Setting, context, background...
The authors of the White Box talk about milieu, which is not a word I run across frequently outside of reading things written by Mr. Gygax. In game terms milieu seems to refer to what surrounds the game action. Atmosphere or mood is part of it and certainly the facts about the in-game society, geography, flora and fauna (and NPCs) and technology are all contributors to the milieu. For most of us, the authors included, White Box milieu seems eclectic, borrowing from one source and another and mixing with our own inventions. The classic tabletop fantasy role-playing game draws heavily from stories that seem to date back to our earliest times. The heroic myths of ancient Greece talk about entering a labyrinth to defeat a monster, save a princess and win glory (experience) and honors (treasure). Sounds like a dungeon crawl to me.
What goes into the milieu and making it all "workable" or believable is the job of the referee. Even the one-off dungeon crawl adventure has a milieu that is set by the type of encounters the players are likely to have. One approach is to look at dungeon ecology, what are the inhabitants doing down there, what do they eat, how do they get on with the neighbors? Another is to look to backstory for the reason the dungeon exists and therefore what the explorer is likely to find there. Is this a talking, negotiating dungeon or a fighting dungeon? Are things internally consistent within the dungeon setting or zany, unpredictable and bizarre? Sometimes a gonzo, anything goes type approach works, but that adventure has a different feel to it than one developed along more logical themes.
The White Box urges the referee to connect the gaming sessions and adventures under the umbrella of a campaign. Certain game mechanics such as PC leveling, don't make much sense unless used in campaign play. The fantasy campaign involves the referee developing a milieu that remains constant across many gaming sessions and connects them through common characters, ongoing endeavors and any story-lines that develop from play. I think the word "milieu" suggests a process where-by the referee actively creates the context/milieu/setting based on personal choices. Obviously this is the way it was done by the White Box authors and the earliest players who had no canned setting to take off the shelf, open and insert players into. The best referees I know still build their own milieu even when using a published world or setting by modifying, adding to, etc.
Fantasy authors seem to create a milieu for each novel or series. One exercise I believe is helpful to understand the role of milieu in our adventure game is to think about a particular novel or fantasy series in terms of milieu. What are the components that make up the milieu in that story? How does milieu shape the characters? How does it affect action? Is there anything there you would like to use the next time you referee?
Friday, August 14, 2015
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Art as Inspiration
The piece above is from the new Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls and I think it's a nice piece, but I chose it rather randomly in order to make a point with this post. Inspiration for our hobby can come from stories we hear, books, comics, movies, even real life and the evening news. Art, good art always tells a story and the piece above seems rich with stories. I like to see illustrations in my books, especially game books because they suggest so many stories and characters to me. Just looking at this seated fellow and asking myself "who, what, where, how and why?" gets the creative mind working. So what can we gather from this Liz Danforth piece without asking her what it's all about. Well, the obvious it's a person seated holding a bow. By the looks of the face, I'd say definitely a human male, not young, not old. The rugged but not ragged clothing suggests someone used to the outdoors and probably able to reasonably take care of himself. The terrain in the background is somewhat rugged, hilly and wooded. There is a statue of a humanoid near what appears to be an unpaved road or path. There are a few birds in the sky. There appears to be a frown on the man's face.
So letting the imagination go where it will, a referee could conceivably create an evening's adventure and entertainment from what we see in this picture. Give the fellow a name, tell us where he is and why we find him there. What is the significance of the frown, of the statue, where do the paths lead, why is he seated? With a cooperative group of players and a willingness to improvise, this could all be handled on-the-fly. With time to think and study and plan, a picture such as this can supply the inspiration to develop a fleshed out adventure. I could offer you my interpretation, in fact I'm resisting the urge to do so. Why, because you can do that on your own and doing it on your own, letting your imagination run freely is a big part of the fun of our hobby. Enjoy where YOUR imagination takes you.
