What About Them?
White Box lists six abilities that have become the industry standard, Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Constitution, Dexterity and Charisma. Volume I of the LBBs, Men & Magic, states the referee determines a score for each ability by rolling 3 six-sided dice and adding up the total, thus creating a bell-curve range from 3-18 for each score. It is stated scores from 9 to 12 are "average". The abilities are described as to what they represent, giving some guidance on how they might affect play, and ensuring some individuality for each PC. The first three abilities are used for the prime requisites for the fighting man, magic user and cleric class respectively. High scores in the class prime requisite entitles the PC to an experience bonus leading to more rapid leveling up. Constitution is used to add bonus hit points and determine survival chance in adversity such as paralyzation or being turned to stone (and back presumably). Dexterity can add a bonus to the PCs ability to hit with a missile weapon if the score is above average and Charisma determines the maximum number of hirelings and loyalty base.
Other than the above, ability scores are just the numbers that make up a character along with class, hit points and alignment. White Box does not specifically say the abilities have any other function, yet there they are, begging an enterprising referee to make use of them. White Box gives some prompts to the imagination in this regard. Constitution and Dexterity can give a small bonus or penalty to other scores such as hit points and to-hit with missiles. Therefore one presumes other ability scores could be used to grant bonuses/penalties in a like manner and sure enough in Supplement I, this occurs. Abilities might also be used to affect the PC's chances of accomplishing certain tasks in a manner similar to constitution and the shock survival percentages. The ability score can also be used as a ranking as in the case of Dexterity and speed, determining who goes first in casting spells or firing missiles and therefore other score rankings might also be useful.
The nature of adventure gaming is for players to think of something they would like their PC to do or try and for the referee to tell them what game mechanic to use to help determine if it happens and how well an outcome it produces. What White Box referee hasn't defaulted to those aptly named "abilities" when faced with such challenge. Perhaps using Strength to determine if you can lift a heavy object or Dexterity to catch a falling object. Rolling a number of six-siders, usually three, but it could vary with the difficulty of the task, and looking for a total that is under one's ability score or rolling a twenty-sided die equal to or under one's ability score is an intuitive answer to the question of how to handle such in-game situations. I assume they are termed "ability scores" for a reason.
Friday, February 12, 2016
Thursday, February 11, 2016
PCs or World
What's at the Center of the Campaign?
Fantasy role-playing campaigns can be built a number of different ways to suit the individual tastes of the players. Much like the literature from which White Box and the hobby in general draws for inspiration, it is (almost) always a combination of (player) characters and world interacting. The cast of characters must have a stage or world on which to act out their story. Sometimes the story takes place over several generations and involves characters that come and go. The only constant in such a tale is the world or setting.
Narnia, C.S. Lewis' brilliant fantasy world is the setting for a number of fantastic tales. Other inspirational works which feature the world setting at center stage include George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones tales and J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth. All feature a changing cast of characters who shape the world, but the story seems centered on the world itself. The fantasy role-playing campaign can readily tell this kind of narrative with a cast of PCs, some who come and go, while the world lives on, changing and evolving in response to both the PCs and NPCs actions.
The Conan tales of R.E. Howard, Michael Moorcock's Elric and Fritz Leiber's Swords stories involving the daring escapades of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are set in very interesting make-believe lands, but are really the personal narratives of the central character(s). The fantastic world provides a backdrop to the lives and adventures of the principle actors. A role-playing campaign can certainly take a similar approach and facilitate the story of PCs as they go from one adventure to the next. Continuity in such a campaign rests on the survival of the central cast, obviously. Old School games such as White Box frequently have high PC mortality rates, especially for low-level PCs and therefore may require some rule adjustments in order for the campaign to be centered on the activities of a single set of characters.
White Box and other systems in which PC life can be cheap (especially at lower levels) and players may expect to go through a number of characters during the campaign lend themselves more to the "world as central feature" narrative. White Box is cleverly designed so that as the PC progresses up the level ladder, the players have more options for keeping them alive. Higher hit points and the availability of resurrection supports PC survival and the resulting story shifting center toward the exploits of the high level PC. Thus White Box is both Narnia and Conan.
The actual game setting can be as detailed as the referee wants to make it. Some campaigns run for years as nothing more than a common cast of characters that are linked by playing in several stand-alone adventures which taken together form an episodic campaign. Other campaigns involve worlds borrowed from published works, either fiction or game materials. The game worlds I generally enjoy most, however are the personal creations of gaming buddies, some of which are the result of years (or decades) of play.
Campaigns, even the episodic type, tend to develop a certain character of their own. Whether dark and dangerous, light and humorous, heroic, gonzo or gothic in nature, each campaign will develop along distinct lines and the players will associate it with certain key events, places and maybe characters. Each campaign tells it's own story through play, sometimes with the aid of heavy scripting from the referee, but I tend to favor letting the story happen as a result of the players interacting with the world through the PCs. As a referee I greatly enjoy being surprised by PC response to my world where a number of opportunities are always available and things are constantly changing, with or without PC intervention.
