If I Had to Do It Over...

...I do not think I would have included enchanted weapons and armor of power greater than +3 in my B/X Companion.

At the time I was writing it, I was still in the mindset of culling "the best of D&D" for the thing, and still hanging onto the conceits found in the later books of AD&D...+5 Holy Avengers and Hammers of Thunderbolts and the like. After all, you need a +5 weapon to harm the Tarrasque, right? Even though I was basing MY version of the Tarrasque on mythology rather than the MM2...

In retrospect, the end result means a gradual power inflation to the B/X game which, while not nearly as terrible as in D20 or even AD&D, does a lot to undermine the heroic simplicity of B/X. It's not that it renders some monsters/obstacle obsolete, after all (in B/X even the lowliest creature can damage your high falutin' character with an attack roll of "20"). But the presence of such items in the game creates an expectation in players: 'Hey, I'm a 23rd level thief! Where's my +5 leather armor?'

I don't dig on that.

In fact, if there's one thing I can't stand about D20 and later editions (well, there's a lot more than ONE thing, but only one thing regarding the topic at hand)...*ahem* If there's one major thing about the topic at hand that really irritates me regarding the latter editions of D&D, it's the assumption that part of character development revolves around the acquisition of things. That part of the process of increased character effectiveness assumes a certain amount of "stuff" (in the form of enchanted items and apparatus) will be discovered for use by the PCs.

This is gaming of the lowest common denominator. This is a video game mentality. This is Diablo or World of Warcraft. I've played both those video games, and they were enjoyable fun in their own mindless sort of way, but that is NOT what I expect or want from a role-playing game. Requiring the acquisition of stuff, in order to achieve the proper level of effectiveness for challenge, is just about the worst possible part of a reward system one can dream up.

Why? Because it makes the game less about player achievement (can the players manage the proper risk-reward factor to overcome the given challenge in this gamist-facilitating RPG) and more about proper "seeding" of "loot" during the course of the campaign. Which types of magical treasure to provide, in what amounts, depending on artificial game need.

Why bother to "level up" or measure experience at all? Solely for the sake of hit points?

[no, of course not...wizards who can't use magic arms and armor measure spell power based on level; though it seems only a short step o logic away from imposing WoW-style level restrictions on equipment use: "oh, your paladin cannot use the Holy Avenger sword until you're at least 15th level"]

Bollux on that. As a DM, I have a LOT more important things to worry about than not allowing a +3 sword to fall into the hands of a 2nd level character...or making sure the 9th level magic-user has found a staff of power or the requisite wand of lightning bolts. Must every halfling thief acquire a ring of invisibility at some point in their career? If so, why do they even bother to practice their hiding in shadows craft?

And so here I sit, currently working on 5AK (which will be play-tested this week, hope-hope-hope) and looking at the "magic items" section of the document, still blank. And wondering what the F I want to do with it. Because one thing I do NOT want to do is build a game with an expectation that magic items (and their acquisition) are in any way necessary or integral to the process of the game. BUT, at the same time, I don't want to leave the reader/player/DM with NO info...I don't want to just say, "hey, create your own enchanted artifacts as circumstance dictates." I want to give folks some guidelines. I like random tables, and even more so I like making the DM's job easier, not more difficult.

It's enough of a burden just drawing a map and coming up with a monster roster that makes sense for a particular adventure scenario.

*sigh*

I really haven't figured out what to do yet. The above published gripes don't even discuss what it is I want the game to model, namely the fantasy literature and mythology found in books pre-D&D. It used to be that magic was feared and respected, and that most every magical item found by a hero came at a price...no one just picked up a +3 sword out of some bandit's treasure chest and found themselves super-tough ever after. Real fantasy doesn't work like that. A powerful weapon was usually designed for a specific purpose like killing a demon-dragon...and when that purpose was served the thing usually "went away," perhaps dissolved in the acid blood of the foe it was designed to slay. Items' powers rested as much in what they represented (like Aragorn's blade Anduril or Arthur's Excalibur) than in their particular sharpness or whatnot.

Conan may be a "high level fighter" in D&D terms, but you don't find him running around with a vorpal blade and plate mail of etherealness. Is that because he lives in a "magic poor" world? No...there is plenty of magic and sorcery and supernatural foes and items (review Howard's story People of the Black Circle story). But magic is something to be respected and feared, as likely to turn on you as aid you, and if you can get by without it (as Conan often does), you're better off.

Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone owns a magic sword for the majority of his career...but it is a bound demon that often acts on its own accord, slaying friends and loved ones as eagerly as Elric's enemies (more eagerly...often Elric encounters monsters and foes against whom the blade is partially if not wholly ineffective). Yes, it gives him great strength and power...at a price. And his reputation as a swordsman is good even without the blade (only his cousin Yrkoon is said to be his equal in swordplay).

How to capture/model this kind of thing in my game...while still making it as easy as a few random tables for the DM? Maybe I need three tables:

• one random set of items
• one random set of bonuses/benefits
• one random set of drawbacks/problems

Again with an eye towards giving players the choice of what they're willing to risk for a particular benefit. Ugh...it sounds, good, by only have a couple pages of space in which to get it done. And how does that work with magicians and magic item creation?

*sigh* (again)

I guess I better just get back to work on the stuff I've already got sorted out. For the play-test Thursday, I'll probably just end up using magic items from other editions. Or not. I don't know yet. Ugh!

All right...talk to ya' later.

Gaming Romance (Redux)

Happy (belated) Valentine’s Day!

That is to  say, I assume this will be belated since I’m writing it on February the 14^th (in my home) and my internet connection is currently disconnected…so you are probably reading this on the 15^th.

[I hope this is posted by the 15^th]

[***EDIT: it is still the 15th...barely...took more than 24 hours and two calls to India but I'm back on line...finally***]

Anyway, my original plan was NOT to be blogging, but instead to be playing…that is, play-testing…the new game, 5AK, my version of D&D Mine and one hell of a fantasy “heartbreaker” (appropriate for Valentine’s Day, ja?).

Unfortunately, for some damn reason all my players had plans with their wives or families tonight. Go figure.

My family ended up going out for pizza (yes, yes, my wife received flowers and a nice card, but we’re going to do our “romantic thang” on the weekend, when it’s easier to make reservations). And now here I am blogging.

Funny enough, I’ve been working on the “romance” rules for 5AK all afternoon. This really had nothing to do with the holiday…it just happened to be the thing I was working on. Romance and romantic entanglements play a large part in fairy tales and fantasy, so it’s important to have rules that model this in a fantasy adventure game (which is what I’m writing).

Yes, I realize that many folks don’t bother with such things in the standard dungeon crawl campaign, and the closest thing to romance in the AD&D books is Gygax’s “wandering harlot” table. To me, this is just another example of the unfortunate fashion in which D&D was designed (i.e. a perfectly fine dungeon delving board/war game that morphed into “something bigger” and had additional stuff “tacked on”). You’re welcome to disagree, of course…but I’d bet there’s a lot of cold and lonely Name level characters shivering in their strongholds and wishing they had a Valentine!

; )

Anyhoo, as a starting point I’ve gone back and read this old blog post from a couple years back (said reading being done earlier today, prior to coming home and finding my internet down). The brief rules therein are good enough for a standard (i.e. “semi-generic”) B/X game, but I need something a little “beefier” for my Arabian Nights-flavored setting, where social class distinctions are semi-important. Also, I have this “thing” about wanting “game content” to be open at all levels (not just waiting till you reach high levels in order to “do neat stuff”), so that has to be taken into account.

And, oh yeah, there’s that part about my game just using D6s so I have to work out systems that DON’T involve the use of percentile dice.

Still, it’s coming along (play-testing, of course, will be needed...*sigh*). I’m toying with the idea of making different systems depending on player character gender; I have a pet peeve with fantasy games that make all genders universally interchangeable.

No, I am not talking about imposing AD&D-style “ability score limits” and their thus consequential class/level limits. THAT, to me, is pretty dumb given the role and abstract nature of ability scores and class/level.

In fact, let me (briefly) go off on a tangent for a quick moment: in my game, “class” is short for “classification;” it’s not a career path or some apprenticeship program, either of which might be limited by the social mores or patriarchal (or matriarchal) laws of a given setting. Male or female, player characters are “adventurers;” that is their profession and its open to anyone. Now, what is the manner in which you go about adventuring? If your tendency is to wear armor and hit things with a sword, you get classified as a “fighter.” If you use magical arts (regardless of whether you were taught at a wizard school or by the witch/wise woman down the street) then you are a “magician.” Get it?

