (seen by many as a successor to 3e) was published in 2009 as the Pathfinder RPG. For many of us in the hobby, Pathfinder arrived at a time when we were looking for a game that would scratch the itch we were feeling to play something that felt more like a familiar fantasy roleplay system than we were experiencing with 4e.

As I have been mentally walking down 4e memory lane, I find myself once again at the end of that journey standing before Pathfinder - and the Pathfinder memories come flooding back. As a smile breaks across my face, I recall the many new friends I made while playing Pathfinder, as well as  a number of the fun adventures (many of them published by Paizo) that we have shared together while playing this now older and so familiar version - we played Pathfinder for a number of years almost to the exclusion of all other games. Yes, Pathfinder has been a very good FRP experience for me, even though the system (much like 3e before it) eventually became bloated with so many supplements in print that it was almost impossible to master all the content. Then came a new playtest version followed by release of a second edition in 2019.

Prior to the pandemic, I was running and playing a lot of Pathfinder 2e, more so than of any other FRP game. The pandemic affected gaming for many of us hobbyists, often in surprising ways! An increase in solo play and playing online replaced regular game night gatherings as we sought to keep our group FRP gaming interests alive by changing our way of  engaging with our hobby and of "getting together". As I enter this new year, and face-to-face gathering again, I find that I am experiencing a great desire to resume some regular play of Pathfinder. It really is a good game in both its editions.

An Old School Heretic's Critical Look back at 4e...

...and why I still willingly play it!

I did not start with the 4th edition of the World's Most Popular Role-Playing Game, so my perspective is likely to differ significantly from those for whom 4e was their introduction to the hobby. I tread lightly even mentioning 4e. My hope is that this post will not be be taken as my attempt to argue the merits of one edition over another. For a variety of reasons, 4e seems to be the most "controversial" edition and it seems to be forever connected to the term "edition wars". This post is in no way an attempt to fan those flames and what follows is entirely the humble opinion of one person, me the writer, and nothing more. I write this out of sincere enthusiasm for our hobby and as an exercise in sorting through my own thoughts on the matter at hand. So if you are still curious about what my humble opinions on the matter are, keep reading. 

I will state from the beginning that I sincerely like 4e...and I also sincerely dislike 4e. For that simple reason, I am sympathetic to those who criticize this version of the game that we all enjoy, and I also understand the feelings of those who defend it. Like every other edition of the World's Most Popular Role-Playing Game, good things can be said of 4e, but 4e isn't without its flaws. The 4th edition is plagued by a volume of errata which will testify to its being far from a perfect game. Yet I find it an enormously fun game to play, provided everyone at the table is cooperative!

Powers

The publishers of 4e seem to have aspired to give us what essentially is a level-up of the game to a more "supers" feel. Characters in 4e start off at level 1 already as competent and heroic (levels 1-5 are termed the Heroic Tier of play in 4e). I will readily admit that it can be great fun to play an heroic character that feels super powerful. (I recall my surprise upon playing this edition for the first time as I saw how much damage my level-1 PC dealt out and absorbed!) Overall, my play experience with 4e satisfies a sometime desire to role-play a "superhero" and does so in a way that is harmonious with my preference for a setting that at least superficially resembles ancient or medieval times (fantasy!). This is one of the appeals of 4e for me and also one of the aspects which led me (and others) to eventually desire a more traditional FRP experience where low-level play is dangerous and it's a challenge just to survive to make level-2. I missed the feel of my old D&D.

A design goal of the 4e development team seems to have been to "standardize" the experience of playing the game by giving the DM certain tools that would make unnecessary much of the need for DM judgement calls. An attempt is made to balance character abilities across classes, balance encounters so that PCs will prevail, and to clearly spell out all mechanical procedures are however, accomplished imperfectly in the published books. Simply put, I have found DM fiat is still both necessary and desirable despite the 4e game's preference for a formulaic and standardized approach to the role of the DM. The goal of making all player experiences the same across all tables regardless of who is acting as the DM seems to have recently been somewhat abandoned post 4e even by the owners of the D&D brand as evidenced by the changes in approach to rules taken in the follow-up version, the most current 5th Edition.