T&T Solo Adventures
It's way less of a problem today than it was back in 1976 to find someone to run an adventure. Thanks to the internet, finding a game, or a group, has become an easy task. It's hard to imagine, but there was a time before internet, before computer gaming, before personal computers of any kind. Buffalo Castle, as far as I know, is the very first solo dungeon and it allowed a single person to play Tunnels & Trolls by themselves. The solo adventure trend would catch on and several T&T solo books followed the publication of Buffalo Castle. Then others started designing solo adventure books, often with their own simple rules in the same book, under titles such as Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, etc. Eventually several major role-playing systems did their own solo adventures and together with the solo adventure paperbacks which appeared in many bookstores, the entire solo gaming experience became quite popular for a time.
With my purchase of Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls at Gencon recently, I have been reading through that tome and unboxed some of my old T&T solo adventures, including Buffalo Castle. Written by Rick Loomis, owner of Flying Buffalo Inc., publisher of T&T, Buffalo Castle is a 38 page, 8.5" x 11" paperback booklet nicely illustrated with art by Liz Danforth. One of the nice things about T&T over the years is the "fellowship" that has been the creative genius behind T&T, (Mr. St. Andre and friends including Rick Loomis and Liz Danforth) have remained consistently involved. In other words, I see the same names on the new dT&T rules that have been on T&T products from way back.
The organization of Buffalo Castle is each numbered page has several lettered paragraphs so that there is a 28 B and a 15 A, etc. The way the solo works is simple and efficient. The player gets up a character using the T&T rules and reads the intro paragraph(s) which gives the background and any special rules for the solo. Buffalo Castle is obviously a castle, the player goes inside and moves around by making choices that sends the PC to various numbered and lettered entries where puzzles and encounters with various traps and monsters may occur. Basically it is a dungeon crawl without a referee, Mr. Loomis having set the whole "dungeon" up through the design. Having played through Buffalo Castle again yesterday evening I can say it may not be the only gaming option for those evenings at home alone, but it's still a fun option.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
The Majestic Wilderlands
Taking the LBBs (S&W version) and Judges Guild City State products and modifying them to create a personal playground is what Rob Conley has skillfully done in his Supplement VI The Majestic Wilderlands. Calling his digest sized tome Supplement VI probably reflects how he uses the material it contains, basically as an additional supplement for the original system. Mr. Conley borrows the organization of the LBBs and official supplements with sections titled Men & Magic, Monsters & Treasure and Underworld & Wilderness Adventures.
When setting out to personalize the game to one's own world or setting I think in terms of a formula: new character classes, PC races, describe how magic works, the role of the gods, how combat works, inclusion (or not) of how to handle non-combat skill/ability tests, a bestiary, magic items, an atlas (either original or borrowed maps), descriptions of cultures, religion, history, climate and perhaps a calendar. In The Majestic Wilderlands Mr. Conley has taken some existing maps from the Wilderlands series (Judges Guild) and the original game rules (Swords & Wizardry White Box) as the basis and following his own preferences, applied his imagination and creates something new and exciting for the hobby.
The three basic character classes of the original game are the starting point to which Mr. Conley adds two new classes and several sub classes to each main class. The basic PC races (think Tolkien) are present as well as nine additional ones, some borrowed, some of his own unique design. An explanation of the author's non-combat ability test mechanics and his combat options, an explanation of the basis of magic in his world and rules for rituals are all described in some detail in the section titled Men & Magic.
A few new monsters and magic items specific to this world are described in the brief section Monsters & Treasure. A detailed description of the world of The Majestic Wilderlands takes up the remainder of the book. The author describes the main campaign area where he and his players have adventured for decades, the surrounding regions, climate, cultures, history and religion. The reader is not overburdened by detail, but there is enough here to explain the author's vision. Mr. Conley points to various regions of his setting which are designed to support various types of adventure, desert, jungle, arctic, pirate, Arabian nights, political intrigue, chivalry are all covered. He seems to have included an area to cover most of the classic adventure settings and he invites you, the reader and future referee to follow his footsteps adding to and borrowing from his work to create your own personal version of The Majestic Wilderlands. At our best, that is exactly what we referees do.