Fantasy role-playing campaigns can be built a number of different ways to suit the individual tastes of the players. Much like the literature from which White Box and the hobby in general draws for inspiration, it is (almost) always a combination of (player) characters and world interacting. The cast of characters must have a stage or world on which to act out their story. Sometimes the story takes place over several generations and involves characters that come and go. The only constant in such a tale is the world or setting.
Narnia, C.S. Lewis' brilliant fantasy world is the setting for a number of fantastic tales. Other inspirational works which feature the world setting at center stage include George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones tales and J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth. All feature a changing cast of characters who shape the world, but the story seems centered on the world itself. The fantasy role-playing campaign can readily tell this kind of narrative with a cast of PCs, some who come and go, while the world lives on, changing and evolving in response to both the PCs and NPCs actions.
The Conan tales of R.E. Howard, Michael Moorcock's Elric and Fritz Leiber's Swords stories involving the daring escapades of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser are set in very interesting make-believe lands, but are really the personal narratives of the central character(s). The fantastic world provides a backdrop to the lives and adventures of the principle actors. A role-playing campaign can certainly take a similar approach and facilitate the story of PCs as they go from one adventure to the next. Continuity in such a campaign rests on the survival of the central cast, obviously. Old School games such as White Box frequently have high PC mortality rates, especially for low-level PCs and therefore may require some rule adjustments in order for the campaign to be centered on the activities of a single set of characters.
White Box and other systems in which PC life can be cheap (especially at lower levels) and players may expect to go through a number of characters during the campaign lend themselves more to the "world as central feature" narrative. White Box is cleverly designed so that as the PC progresses up the level ladder, the players have more options for keeping them alive. Higher hit points and the availability of resurrection supports PC survival and the resulting story shifting center toward the exploits of the high level PC. Thus White Box is both Narnia and Conan.
The actual game setting can be as detailed as the referee wants to make it. Some campaigns run for years as nothing more than a common cast of characters that are linked by playing in several stand-alone adventures which taken together form an episodic campaign. Other campaigns involve worlds borrowed from published works, either fiction or game materials. The game worlds I generally enjoy most, however are the personal creations of gaming buddies, some of which are the result of years (or decades) of play.
Campaigns, even the episodic type, tend to develop a certain character of their own. Whether dark and dangerous, light and humorous, heroic, gonzo or gothic in nature, each campaign will develop along distinct lines and the players will associate it with certain key events, places and maybe characters. Each campaign tells it's own story through play, sometimes with the aid of heavy scripting from the referee, but I tend to favor letting the story happen as a result of the players interacting with the world through the PCs. As a referee I greatly enjoy being surprised by PC response to my world where a number of opportunities are always available and things are constantly changing, with or without PC intervention.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Pacing
Keep the Action Moving
Over the decades, I have played many rule systems. Some are way more detailed than others. Depending on my mood and the desires of fellow gamers at the table, a more detailed "crunchy" system can provide a lot of entertainment. The more detailed rules I often find more interesting to read because they are generally full of sub-systems and novel ideas I may want to borrow for my rules-lite game. Such borrowed complexity usually only lasts for a game session or two and then I drop it in favor of "less is more". One of the reasons I like rules-lite systems and especially the White Box is the game's pacing. Things move along quickly. Combat is quick, spell casting is quick, rolling up a new PC is quick. Nothing breaks up the mood of an exciting game like pausing to hunt down an effects table or look up a rule in the book.
I really enjoy playing a system that fades into the background. Rules that are so well known by the group that not only is there no question how they work, but they seldom even give pause for reflection. The game is just played, quickly and with little thought given to mechanics. A table can do a lot of adventuring when little time is spent figuring out how to do things. Rules-lite systems often require the referee to adjudicate on-the-fly, to improvise rules for determining if the PCs succeed at a proposed action. If this is done quickly and smoothly, the action can proceed, but a lengthy discussion, which is sometimes necessary, can effectively pause play just like looking in the book for a forgotten rule mechanic. As a group plays together over time they may come to a point where most of the things not covered have been hashed out and an accepted method for handling them established thereby minimizing the need for the referee to intervene.
I have little doubt that familiarity and memorization plays a significant part in my preference for White Box over all other systems. White Box supports a style of play that influences how I approach other even dissimilar games and I rather think I bring a little White Box philosophy to every game system I play. A desire for quick combat and rapid pacing is evidence. I also like to tinker with rule systems and appreciate an opportunity to individualize the game with my own innovations and interpretations. White Box seems to encourage all these aspects and is therefore a good fit for me.