This is why you won’t see arbitrary armor and weapon restrictions in my game. You’re an adventurer…you can use whatever is available. Of course, some things require training/practice to use them more effectively, and some maneuvers (like free-climbing a sheer cliff) might preclude the wearing of bulky armor, but that’s just sensible to what I'm trying to model. And, no, there is no “skill system” in sight…the abstract classification still provides a description of the “skills” your character knows/practices. Duh. It’s just not a “job,” per se.

[and ability scores measure characters’ effectiveness against themselves, by the way, not against others…so an 18 strength means someone is very large, strong, and fit for their gender, but doesn’t necessarily mean she’s bigger and bulkier than the 7’ hulk with the 14 strength. Just means she’s more effective at using what she’s got. I can get away with this because ability scores have very little effect on in-game effectiveness…it really is a throwback to OD&D in this regard]

*whew*

Back to Valentine’s Day and romance…having said all that, there are still some gender differences, mainly setting related (the non-setting ones concern childbirth which does NOT need a game system to model, by the way). Being based on Arabian culture there is, for example, the bride price that needs to be paid by the potential groom. There is no reverse “groom price” that a female adventurer would have to procure in order to tie the knot…and in fact if she can expect to receive a big fat wad of cash from whatever dude happens to get ensnared with her feminine wiles. Then there’s the issue of concubines and marrying your slaves (the latter was permissible for free women, but frowned upon) as well as the (small) differences regarding inheritance and titles.

The game is not actually meant to be a snap-shot setting of 8th century Arabia…I’m sure GURPS has probably put out a book for that already. This is a fictional land (a la Al-Qadim) modeled on our real world one and with the traditional fantasy ramped up a half-notch...no, you won’t find elves and dwarves and orcs (sorry), but you will find more necromancy (undead) and dragons then your average Arabian Nights tale. And the Underworld (from OD&D and Holmes) IS a part of the game setting, though it doesn’t share the prominence you find in D&D. Instead, it is just another realm to explore, alongside the Wilderness and the Palace.

By which I mean: it’s important that there ARE rules for romance, and having gender differences add to the game setting, but it doesn’t have to be a perfect model of the historic real world. ‘Cause it’s not. It’s a fantasy adventure game, perhaps steeped in a little more “real world” stuff then, say, Krull.

Now, I’m still debating whether or not to include tarnsmen…er, “roc riders"…or not. Maybe that should be the “secret weapon” of the Arabs even as the Byzantines pull out their fewer (but terribly potent) “dragon knights.” Cool or not cool?

Later Gators!

Magic in 5AK

Received an email from "Mark" recently, and (in addition to talking about Norv Turner and the Chargers) he wrote the following:

One "problem" I always seem to be trying to find a fix for is help for low level Magic-Users. One spell and no real combat ability is such a drag. I am always considering adding access to "cantrip" like minor spells such as in 3E or allowing magic users to buy lesser wands for 25g that is functionally identical to a sling, but at least provide something to do besides wait out of sight until the fight is over.

Sometimes I fear though that I have simply played too many modern RPGs that are more tactical in combat, though the single class Magic-User was never appealing to me because of the lack of things to do [at] early levels. Give me an Elf any day of the week though, I had lots of fun with that class.

Have you ever seen this as an issue in your B/X games, and if so, have you had any house rules that worked well?

Rather than replying to Mark, I've decided to post my response, just in case others find it interesting.

I have, in the past, attempted many, many times to institute house rules of one sort or another for magic-users, none of which really had any sticking power (that is to say, they'd be tried for one or two games sessions and then dropped). Several of these "grand ideas" have been posted to the blog...you can find them under the "magic-user" label along with a lot of info on Vancian magic in general...with the most recent one being this one. The gist? Magic-users get bonus spells for high INT (similar to the way clerics in AD&D receive bonus spells for high WIS scores).

Unfortunately, this idea actually went over like a ton of bricks with my main "magic-using player" in the B/X game. His issue was not the lack of variety/options (well, that was certainly part of it), but rather the lack of potency: that he'd cast a spell and the creature would make its saving throw rendering his character completely worthless and humiliated. "Welp, there goes my one spell of the day. Good thing I brought this bandolier of daggers for throwing."