Using the maps and presumably the random tables (probably modified) Mr. Conley sites many of the cities and dungeon products produced by Judges Guild on those maps (either in the original JG locations or ones of Mr. Conley's choosing). The author of The Majestic Wilderlands has populated these maps with peoples and cultures of his own design, who worship his gods, learn his history and adventure as members of his PC classes. The resulting Majestic Wilderlands hits the sweet spot with just enough material to add enormous variety and depth to the original Judges Guild playing aids and White Box rules without becoming a chore for the prospective referee to read and master. The Majestic Wilderlands stands out as a fine example of taking the tools and materials of the hobby, applying imagination and making a personal, creative and unique game experience.
Friday, August 7, 2015
Implied Setting
The White Box World
The LBBs don't map out a setting or world. In fact they refer the player to an Avalon Hill board game for the wilderness map. There are no lists of countries, peoples or gods. The game does imply a setting, however and here's how I think that works. There are three character classes, fighting men, magic users and clerics. That tells the player a lot about how society is structured and what the roads to power are like. Fighting men are warriors, so it's a society that values might. Magic works, both divine and mundane. There is no description of where magic comes from or why it works, but magic users can cast spells that work and some higher level spells are very powerful. Clerics can use divine magic and turn undead creatures. Although there is nothing specific about religion or what divine source powers the cleric's spells, they work and also can be quite powerful, even raising the dead.
Obviously undead exist along with a lot of other creatures not seen on earth today. Player characters can be human (like us except with access to real magic), elves, dwarves or hobbits (races straight out of Tolkien?). Dwarves and hobbits are fighting men (sort of). Elves are magical and alternate between magic user and fighting men (by one interpretation). This tells us that humans, dwarves, elves and hobbits interact and cooperate with each other as a party of adventurers can include members of each "race" (more like species really). I therefore assume the player character races are "friendly". The dungeon denizens are many and I assume they are all somewhat hostile to the player character races. Afterall it there stuff the PCs are expected to take in order to earn experience. The term "monster" is used to describe all the dungeon inhabitants, even humans found in that environment as they are most likely hostile (and up to no good). The LBBs list a chart showing creatures by alignment, those aligned with Law being mostly friendly to the established powers, those aligned with chaos being opposed and those neutrally aligned and of unknown friendliness. PCs don't have to be lawful in alignment, but I get the impression they are encouraged to be lawful. The list of monsters include many from mythology and fantasy literature and the number and variety implies a wild and dangerous setting.
Technology is set somewhat similar to our middle ages with horses and people doing most of the work and weapons and armor resembling what was available during medieval times on earth. There is no gunpowder, little science or medicine. Most healing either occurs naturally or is magical. There is no mention of birth rank or social class and fighting men regardless of birth can become Lords, build a castle, command followers and hold lands so I presume there is freedom to go as far as your talents take you similar to our own American culture. Of course being the expandable, changeable game that White Box is, the referee is free to make any changes to the implied setting when creating their own unique setting for their game. One's imagination is the only real limit!
The LBBs don't map out a setting or world. In fact they refer the player to an Avalon Hill board game for the wilderness map. There are no lists of countries, peoples or gods. The game does imply a setting, however and here's how I think that works. There are three character classes, fighting men, magic users and clerics. That tells the player a lot about how society is structured and what the roads to power are like. Fighting men are warriors, so it's a society that values might. Magic works, both divine and mundane. There is no description of where magic comes from or why it works, but magic users can cast spells that work and some higher level spells are very powerful. Clerics can use divine magic and turn undead creatures. Although there is nothing specific about religion or what divine source powers the cleric's spells, they work and also can be quite powerful, even raising the dead.