Over the decades, I have played many rule systems. Some are way more detailed than others. Depending on my mood and the desires of fellow gamers at the table, a more detailed "crunchy" system can provide a lot of entertainment. The more detailed rules I often find more interesting to read because they are generally full of sub-systems and novel ideas I may want to borrow for my rules-lite game. Such borrowed complexity usually only lasts for a game session or two and then I drop it in favor of "less is more". One of the reasons I like rules-lite systems and especially the White Box is the game's pacing. Things move along quickly. Combat is quick, spell casting is quick, rolling up a new PC is quick. Nothing breaks up the mood of an exciting game like pausing to hunt down an effects table or look up a rule in the book.
I really enjoy playing a system that fades into the background. Rules that are so well known by the group that not only is there no question how they work, but they seldom even give pause for reflection. The game is just played, quickly and with little thought given to mechanics. A table can do a lot of adventuring when little time is spent figuring out how to do things. Rules-lite systems often require the referee to adjudicate on-the-fly, to improvise rules for determining if the PCs succeed at a proposed action. If this is done quickly and smoothly, the action can proceed, but a lengthy discussion, which is sometimes necessary, can effectively pause play just like looking in the book for a forgotten rule mechanic. As a group plays together over time they may come to a point where most of the things not covered have been hashed out and an accepted method for handling them established thereby minimizing the need for the referee to intervene.
I have little doubt that familiarity and memorization plays a significant part in my preference for White Box over all other systems. White Box supports a style of play that influences how I approach other even dissimilar games and I rather think I bring a little White Box philosophy to every game system I play. A desire for quick combat and rapid pacing is evidence. I also like to tinker with rule systems and appreciate an opportunity to individualize the game with my own innovations and interpretations. White Box seems to encourage all these aspects and is therefore a good fit for me.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Critical Hits
Gary Was Correct
In 1975, a year after publication of the White Box, TSR published Empire of the Petal Throne which included the rule that a "natural twenty" score on the to-hit die is a critical hit and deals double damage. This was a time when the new hobby was developing rapidly and the idea of a critical hit was making it's appearance in various "house rule" innovations to White Box, such was described, alongside numerous other rule innovations, in several of the amateur publications of the day. Published games starting in the late 1970's and right up to the present have frequently included a critical hit mechanic. The Arduin Grimoire (1977) includes a rather detailed critical hit table, which can result in instant death. Chivalry and Sorcery (1977) and Runequest (1978) soon followed suit with mechanics for the "critical hit".
The only mention of critical hits in the White Box is in volume 3, Underworld & Wilderness Adventures, when discussing aerial combat a Critical Hit table is provided. This critical hit works in conjunction with a hit location table (Blackmoor would include a hit location table for land combat). The Critical Hit table lists percentages of a critical hit occurring by location and ranges from 25% if the rider is hit on down to nil for a tail hit. The effect of a critical hit depends on the location and if it's the rider, the beast withdraws from combat. Other critical hits can result in loss of speed, dive and land or crash - dead in air!
E. Gary Gygax wrote in Dragon #16 (July 1978), and in other places (including the DMG), that he disapproved of the critical hit idea. In the article he writes that the inclusion of critical hits and double damage does violence to the game and can possibly result in ruin, especially in the case of the instant death of characters or monsters which unbalances the game and makes it difficult for the player to use their judgement in play, i.e. to predict how dangerous certain monsters are. When even a lowly kobold can lop one's head off with a lucky referee roll of the die, how does one know when to run away? Every encounter becomes much more of a gamble. Also, low-level PCs may take ill-considered risks on the off-chance of rolling a natural twenty and slaying a huge dragon. If that happens the resulting treasure hoard may be described a "Monty Haul".
In the same article Mr. Gygax challenges the trend for players to want more realism in their fantasy game. He points to the inherent contradiction between what is real and fantasy (including "magic") as well as the fact that no "game" can replicate reality. The desire for a more realistic feel, for verisimilitude, continues to be a factor in role-playing games to this day. Many popular game systems start out as an effort to design a more realistic game and market the resulting product as such. I admit my own occasional the desire for more realism or at least verisimilitude, has prompted many of my own gaming hobby decisions. There is something visceral and satisfying about being told your mace connects with the baddie's lower leg bruising flesh and crushing bone resulting in a crippling wound and the baddie drops prone before you. But I have also found there is no reason a referee cannot use such colorful language to describe a simple White Box hit that does an impressive number of damage points. Verisimilitude, rather than realism, is the actual goal here.
Is this a point on which there is room for a difference of opinion? My answer is a resounding "yes, of course". Mr. Gygax is making a point and I think a good one, however. The ability to judge damage dealt and taken is key to many games including White Box. Each Hit Point is determined with a roll of 1-6. Each weapon hit does 1-6 points of damage. It almost reduces the point system to a creature who has four hit die can take four hits, one-for-one. Rolling the die adds some degree of unpredictability, but double damage, maximum damage and especially instant death crits can significantly alter expected outcomes. Is White Box the delicately balanced, finely tuned Swiss watch Mr. Gygax seems to present it as? "Not hardly", I would say, but I do like the game better without critical hits.