Markers

As referee, I run most of my games relying on verbal description and imagination only, what we often call "theater-of-the-mind". Preference for this game style is perhaps a carry-over from my earliest days in the hobby when miniature figures representing fantastic creatures were very hard to come by. In their absence we simply made do without them. Dice would occasionally fill-in for the figures we didn't have, but we soon discovered that even such substitute representations could be dispensed with, and that the game worked perhaps even better without them. The rules in the earliest editions of the World's Most Popular Role-Playing Game accommodates the use of miniature figures and even lists game's distances in inches for ease of tabletop play, but lacking the appropriate miniature figures we seldom played this way. With the later advent of cheap, readily available plastic miniature figures, especially monster figures, and most recently the widespread use of virtual tabletops with their associated tokens, theater-of-the mind style play is becoming perhaps less common today. As time progressed, fantasy figures have become readily available and are now an industry in its own right.

Having said all of the above concerning theater-of-the-mind play, 4e practically insists that combat encounters be gamed using a tactical display or "grid" and that figures or tokens be used to represent the characters and monsters, as well as markers to represent the status of said creatures. Many of the powers and abilities of the characters and beasts are geared toward players counting squares and positioning their figures and templates. 

The 4th edition rules seem to excel when it comes to tactical play. It is a strength of the edition, but also a weakness as I see it. Moving figures, counting squares - it all takes time, not to mention player "analysis paralysis" that can accompany tactical decision making. Even smallish combats using 4e can easily take an hour or more to play to conclusion as each participant carefully considers, then positions their figures and any templates to maximum effect. Viewed solely on the basis of being a  game of tactical combat in a fantastic milieu, 4e is perhaps the ultimate gaming experience. It has become my preference for such skirmish style miniature game and even with its publisher moving forward to the next edition (5e), the core mechanics of 4e combat continues on as the basis of a series of board games which are still currently available, and which I enjoy both in group or solo play.

Combat using a tactical display (grid) can be great fun, but there are times when my desire is for a more open and free-wheeling role-playing style with occasional combats. One of the frequent complaints I hear from friends regarding 4e is that it does not encourage role-playing and places too much emphasis on combat. While combat seems to definitely dominate the rule mechanics of 4e (and honestly all other other editions of D&D), the very nature of role-playing itself, with its basis in the back-and-forth verbal exchange between players, definitely encourages, if not mechanically supports, a free dialogue between the referee/DM and players. Such verbal activity is at the heart of the hobby, at least I would argue that, and it is with that statement that I begin to express the way that I, as referee, prefer to use 4e (and really all RPGs). 

My view is that combat, even using 4e, does not always have to be epic, and it does not have to use a grid or figures. There is room for role-playing in any encounter, in any system, in fact I prefer to do just that. Sometimes a quick encounter using 4e may be played using only theater-of-the-mind, reserving the tactical display and full 4e mechanics for those important battles where tactics may decide a close outcome. Pushing through a small group of over-matched minions in order to clear the area for further exploration can be the end result of a series of verbal narrations together with a few dice rolls rather than an hour long tactical combat. 

Skill Challenges

I believe the presence of "skills" in a game inherently changes the nature of role-play. Players tend to look to their character sheet when it contains a list of skills, just to see if they can leverage any of those skills in order to roll for a success. Acting as referee I am fond of saying to such a player, "The answer is not on your character sheet. Tell me what you would like for your character to do and we will find a way to see if that works." 

My hope in such game situations is always that players will come up with some idea that will succeed with no dice involved - dice can be fickle! I like to encourage logical problem solving and creative thinking whenever possible (even outside of gaming) and see this opportunity as a strength of RPG. Reducing an important element of the game, such as creative thinking, to a series of connected dice rolls seems a loss of that opportunity to me.

On the other hand, a series of dice rolls may make sense in order to successfully navigate a number of difficult challenges as player characters strive for a successful conclusion to a complicated situation where coordination of effort and teamwork is necessary. The concept of the skill challenge is not inherently bad, but it can be poorly used, in my opinion.

The design idea behind the 4e skill challenge seems to have been to spread the opportunities for significant action during the game across all the players at the table rather than to facilitate one character who excels at one skill to dominate a given type of game situation. The idea of character "skills" harkens back to earlier editions (perhaps even borrowed from other games) and is probably here to stay for any future editions, but the idea is not among my favorite innovations.

In Summary

By picking and choosing from the available tools presented in the 4e books, I find the game can be very enjoyable. I don't worry much about errata and I frequently make referee rulings as I see the need for them - feeling no guilt in doing so. Is what I am DM-ing "by the book" 4th Edition, no, but I think it does provide some fantastic fun. The tactical miniatures game inherent in the 4e rule system is robust and it rewards clever play. In my experience combat generally runs along smoothly when players are cooperative and it really doesn't require very many referee judgement calls.