Is that what you want your wizard to be? I certainly don't...and while the creative player can find other ways to make their character useful even outside of a combat encounter, the fact of the matter is a player wants to play a magic-user because he or she wants to USE MAGIC. How f'ing hard is that to understand? You want to play a magical character, THAT's why you arrange your stats in a particular way and bite the bullet with your D4 hit points and AC 9 (or 10 depending on edition).

Not being able to use magic (when such is your intent) is a major drag...and let me tell you, if your 1st level spell is a charm person and the ogre or hobgoblin or whatever makes its save then, no, you are NOT using magic. Same for the guy who memorizes sleep and then finds himself fighting skeletons in the necropolis. Same for the guy who memorizes read magic and then fails to find any spell scrolls.

And even if you DO find that spell scroll, or get off that magic missile or whatever...well, then, your first level character is done for the day, right?

Some of you may have noted (on this blog or elsewhere) that Gygax's own house rules indicated player characters should start at 3rd level of experience. Doing so has the following impact on game play:

• all characters have extra hit points (more survivability)
• if the AD&D combat tables are used, fighters have a higher attack roll than other starting characters (otherwise they get their big bonus upon reaching the next level: 4th and "Hero" status).
• spell-casters have more spells (and thus more options)

This, of course, all makes great sense in making a beginning character's career more enjoyable. It is also  just a "patch" on what might have to be considered (sorry) a broken rule system. If you want beginning characters to have extra hit points, give 1st level characters extra hit points! If you want magic-users to cast more spells when starting out, let them cast more spells! Jeez...not very hard, right? If Gygax wasn't a purist for his own game system, why do we have to be?

It really depends on what you want to model in your game. Some people want to give magic-users cheap wands or the ability to constantly "zap" monsters like the wizard in the old Gauntlet video game. Personally, I'm not into that...what I call the "Harry Potter-style" of wizardry. My thoughts on what I DO want to model (and what I'm using for D&D Mine) can be found in this earlier post on Building a Better Magic-User. However, for Mark's sake, I'll spell out my current iteration of "magician-isms" for 5AK (the working title for my version of D&D, currently in process).

• Magicians are untrained in the use of swords, shields, and bows. That doesn't mean they can't use them, just that they are penalized (compared to trained characters) in their use. Some magicians may have had training in one of these things as determined during the chargen process.
• As academics, magicians are a little less hearty and take a -1 penalty to all hit dice rolled. They likewise receive less bonus HPs at high level than other adventurer types.
• Magicians must have full freedom of movement to cast spells, to this end they cannot be bound or wearing burdensome armor.
• Low level magicians learn magic (spells) from a master; once they reach a level of independence they are responsible for creating their own spells.
• Spells are generally written down (i.e. in a spell book). The recitation of a spell (from a book or scroll or from memory) casts the spell...spells do not "fade" or otherwise disappear by reading them.
• Magicians have a maximum number of spells they can memorize (like you might have a maximum number of phone numbers you can memorize). As the magician grows in proficiency, they can memorize more. Memorizing a spell means the magician can cast it at will without needing to read it from a book or scroll.
• Magicians still have to cast a spell correctly, which can be difficult when embroiled in chaotic events (like combat). This is done with a die roll (like trying to make a successful attack). The die roll is modified by the caster's level and INT as well as certain other factors (reading the spell from a book gives you a bonus, for instance).
• Spells of greater magnitude have a greater complexity requiring a greater effort (higher "attack roll") and a longer casting-time (a lot more pages to read in the old spell book). Memorized spells can be "fast-cast" at a penalty to the success roll.
• Very few spells do "damage" to an opponent; if you want to damage someone, you strike 'em with a weapon. Nearly all spells are of the "utility" variety; there are 84 spells divided into seven magnitudes, though players can work with GMs to invent more.
• Magicians can forgo the casting of a spell in a round to "counter-spell" another magician's spell.
• Magicians can brew potions and imbue artifacts ("create magic items") and can generally detect enchantments and magic "at will." Likewise, they are all trained to "read the language of magic" so all scrolls and spell books are open to them...if they can get their hands on them. Magicians tend to be kind of protective of their lore.