In 1975, a year after publication of the White Box, TSR published Empire of the Petal Throne which included the rule that a "natural twenty" score on the to-hit die is a critical hit and deals double damage. This was a time when the new hobby was developing rapidly and the idea of a critical hit was making it's appearance in various "house rule" innovations to White Box, such was described, alongside numerous other rule innovations, in several of the amateur publications of the day. Published games starting in the late 1970's and right up to the present have frequently included a critical hit mechanic. The Arduin Grimoire (1977) includes a rather detailed critical hit table, which can result in instant death. Chivalry and Sorcery (1977) and Runequest (1978) soon followed suit with mechanics for the "critical hit".
The only mention of critical hits in the White Box is in volume 3, Underworld & Wilderness Adventures, when discussing aerial combat a Critical Hit table is provided. This critical hit works in conjunction with a hit location table (Blackmoor would include a hit location table for land combat). The Critical Hit table lists percentages of a critical hit occurring by location and ranges from 25% if the rider is hit on down to nil for a tail hit. The effect of a critical hit depends on the location and if it's the rider, the beast withdraws from combat. Other critical hits can result in loss of speed, dive and land or crash - dead in air!
E. Gary Gygax wrote in Dragon #16 (July 1978), and in other places (including the DMG), that he disapproved of the critical hit idea. In the article he writes that the inclusion of critical hits and double damage does violence to the game and can possibly result in ruin, especially in the case of the instant death of characters or monsters which unbalances the game and makes it difficult for the player to use their judgement in play, i.e. to predict how dangerous certain monsters are. When even a lowly kobold can lop one's head off with a lucky referee roll of the die, how does one know when to run away? Every encounter becomes much more of a gamble. Also, low-level PCs may take ill-considered risks on the off-chance of rolling a natural twenty and slaying a huge dragon. If that happens the resulting treasure hoard may be described a "Monty Haul".
In the same article Mr. Gygax challenges the trend for players to want more realism in their fantasy game. He points to the inherent contradiction between what is real and fantasy (including "magic") as well as the fact that no "game" can replicate reality. The desire for a more realistic feel, for verisimilitude, continues to be a factor in role-playing games to this day. Many popular game systems start out as an effort to design a more realistic game and market the resulting product as such. I admit my own occasional the desire for more realism or at least verisimilitude, has prompted many of my own gaming hobby decisions. There is something visceral and satisfying about being told your mace connects with the baddie's lower leg bruising flesh and crushing bone resulting in a crippling wound and the baddie drops prone before you. But I have also found there is no reason a referee cannot use such colorful language to describe a simple White Box hit that does an impressive number of damage points. Verisimilitude, rather than realism, is the actual goal here.
Is this a point on which there is room for a difference of opinion? My answer is a resounding "yes, of course". Mr. Gygax is making a point and I think a good one, however. The ability to judge damage dealt and taken is key to many games including White Box. Each Hit Point is determined with a roll of 1-6. Each weapon hit does 1-6 points of damage. It almost reduces the point system to a creature who has four hit die can take four hits, one-for-one. Rolling the die adds some degree of unpredictability, but double damage, maximum damage and especially instant death crits can significantly alter expected outcomes. Is White Box the delicately balanced, finely tuned Swiss watch Mr. Gygax seems to present it as? "Not hardly", I would say, but I do like the game better without critical hits.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Man To Man
Back in the late 70's Steve Jackson (the American one) wrote Melee and Wizard as part of The Fantasy Trip (TFT) system which included several excellent solo adventures. Later came an expansion called Advanced Melee and Advanced Wizard. These titles were all published by Metagaming which shortly after the Advanced versions were printed went out-of-business. Mr. Jackson hung on to his idea for a logical realistic role-playing game with fairly simple, understandable mechanics. Forming his own company, Steve Jackson Games, he was unable to secure the rights to his TFT, but started development of a new system that carried over as many of his old concepts as seemed practical. According to gamer legend, the development team called this project GURPS, the Great Unnamed Role-Playing System, and the acronym would eventually stick as the Generic Universal Role-Playing System (GURPS), a name which more closely reflected Mr. Jackson's design goals.
GURPS was several years in the making and before the final product was released Steve Jackson Games tested their idea with Man To Man, which is the Fantasy Combat system from GURPS, just like it says on the cover. Man To Man was sold (for about a year) as an arena combat system, but contains a lot of what would eventually appear as the GURPS Basic Set 1st Edition and remain the core rules to this day (GURPS Basic Set, 4th Edition). Like TFT, GURPS uses 3d6, roll low for most checks - to hit, to save, to succeed. The basic attributes are Strength, IQ and Dexterity and Man To Man adds health where the old TFT used Str for health as well as physical prowess. Man To Man focuses on combat in a medieval fantasy technology level, but full blown GURPS is Generic and has stats for all kinds of weapons including science fiction, far future technology.