Each referee can decide how much game time they wish to devote to combat and by contrast to devote to other game related activities. Investigation, negotiation, exploration, even down-time can be as involved and time consuming as the players at the table prefer. Simply jumping from one combat encounter to the next can be a group's preferred style of play regardless of which edition they are playing, but so can playing a game emphasizing investigation or any other aspects of play.    

Bannerless Knight

An unfortunate aspect of my having an interest in playing several FRP systems, both old and new, is that I never have enough players who share in ALL of my varied game system passions. Fortunately I do have a number of friends who enjoy gaming and therefore I am able to play frequently - generally face-to-face again these days. The FRP game of choice (decided by consensus) is currently the most modern take on the world's most popular role-playing game. I do occasionally persuade a sub-set of my friends to indulge my interests in a less popular game title, but even so, there are a few on my list of favorites that seldom get any takers. 

The role-playing game King Arthur Pendragon (or simply called Pendragon) is one such system. Written by the late Greg Stafford using a variation on the Basic Role-Playing house engine, and first published by Chaosium, Pendragon is back in the hands of Chaosium where it is currently undergoing preparation for release of its 6th edition. Not surprisingly, each of the published editions seems to have its relative advantages and disadvantages and adherents who claim their favorite. I like them all, but seem to find myself drawn back again and again to the first edition.

Over a recent weekend I sat down with the first edition Pendragon rules and a kernel of an idea for a solo adventure, rolled some dice, consulted various useful tomes, and applied ample doses of imagination - making some notes along the way. What follows is my recollection of that solo foray into the days of King Arthur.

A Tale of King Arthur's Camelot

An austere youth of Saxon decent and a ward of King Arthur's court, Cenwulf (known as "the Cold") is often seen as somewhat distant and aloof except while in the company of a certain visiting Danish Prince.

As our story begins, a new priest appears in the capitol - one spreading the Christian gospel and saving souls. For a time he is the talk of Camelot. Money goes missing at the church and our young Saxon knight, Cenwulf, is suspected. Avoiding the accusing stares that seem to follow him both at court and in places of lower social status, and hoping to gain some needed glory to his credit, when word comes to court of bandit troubles, Cenwulf volunteers to assist the distressed village. 

Traveling henceforth from Camelot, he encounters a damsel - haughty and obviously in need of rescue. It occurs to Cenwulf that there is a shared attraction between himself and the fair maiden. A brief fight follows wherein the ribald band are thrashed and take flight. Cenwulf offers to escort the damsel to said village where she is to meet-up with her relatives. She speaks against Arthur, but Cenwulf finds her attractive and makes a display of his best courtesy.

Upon their arrival, the farmers of the village greet Cenwulf and his charge with hospitality. Trouble points to a dark place in the wood where Cenwulf finds a "hungry man". The wild man tells a tale of an old "tunnel", a sleeping dragon within, and of a brass key.

Overcoming his dread, and with the wild man as witness, Cenwulf seeks glory entering the tunnel where he soon discovers a dark cavern. A lit flame reveals it is empty except for some old bones and a small box of coins among which he finds an untarnished triple ring (that grants the wearer "witch sight").

Exiting the cave, Cenwulf wonders about the absence of any "dragon". 

Returning to the village, Wulf is confronted by the damsel's kin. A brief "disagreement" leads to a tense exchange of words. After proving himself by noble Word and Deed, the kin-folk offer Cenwulf their assistance. Searching together for the troublesome "bandits", they find their lair and defeat them.

In thanks the village priest gifts Cenwulf with a small rusty blade that he says once drew the blood of a saint. He adds, "It may have a healing power - if you believe." Cenwulf accepts the gift with the unstated intention of presenting the relic to the church at Camelot upon his return.

During the return journey, Cenwulf  meets an impoverished traveler on the road - one under a vow of vengeance. 

What lock - if any - does the key of brass open? What is the origin of the triple ring? Who is the poor traveler and is their cause just? What further adventure awaits the two as they enter Camelot?

Pendragon works quite well as a vehicle for solo RPG adventure. The game's personality traits and passions - both aspects of character development - allow for my rolling for Cenwulf's reaction rather than just deciding how I think he would act and the uncertainty in outcome adds to my sense of discovery during play. The two "useful tomes" that I consulted were Table Fables and Table Fables II both by Madeline Hale.