Obviously undead exist along with a lot of other creatures not seen on earth today. Player characters can be human (like us except with access to real magic), elves, dwarves or hobbits (races straight out of Tolkien?). Dwarves and hobbits are fighting men (sort of). Elves are magical and alternate between magic user and fighting men (by one interpretation). This tells us that humans, dwarves, elves and hobbits interact and cooperate with each other as a party of adventurers can include members of each "race" (more like species really). I therefore assume the player character races are "friendly". The dungeon denizens are many and I assume they are all somewhat hostile to the player character races. Afterall it there stuff the PCs are expected to take in order to earn experience. The term "monster" is used to describe all the dungeon inhabitants, even humans found in that environment as they are most likely hostile (and up to no good). The LBBs list a chart showing creatures by alignment, those aligned with Law being mostly friendly to the established powers, those aligned with chaos being opposed and those neutrally aligned and of unknown friendliness. PCs don't have to be lawful in alignment, but I get the impression they are encouraged to be lawful. The list of monsters include many from mythology and fantasy literature and the number and variety implies a wild and dangerous setting.
Technology is set somewhat similar to our middle ages with horses and people doing most of the work and weapons and armor resembling what was available during medieval times on earth. There is no gunpowder, little science or medicine. Most healing either occurs naturally or is magical. There is no mention of birth rank or social class and fighting men regardless of birth can become Lords, build a castle, command followers and hold lands so I presume there is freedom to go as far as your talents take you similar to our own American culture. Of course being the expandable, changeable game that White Box is, the referee is free to make any changes to the implied setting when creating their own unique setting for their game. One's imagination is the only real limit!
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Something Old, Something New
Reflections on Past, Present and Future
So, I have been reading my way through Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls this week and it feels much like spending time with an old friend. In the 35+ years I have been playing at this hobby many things have changed, many things remain the same and a few have been there and back. Deluxe T&T is both old and new and yet something more. I will try to explain what I mean by that statement a little later on.
Back in 1974 Mr. Gygax and Mr. Arneson brought forth the LBBs and introduced a new way to play tabletop games and a new hobby was born as the dungeon game spread and variant rules were created then new games appeared based on the dungeon/adventure game concept (we didn't call it role-playing until later). The odd dice required for the LBBs' alternative combat method (which quickly became THE d20 combat mechanic) were rather hard to come by at first and possession of said "funny dice" was the mark of a hobby initiate. The White Box and other early games such as T&T encouraged a do-it-yourself, innovative and imaginative approach to the game. The action was described by the referee and imagined in the player's mind.
With the coming of AD&D the hobbyist was encouraged to play by-the-book and Mr. Gygax attempted to add detail and "crunch" to the rules making the game more complex and perhaps more "realistic" (if such a term is ever appropriate in fantasy gaming). The trend caught on and many of us, desiring even more detail and realism, sought newer and better rules. My group settled on Runequest, but there were other games, such as Rolemaster, GURPS, etc. that offered crunch and realism. This was also the time of the "backlash" when the role-playing hobby was unjustly blamed for turning kids to Satan (and other nonsense). The hobby grew despite the bad publicity and the idea of role-playing was ported over to the then new personal computer technology (although I am not sure "role-playing" is the best way to describe that type of game). Using the newest gaming options, the action frequently moved from "theater of the mind" group imagining to miniature figures on a grid or graphics on a computer screen.
Wizards of the Coast acquired AD&D when they bought out TSR which had continued to add more and more rules and publish lots of setting world and other play aids. WotC dropped the AD&D/Basic D&D distinction in favor of D&D 3rd Ed. and the game became more like some of it's chief competitors IMO. Skills and feats allowed a great deal of customization and the number of additional books released added official new character classes, feats, spells and monsters in great number. The internet allowed hobbyists who enjoy the electronic side of role-playing to engage in multi-player games with their friends and even to play a tabletop game online using Skype or Google+ Hangouts, etc. The widespread popularity of the MMORPGs has made the once niche hobby practically mainstream. Recently the hobby has seen the publication of several books about role-playing, one a multi-volume study of the history of the hobby. So I guess it's a real thing.