Man To Man introduces the GURPS point-buy system of character generation. The point-buy system does away with character classes and allows a player to design any type of character with just about any mix of combat abilities, magic and talents/skills. Man To Man also introduces the system of point-bought advantages and skills that will be a staple of GURPS through all its editions. The list is short in Man To Man, but what is there is suitably focused on combat. GURPS takes personality development a step further with additional advantages and skills and adds disadvantages and quirks.
GURPS is a lot of things I like. It largely succeeds in being Generic, especially within the confines of human character limitations. GURPS says the developers tested the mechanics which means real world data went into the development. The system has rules for super powers, but obviously they are beyond the ability of humans to "test". Fantasy magic is also similarly "theoretical" by necessity. In the fantasy setting, which is my main gaming interest, GURPS works well and that's really all I can recall ever using it for. The search for realism in gaming was at its height when GURPS was being developed and this shows in both the game's design and verbiage. Another stated goal of the system is to be universal and to that end GURPS uses real world measurements such as seconds of time, pounds of weight and miles per hour of speed. It does this so that a referee can easily translate any source-book or adventure module from GURPS to other systems or from other systems to GURPS.
Weapons cause one (or more) of three types of damage, crushing, cutting or impaling. Damage is a combination of how the weapon is used, swinging or thrusting and the type of damage it does. Armor makes one harder to hit and reduces damage taken. Shields block damage and are definitely worth taking. Man To Man covers a few basic fantasy races and some "monster" types, but even with GURPS a full fantasy bestiary is only supplied in a separate volume. There are mechanics for improving the PC with experience. Encumbrance rules are again practicle and based on real world effects - it slows you down and increases fatigue. The movement system and combat options make Man To Man and GURPS one of the most tactical of RPG systems. With the exception of a magic system (which really didn't appear until the Fantasy supplement for GURPS 1st Edition), Man To Man has all the components of a full blown fantasy RPG.
GURPS, unlike Man To Man, assumes no default setting and offers the referee a flexible set of tools and rule options, to design their personal game, picking and choosing rules to suit the individual setting. More so even than White Box, it demands the referee use their own imagination to create a setting, or buy a setting source-book - Steve Jackson Games has printed lots of them over the years. Making the game your own is a must either way because many rules are presented as options. I love systems that encourage a do-it-yourself approach to gaming, give the referee control of their world and allow for running either a simple or complex game depending on preference and GURPS does all this quite well. Like a lot of systems that rely on point-buy and offer a lot of character customization, GURPS is prone to min-maxing and power-gaming. As long as munchkins are kept in check, I find the game very fun, but for each referee a lot of explaining needs to occur upfront regarding what rule choices are made.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Magic
Pumping Up the "Magic" Factor
"So you have heard of a spell called lightning bolt and you wonder how this magic can be yours?" stated the sage. "I only know of one other mage who knew this spell and she is unlikely to teach it to you, nor do I recommend you try to steal it from her. That would be most unwise, young Bugstomper."
"Where did she acquire this arcane knowledge? Perhaps I could get the spell 'Lightning Bolt' the same way she did?" said the mage called Bugstomper.
"The way I heard it," whispered the sage, leaning close, "she acquired it from the cloud giant, Angrbodeus..."
Leaving his party of adventurers at the basecamp, Bugstomper started the long climb up the mountain. The stone steps winding their way around and around the mountain seemed endless and Bugstomper was glad for the draft of endurance potion he had purchased from the wise woman at the village below, even though it had cost him nearly all his savings. He thanked his good fortune that he has converted his gold into portable jewels before starting this quest. The villagers said the cloud giant, Angrbodeus, could be found at the top of the stairs when clouds covered the mountain peak.
Many hours later, as dusk drew near, Bugstomper rounded a bend and stopped short. There before him in the fading light stood a columned temple of giant proportions, shrouded in mist and shot through with the sun's last rays. He stumbled forward on legs that barely responded to his wish. He must enter the temple and find Angrbodeus!
Climbing the oversize steps proved almost too much for the exhausted mage, but at last he could use his arms as well as legs to propel himself upward. Passing between the colossal columns, Bugstomper seemed to enter another realm, one of splendor beyond imagine. Seated on a dais, a bearded figure lifted his gigantic head and emitted a thunderous laugh. "And who has come to disturb the quietude of Angrbodeus?" the giant queried.
In a voice shaky with fatigue and fear, for much depended on the outcome of this meeting, Bugstomper stated his name and the purpose of his quest. After agreeing to a price, the cloud giant taught Bugstomper the spell he sought, informing him that he would need to secure his own piece of fleece from the Sikelean sheep in order to cast the spell.