Okay, that's about it. There are a couple of other wrinkles (there are a couple variant sub-classes that function a bit differently), but that's pretty much what the magician class looks like in 5AK.

The cleric is quite a bit different.
; )

Winning the Battle, Losing the War (Part 2)

[continued from here]

Of course, most REALLY “old school” grogs still hang their hats on AD&D as the One True Edition, and while OSRIC has had its popularity, most of the folks I’ve seen playing the game around the game shop are still using their original 1^st edition books (and I don’t blame ‘em: those old hardcovers were well-bound and built to last. I still have mine, too). Many of the OSR published adventures have been geared towards AD&D sensibilities, and most of the Old School D&D forums on-line have the largest following/volume in their (1^st edition) AD&D sections. Despite being (until recently) out-o-print, I think it’s pretty safe to say AD&D has remained king of all editions.

And now the PHB, the DMG, and the MM have all been re-released (after being digitized, so they’re an easy transition to PDF form if they aren’t already available): the three volumes that form the cornerstone of the AD&D game. And with them come (from the same PDF site) the many classic AD&D modules that helped the game find such popularity in the escape-craving populace: the G, D, and Q series, the Slave Lords, the Temple of Elemental Evil, etc. It’s like someone grabbed hold of my closed and ran everything through the scanner. While this relegates the whole eBay scouring process to the realm of hardcore collectors (as opposed to hobby enthusiasts looking to play “the original versions”), the real question is what does that do to the burgeoning industry growing up in the (previous) lack of availability?

Think about this. Say I was a teenager or a kid in my early twenties, and my only exposure to D&D to date and been some great sessions with my parents or older friends/relatives using their badly battered copies of AD&D or B/X. Say it gave me enough fire/enthusiasm that I wanted to start my own gaming group with some like-minded individuals…perhaps in a high school club or on college dorm. The only with the name Dungeons & Dragons at the store is 4^th edition, or perhaps some old 3^rd and 3.5 editions, and maybe I pick them up…only to find them completely nonsensical or the learning curb incredibly steep to what my initial introduction is. Being young and tech-savvy, I hop on the Internet to see what I can find. A year ago, I would have ended with one of three options:

-        I could buy someone else’s old battered-tattered editions for an exorbitant sum on some web-site…and even biting that bullet wouldn’t give me anything I could load on my iPad.

-        I could “give up on the dream” and either skip D&D altogether or go with Hasbro’s latest-greatest.

-        I could stumble across the OSR…a passionate, dedicated community…and its retroclone industry. I could pick up copies of LL or OSRIC or S&W (free PDFs, plus available in print when needed), and the scores of adventures and material that had been written for them. I could introduce my like-minded friends to web-sites and blogs and give them links where they, too, could pick up the rules…and then we’d run the game. And the little OSR publishers could continue to provide their material in the vacuum of an In Print presence of the original editions.

But as I said, that was LAST year. Today, you can go and download the original stuff, and pay to have it printed if you like. And the OSR forums and blogs become little more than places to shout one’s house rulings as to whether or not clerics should receive spells at 1^st level and how to make thieves “suck less.”

Is the OSR…as a movement to create new, good material in the Old School style (and thus to promote Old School role-playing)…is the OSR dead?

Did we win the battle to lose the war?

Because I for one was adamant that I wanted to “bring B/X back.” It was a gripe I had for years…since starting this blog anyway…that the original game that I’d grown to love and cherish through introspective analysis and a helluva’ lot of playing, was out of print for all time, and that I would be left alone as a reclusive hobbyist, condemned to picking up any old copy of Moldvay I came across just to “try to keep the fire alive” while all the while watching the books slowly yellow with age and disintegrate. Till nothing was left but my memories and Labyrinth Lord (with its bears that only do D4 damage and its clerics that get spells at first level). Like one of those doomed musicians playing as the Titanic sank, I would go down playing because the music was more important than clinging to the hope of finding a still-empty lifeboat.

Does that sound retarded…or at least melodramatic? It should; it is. But that’s how I felt often enough. Retarded and melodramatic in my “sticking-to-my-guns”…you can see it throughout this blog in fact. No, not in the way I rail against 4^th Edition (4E is still an unmitigated piece of crap IMO)…but my holding up as B/X as the “be all, end all.” It IS a great game, and I did (figuratively) lament to the heavens that it would not be available to my own children, except as a carefully preserved collectable.