Deluxe T&T addresses all this as it traces it's own 40 year history. The dT&T authors, Ken St. Andre and friends, have been involved from the hobby beginning, both from the tabletop, pen and paper side and the electronic side having once done a T&T computer game. Packed into dT&T's 386 pages is the Core or Basic game, which is pretty much as it has been since the 1970's, as well as the Elaborations which are newer rules the player can add or not, or be inspired by to create their own Elaborations. The Trollworld Atlas gives us information on the setting/playground Ken St. Andre and friends have adventured in from the early days. Deluxe T&T tells its own story, how it has evolved over the years. A game like dT&T (or the White Box) remains a living changing thing as long as people use the rules to inspire their imaginations, adding to and innovating upon the game, taking the game beyond what is written and making it something new and unique. Reading through dT&T this week I am reminded of past T&T games played and have thought of several possible adventures yet to come, games I want to play in the future.
At Gencon this past weekend I sat at the table with kids as young as ten together with older folks. The kids seemed to get into the face-to-face tabletop experience as much as any of us older gamers and I think the future of the hobby is promising. The so-called edition wars and Old School Renaissance (OSR) has demonstrated that there is an interest in playing the older games and continuing to produce new material for said older games. The popularity of specialty cons directed at the OSR hobbyist continues to grow. At the same time creativity in the hobby remains strong with new and innovative games being released almost every year. Electronic support for the hobby also increases as new products and apps continue to be released. I see no reason for pessimism and am predicting we can look forward to being pleasantly entertained for many years to come!
So, I have been reading my way through Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls this week and it feels much like spending time with an old friend. In the 35+ years I have been playing at this hobby many things have changed, many things remain the same and a few have been there and back. Deluxe T&T is both old and new and yet something more. I will try to explain what I mean by that statement a little later on.
Back in 1974 Mr. Gygax and Mr. Arneson brought forth the LBBs and introduced a new way to play tabletop games and a new hobby was born as the dungeon game spread and variant rules were created then new games appeared based on the dungeon/adventure game concept (we didn't call it role-playing until later). The odd dice required for the LBBs' alternative combat method (which quickly became THE d20 combat mechanic) were rather hard to come by at first and possession of said "funny dice" was the mark of a hobby initiate. The White Box and other early games such as T&T encouraged a do-it-yourself, innovative and imaginative approach to the game. The action was described by the referee and imagined in the player's mind.
With the coming of AD&D the hobbyist was encouraged to play by-the-book and Mr. Gygax attempted to add detail and "crunch" to the rules making the game more complex and perhaps more "realistic" (if such a term is ever appropriate in fantasy gaming). The trend caught on and many of us, desiring even more detail and realism, sought newer and better rules. My group settled on Runequest, but there were other games, such as Rolemaster, GURPS, etc. that offered crunch and realism. This was also the time of the "backlash" when the role-playing hobby was unjustly blamed for turning kids to Satan (and other nonsense). The hobby grew despite the bad publicity and the idea of role-playing was ported over to the then new personal computer technology (although I am not sure "role-playing" is the best way to describe that type of game). Using the newest gaming options, the action frequently moved from "theater of the mind" group imagining to miniature figures on a grid or graphics on a computer screen.
Wizards of the Coast acquired AD&D when they bought out TSR which had continued to add more and more rules and publish lots of setting world and other play aids. WotC dropped the AD&D/Basic D&D distinction in favor of D&D 3rd Ed. and the game became more like some of it's chief competitors IMO. Skills and feats allowed a great deal of customization and the number of additional books released added official new character classes, feats, spells and monsters in great number. The internet allowed hobbyists who enjoy the electronic side of role-playing to engage in multi-player games with their friends and even to play a tabletop game online using Skype or Google+ Hangouts, etc. The widespread popularity of the MMORPGs has made the once niche hobby practically mainstream. Recently the hobby has seen the publication of several books about role-playing, one a multi-volume study of the history of the hobby. So I guess it's a real thing.