As he departed the temple and started down the stone stairs, Bugstomper practiced the incantation he had just learned. Of course, the spell would not actually work until he had a piece of Sikelean sheep's fleece to rub. That should be no trouble, Bugstomper was sure his adventuring companions would be eager to accompany him to the island where he could find and slaughter a Sikelean sheep. He thought to himself, "I think there was something I recall hearing about a one eyed giant living on that island..." Then, "Wait a minute, my beard is white, so is my hair, and they've gotten longer! Oh, well, Angrbodeus said there was a price for such powerful knowledge."
Magic should be magical in our White Box or any other fantasy game. Mundane magic misses the entire point. There are many ways to make magic more "magical". The easiest involves colorful descriptions of the spell effects and involves no actual rule modifications. White Box magic is generally described as "Vancian" in reference to its similarity to magic in Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories. The spells in Mr. Vance's fiction have wonderful names and "mysterious" effects as well as being memorized and held in the magician's brain prior to casting. White Box states how many spells a Magic User may know and memorize. New spells can be rolled for or chosen when the MU levels up, alternately acquiring new spells can be an adventure in itself as described in the Bugstomper tale. In fact several aspects of making magic more magical are described in the short tale, used together they probably make magic a little too difficult to acquire for most gamer's taste. Bugstomper's magic has a cost in terms of turning his hair white/aging. He has to find someone to teach him the new spell and acquire a material component in order to cast it. Spells in White Box are somewhat unpredictable what with those spells affecting a target who generally gets a saving throw and other spells which do variable damage or affect a variable number of creatures. Many spells just go off as described with no surprises, however. The uncertainty of magic can make it more mysterious, dangerous and exciting. It isn't difficult to add mana, ley lines or other sources of magical power to one's campaign by house-ruling the White Box. The use of rituals can also add "flavor" and variety with little effort. Even the addition of a few rules that affect a few spells can spice up a milieu and keep things fresh for players in a long campaign.
Perhaps while adventuring on the Island of Sikel, Bugstomper learns of a spell of Water Breathing that can be earned from a certain skull of a drowned sorcerer and a really high level magic that enables the caster to Animate Dead. The latter spell supposedly exists in an ancient "living" tome held in a temple where vampires are known to perform their dark rites. Imagination is the only limit.
"So you have heard of a spell called lightning bolt and you wonder how this magic can be yours?" stated the sage. "I only know of one other mage who knew this spell and she is unlikely to teach it to you, nor do I recommend you try to steal it from her. That would be most unwise, young Bugstomper."
"Where did she acquire this arcane knowledge? Perhaps I could get the spell 'Lightning Bolt' the same way she did?" said the mage called Bugstomper.
"The way I heard it," whispered the sage, leaning close, "she acquired it from the cloud giant, Angrbodeus..."
Leaving his party of adventurers at the basecamp, Bugstomper started the long climb up the mountain. The stone steps winding their way around and around the mountain seemed endless and Bugstomper was glad for the draft of endurance potion he had purchased from the wise woman at the village below, even though it had cost him nearly all his savings. He thanked his good fortune that he has converted his gold into portable jewels before starting this quest. The villagers said the cloud giant, Angrbodeus, could be found at the top of the stairs when clouds covered the mountain peak.
Many hours later, as dusk drew near, Bugstomper rounded a bend and stopped short. There before him in the fading light stood a columned temple of giant proportions, shrouded in mist and shot through with the sun's last rays. He stumbled forward on legs that barely responded to his wish. He must enter the temple and find Angrbodeus!
Climbing the oversize steps proved almost too much for the exhausted mage, but at last he could use his arms as well as legs to propel himself upward. Passing between the colossal columns, Bugstomper seemed to enter another realm, one of splendor beyond imagine. Seated on a dais, a bearded figure lifted his gigantic head and emitted a thunderous laugh. "And who has come to disturb the quietude of Angrbodeus?" the giant queried.
In a voice shaky with fatigue and fear, for much depended on the outcome of this meeting, Bugstomper stated his name and the purpose of his quest. After agreeing to a price, the cloud giant taught Bugstomper the spell he sought, informing him that he would need to secure his own piece of fleece from the Sikelean sheep in order to cast the spell.
As he departed the temple and started down the stone stairs, Bugstomper practiced the incantation he had just learned. Of course, the spell would not actually work until he had a piece of Sikelean sheep's fleece to rub. That should be no trouble, Bugstomper was sure his adventuring companions would be eager to accompany him to the island where he could find and slaughter a Sikelean sheep. He thought to himself, "I think there was something I recall hearing about a one eyed giant living on that island..." Then, "Wait a minute, my beard is white, so is my hair, and they've gotten longer! Oh, well, Angrbodeus said there was a price for such powerful knowledge."