And now it IS available…my wish has come true (assuming WotC continues to find it enough of a “cash-cow” to keep it available). My lamentations have been heard…all our bitching (and by “our” I mean other B/X grognards like myself) that Hasbro should at least make the digital copies available…they’ve heard and they’ve done so and at an extremely reasonable price. And while the printed AD&D books were not nearly as reasonable, I still found myself purchasing all three (for reasons already stated on this blog); and as I said, there’s hope for their eventual digital release as well.

And has this skewered the heart of the OSR? It’s as if WotC said: 

“Okay, fine, you win. We know that some of you really don't want to play 4^th edition or D&D Next (5E)...or even 3^rd Edition should we somehow reincorporate that. You just want Basic D&D and if we don’t give it to you, you’ll just make your own, instead of playing the edition we’re TRYING to push on you, so here…take B/X. Take your Queen of the Demonweb Pits and B4: Lost City. Put some money in our pockets, download the file, and go knock yourselves out. Eventually, you’ll get tired of the old material and when you do we’ll be waiting with new stuff (and a new edition for you).
 “But what we’re NOT going to do is leave you no other option then to put money in the pockets of LotFP or Goblinoid Games or Brave Halfling Press. Put your money here…we’ll give you the ORIGINALS, exactly as you’ve been begging for, through word and deed.”

Why shouldn’t I put down the $10 to get original B/X over Labyrinth Lord? Why shouldn’t I take the original Erol Otus artwork over illustrations that are simply supposed to conjure nostalgia in my heart?

And if I am putting my money into the ORIGINAL works, then aren’t I likely to put my money into other original works…like adventure modules? Especially adventure modules that have been written about and blogged about and hashed about on forums for YEARS…instead of some little thing by Raggi or BHP that has little “buzz” and zero squawking fan base attached to it?

And I know money is tight for folks…the economy’s coming up but there’s been a definite drop-off in MY sales. Well, with regard to the new book anyway…and that's probably due as much to my lack of marketing/publicizing and “making the rounds” and whatnot (not to mention general lack of interest) as any lack of “ready-to-burn” income in pockets.

[on the other hand, it appears there has been an uptick in PDF sales of my B/X Companion over the last week. Any chance that has to do with B/X being back on the market?]

Like Hotcakes!

BUT if a large, well-marketed, well-known web site is producing PDF books of well-known, talked about, legendary adventures and supplements, don’t you think THOSE will be getting the lion’s share of folks’ less-than-ample petty cash (i.e. “hobby money”) before the largely unknown and obscure hobbyist publishers earn enough to even break even? Or to sustain their web sites? Or to sustain their INTEREST in doing this “hobbyist-publishing thang” at all?

Look, some folks reading this might be thinking this is all “sour grapes” coming from Yours Truly, but it’s not…the OSR movement and this blog has been a great blessing to me, because it’s opened me up to the possibility of writing and publishing and I’ve found a great love of it and will continue to do it REGARDLESS. I still fully intend to self-publish MY version of D&D someday, if only for my own amusement. AND because it’s awesome (IMO). And because I am one stubborn S.O.B. If the OSR dies, or if these little publishers go bankrupt or decide there’s too little profit to keep working (or too little recognition to keep sticking their hard-sweated masterpieces out there to have ‘em ignored)…even if that all disappears, well, I'll probably continue to do what I do: shouting in the darkness.

But IF those other folks that dip in and out of the OSR movement should dry up and go away, because they’ve been one-upped by WotC (who does, after all, own the IP we all know and love)…if they go away, well, I think it would be a damn shame. Not because I'll be losing a client base (or audience for my blog rants)…I’m sure there will still be people who check out what crazy nonsense is coming out of ol’ JB’s loony head, and some might even be tempted to throw me some cash for a book. Nope, it’ll be a shame because this movement…the OSR movement…is or was or has been or has become a GREAT CREATIVE OUTLET for many, many people. The chance to talk about their own thoughts and feelings and experiences with regard to gaming...and to have those things recognized and validated by other like-minded folks…is a great, great thing. And the creation of game works…whether adventures or rule systems or artwork or dungeon maps or whatever…is a form of artistry and creative expression, something that humans need as part of being fully fulfilled individuals. We all need an OUTLET…from playing the cello to cooking gourmet meals to painting landscapes…and the availability of that outlet through the OSR movement, and the encouragement that has come with it has been immensely valuable to people.