Deluxe T&T addresses all this as it traces it's own 40 year history. The dT&T authors, Ken St. Andre and friends, have been involved from the hobby beginning, both from the tabletop, pen and paper side and the electronic side having once done a T&T computer game. Packed into dT&T's 386 pages is the Core or Basic game, which is pretty much as it has been since the 1970's, as well as the Elaborations which are newer rules the player can add or not, or be inspired by to create their own Elaborations. The Trollworld Atlas gives us information on the setting/playground Ken St. Andre and friends have adventured in from the early days. Deluxe T&T tells its own story, how it has evolved over the years. A game like dT&T (or the White Box) remains a living changing thing as long as people use the rules to inspire their imaginations, adding to and innovating upon the game, taking the game beyond what is written and making it something new and unique. Reading through dT&T this week I am reminded of past T&T games played and have thought of several possible adventures yet to come, games I want to play in the future.
At Gencon this past weekend I sat at the table with kids as young as ten together with older folks. The kids seemed to get into the face-to-face tabletop experience as much as any of us older gamers and I think the future of the hobby is promising. The so-called edition wars and Old School Renaissance (OSR) has demonstrated that there is an interest in playing the older games and continuing to produce new material for said older games. The popularity of specialty cons directed at the OSR hobbyist continues to grow. At the same time creativity in the hobby remains strong with new and innovative games being released almost every year. Electronic support for the hobby also increases as new products and apps continue to be released. I see no reason for pessimism and am predicting we can look forward to being pleasantly entertained for many years to come!
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Deluxe T&T
Tunnels & Trolls gets Deluxe treatment
Back into the swing after Gencon and excited about the new Deluxe edition of T&T. Rick Loomis of Flying Buffalo was there manning his booth at Gencon and sold me a .pdf with hard-copy to follow (after the kickstarter folks get their hard-copies). The .pdf is 386 pages of trollish goodness for this long-time fan of T&T. The Deluxe edition has some new rules, but T&T has remained true to itself all these decades and this edition is easily recognizable as more of the same. The rules haven't changed too much from the earliest editions although there are some evolutions that have occurred over time. The cover is a Liz Danforth piece and I think one of her best. A section of elaborations or optional rules follows the basic or core game rules encouraging each referee to make the game as individualized and unique as they like. T&T has always been easy to modify and like the White Box, T&T encourages it. For me the most exciting part of the Deluxe edition is the extensive amount of information we now have on Trollworld, the long-time personal setting of author Ken St. Andre and friends. There are four major cities mapped and described as well as a timeline, history, maps and descriptions of the nations and continents. As far as I know this is the first time much of this material has been available beyond the inner circle of friends who are privileged to game with Mr. St. Andre. The book concludes with two adventures, one a solo, the kind that has given me personally so much fun with T&T over the years and the other a group adventure. The .pdf I have is attractive and illustrated throughout with nice art. Most of which is black and white, however there is a 16 page color section as well which kinda adds to the deluxe feel of the tome (can I call a .pdf a "tome"?). Some of the illustrations are familiar from older T&T products, many are new to me all of them are attractive and evocative of the fantasy setting. T&T has always had a strong swords & sorcery feel to it and much of this is due to the art. Overall, there is much here that will be familiar to the fan of T&T and there is much that is new to delight us. The last few years have seen a revival of interest in some of the older role-playing/adventure games and it seems the hobby is recognizing that the best of the older games are still good fun and worth playing. It is nice to see one of the oldest get the deluxe treatment it deserves. If you are new to T&T this edition has it all, you won't be missing anything from the early days and yet it's all been added to and nicely packaged in this quality new edition.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)