Magic should be magical in our White Box or any other fantasy game. Mundane magic misses the entire point. There are many ways to make magic more "magical". The easiest involves colorful descriptions of the spell effects and involves no actual rule modifications. White Box magic is generally described as "Vancian" in reference to its similarity to magic in Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories. The spells in Mr. Vance's fiction have wonderful names and "mysterious" effects as well as being memorized and held in the magician's brain prior to casting. White Box states how many spells a Magic User may know and memorize. New spells can be rolled for or chosen when the MU levels up, alternately acquiring new spells can be an adventure in itself as described in the Bugstomper tale. In fact several aspects of making magic more magical are described in the short tale, used together they probably make magic a little too difficult to acquire for most gamer's taste. Bugstomper's magic has a cost in terms of turning his hair white/aging. He has to find someone to teach him the new spell and acquire a material component in order to cast it. Spells in White Box are somewhat unpredictable what with those spells affecting a target who generally gets a saving throw and other spells which do variable damage or affect a variable number of creatures. Many spells just go off as described with no surprises, however. The uncertainty of magic can make it more mysterious, dangerous and exciting. It isn't difficult to add mana, ley lines or other sources of magical power to one's campaign by house-ruling the White Box. The use of rituals can also add "flavor" and variety with little effort. Even the addition of a few rules that affect a few spells can spice up a milieu and keep things fresh for players in a long campaign.
Perhaps while adventuring on the Island of Sikel, Bugstomper learns of a spell of Water Breathing that can be earned from a certain skull of a drowned sorcerer and a really high level magic that enables the caster to Animate Dead. The latter spell supposedly exists in an ancient "living" tome held in a temple where vampires are known to perform their dark rites. Imagination is the only limit.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
White Box Middle Earth
What to do about Tolkien?
The White Box can handle a lot of campaign settings right out of the box, but the real joy for a referee is creating one's own world and seeing it come to life through play. White Box has been described as a creative re-imagining of the literary sources that inspired it, including among others the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. Early printings of White Box list hobbits as a playable race and ents and balrogs as monsters. At least one illustration is labeled as a nazgul. Anyone who has read Lord of the Rings (LotR) or seen the Peter Jackson movies will recognize a dungeon full of orcs and the wilderness adventure where a party of mixed characters travels cross country, having many encounters along the way.
Middle Earth is incredibly well documented in the many published works, including some licensed game materials which have appeared from one publisher or another over the years. The interested referee might draw on one of these sources for a campaign idea or can, as I prefer, develop a campaign around a map area and a single line of text (or no text) from one of the sources. It is not necessary to involve well known personalities in the campaign and in fact I rather prefer to not do so and let the PCs be the main actors. Not every adventure need result in the destruction of Sauron. Many adventures can be to thwart lessor minions or achieve personal goals important only to the PCs.
White Box is written to encompass an eclectic style of play that blends elements seen in many different fantasy sources and therefore includes things which may seem out-of-place in Middle Earth. The Third Age is one of declining magic and departing elves. It can be described as a low-magic setting, whereas the default for White Box is high magic with crackling lightning bolts and exploding fireballs. This disparity can of course be addressed in one of two ways, tone down magic in the rules or bring the setting into line with the default rules for magic. I personally prefer the former.
Balance between character classes in White Box is a matter of some complexity (if it exists at all). Any tinkering with the classes and their abilities may "unbalance" things. Having said that, I don't worry a lot about it. It is easy enough to remove certain magic heavy classes such as the magic user and cleric or modify them. Spell lists can be trimmed or re-written to include a more Middle Earth themed magic than the default "Vancian" system, which is the approach I favor. Elven magic seems more music/song based while dwarven magic may involve tracing runes and muttering secret incantations. Herbal lore can replace magic in many ways, especially healing and other clerical spell effects and seems more in keeping to the spirit of Middle Earth than deity worshiping clerics wielding divine magic outright. More traditional White Box Magic Users would be rare and could be limited to the Istari, certain "older" elves and followers of the Shadow. White Box is a system of relatively few character classes and in order to both provide players options and keep close to the sources, adding a couple character classes such as herbalist and ranger makes sense.
The bestiary is another setting specific element of the game that can greatly define the play milieu. Again White Box includes many elements that are consistent with Middle Earth and many that are not. Removal of those monsters that seem inconsistent and adding to the list additional monsters found in the Tolkien sources seems the obvious solution. Orcs/goblins come in many forms in Middle Earth and the basic White Box goblin and orc will not do them justice without modification. Scaling seems a good option, making orcs available from 1 hit die or less on up to 8 or 10 hit die depending on the "power" of the orc. Giving undead special powers that more closely reflect their role in the source books is another way to both add consistency to the milieu and increase the horror element of the game. My reading of LotR suggests the Shadow forces were much more creepy and scary than come across in any of the movie versions and I like to run my version of Middle Earth this way. Therefore some mechanic for corruption needs to be in play.
White Box includes Tolkienesque fantasy elves, dwarves and hobbits, kinda. Tolkien's elves are powerful creatures, especially the Noldor. The Third Age is the "Age of Men" and I personally prefer human PCs for gaming in the Third Age, but other referees may want to include the other races. The mixed race Fellowship in LotR is brought together by the actions of Gandalf and the Council of Elrond and seems out-of-character for the races to frequently do this (although it is the norm in default White Box play). I think diversity is more a modern value and medieval cultures such as Middle Earth is somewhat based on, would be more insular and xenophobic.
I have run two short campaigns in Middle Earth, one based around Arnor for which I drew heavily on Middle Earth Role Playing (MERP) material published by Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.), the other based in Far and Near Harad for which there is far less canon and I felt I had more creative freedom. Both campaigns involved human PCs and redefined magic. I find that with cooperative players Middle Earth is highly playable as a milieu and a nice alternative to my home-brew campaign setting.
The White Box can handle a lot of campaign settings right out of the box, but the real joy for a referee is creating one's own world and seeing it come to life through play. White Box has been described as a creative re-imagining of the literary sources that inspired it, including among others the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. Early printings of White Box list hobbits as a playable race and ents and balrogs as monsters. At least one illustration is labeled as a nazgul. Anyone who has read Lord of the Rings (LotR) or seen the Peter Jackson movies will recognize a dungeon full of orcs and the wilderness adventure where a party of mixed characters travels cross country, having many encounters along the way.
Middle Earth is incredibly well documented in the many published works, including some licensed game materials which have appeared from one publisher or another over the years. The interested referee might draw on one of these sources for a campaign idea or can, as I prefer, develop a campaign around a map area and a single line of text (or no text) from one of the sources. It is not necessary to involve well known personalities in the campaign and in fact I rather prefer to not do so and let the PCs be the main actors. Not every adventure need result in the destruction of Sauron. Many adventures can be to thwart lessor minions or achieve personal goals important only to the PCs.
White Box is written to encompass an eclectic style of play that blends elements seen in many different fantasy sources and therefore includes things which may seem out-of-place in Middle Earth. The Third Age is one of declining magic and departing elves. It can be described as a low-magic setting, whereas the default for White Box is high magic with crackling lightning bolts and exploding fireballs. This disparity can of course be addressed in one of two ways, tone down magic in the rules or bring the setting into line with the default rules for magic. I personally prefer the former.
Balance between character classes in White Box is a matter of some complexity (if it exists at all). Any tinkering with the classes and their abilities may "unbalance" things. Having said that, I don't worry a lot about it. It is easy enough to remove certain magic heavy classes such as the magic user and cleric or modify them. Spell lists can be trimmed or re-written to include a more Middle Earth themed magic than the default "Vancian" system, which is the approach I favor. Elven magic seems more music/song based while dwarven magic may involve tracing runes and muttering secret incantations. Herbal lore can replace magic in many ways, especially healing and other clerical spell effects and seems more in keeping to the spirit of Middle Earth than deity worshiping clerics wielding divine magic outright. More traditional White Box Magic Users would be rare and could be limited to the Istari, certain "older" elves and followers of the Shadow. White Box is a system of relatively few character classes and in order to both provide players options and keep close to the sources, adding a couple character classes such as herbalist and ranger makes sense.
The bestiary is another setting specific element of the game that can greatly define the play milieu. Again White Box includes many elements that are consistent with Middle Earth and many that are not. Removal of those monsters that seem inconsistent and adding to the list additional monsters found in the Tolkien sources seems the obvious solution. Orcs/goblins come in many forms in Middle Earth and the basic White Box goblin and orc will not do them justice without modification. Scaling seems a good option, making orcs available from 1 hit die or less on up to 8 or 10 hit die depending on the "power" of the orc. Giving undead special powers that more closely reflect their role in the source books is another way to both add consistency to the milieu and increase the horror element of the game. My reading of LotR suggests the Shadow forces were much more creepy and scary than come across in any of the movie versions and I like to run my version of Middle Earth this way. Therefore some mechanic for corruption needs to be in play.
White Box includes Tolkienesque fantasy elves, dwarves and hobbits, kinda. Tolkien's elves are powerful creatures, especially the Noldor. The Third Age is the "Age of Men" and I personally prefer human PCs for gaming in the Third Age, but other referees may want to include the other races. The mixed race Fellowship in LotR is brought together by the actions of Gandalf and the Council of Elrond and seems out-of-character for the races to frequently do this (although it is the norm in default White Box play). I think diversity is more a modern value and medieval cultures such as Middle Earth is somewhat based on, would be more insular and xenophobic.
I have run two short campaigns in Middle Earth, one based around Arnor for which I drew heavily on Middle Earth Role Playing (MERP) material published by Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.), the other based in Far and Near Harad for which there is far less canon and I felt I had more creative freedom. Both campaigns involved human PCs and redefined magic. I find that with cooperative players Middle Earth is highly playable as a milieu and a nice alternative to my home-brew campaign setting.
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