Because, let’s face it: when you have a passion related to a niche or hobbyist culture, it’s rare enough to get accolades…regardless of what it is. Look at that reality show about professional beard growing competitions, or that Full Metal Jousting show. Hell, until beer companies started making commercials about how their brew had won international competitions, I had no idea that there was such a thing as international brewing competitions! And gaming is such a FRAGMENTED culture…there’s so little “cross-pollination” between gaming groups, or editions, or games…that we can end up becoming insular and isolated just by the nature of the beast. Which is a shame when the game itself (i.e. role-playing) has the potential to bring people together and create deeper bonds and greater rapport between folks.

So the OSR has been a good thing…much more active and proactive than a simple “on-line community” hanging out at the WotC boards discussing what class specialization gnomes should have or whether or not attacks of opportunity will be included in 5^th edition. The OSR has been vibrant, full of passionate, creative individuals who were given the space (and encouragement) to express themselves through their gaming passion. And if the release of the original Old School products sounds a death knell for that vibrant community, I can’t help but see it as a Not So Very Good Thing.

Even though I was someone who wanted to see B/X back in print.

Winning the Battle, Losing the War (Part 1)

This is a post I’ve been considering for probably a week or two; time to start putting some words down.

First though, give me a chance to puff up my chest a bit: the last few days I’ve spent some time reading back over my own blogging the last couple years. Normally I do NOT go back and read much of my “old stuff” except to look for links to prior posts. That is, in fact, how I started my semi-self-love-fest: I was looking for links and some of my older posts caught my eye, and I just spent some free time reading some of these old musings, including the comments from readers (and my response to the same). And I have to say I was fairly impressed with my own brain…a lot of my stuff is pretty good, often thoughtful or well conceived, if not outright entertaining.

A lot of what I’ve written seems (in hindsight) a bit bone-headed, too…but not nearly as much as I suspected. Hell, even some of those blog posts from “Bear Week” were pretty neat (which I was NOT expecting). I guess I just want to say I’m PLEASED with the content here at Ye Old B/X Blackrazor. I would read my stuff…which is not surprising, seeing as how I blog for myself at least as much (if not more so) as for others. Such is the vanity of the hack-writer.

Now I realize I’ve fallen off on my one-time frenetic pace of posting and the reasons for this are several. First off, I have less free time (both at home and at work) than I once did. For another thing, one of the main reasons I started this thing was to have a place to vent (and discuss) my thoughts on various aspects of gaming…and since I’ve started doing this, I’ve opened myself up to new people (new friends) with whom I can discuss/vent my ideas…in person…and so some of my musings never make it into the blog-o-phere, because they’re already “talked out” with real people precluding the necessity of electronic expression. This includes musings about game design (and specifically musings about games I'M designing).

So those are the main reasons for my drop-off. Another thing that’s “dried up” for me is my need to talk about B/X and my discoveries when playing it…mainly because I’m not playing B/X, instead spending my gaming nights on play-testing my own game concepts. And there’s not a whole bunch to say about play-testing that doesn’t sound incredibly cryptic without having the rules readily available to the readers. Likewise, little “freebie” type posts (new B/X class adaptations) have stopped cropping up on the blog because, well, I’m not using ‘em and the ones that have been developed are now in the book.

[then of course there was my distraction with the NFL season, only recently concluded]

Having said all that, it’s fairly apparent that a LOT of OSR bloggers have dropped off their prior pace of posting. A lot of different things are responsible for this: burn-out has led some to leave the whole “blog thang” behind, others have gotten new jobs, or new (graduate) schools, or moved cross-country and have gotten into a permanent state of “transition” that has kept them out of the habit of firing up the ol’ blog. But maybe bloggers really do have a “shelf life” and a bunch of us are reaching the end of ours.

Alexis had a good post on this the other day. Actually, Alexis has had a lot of good posts on a lot of subjects the last few weeks. Not that he doesn’t usually…he’s a thoughtful and passionate writer. But there was certainly a time when I didn’t follow his work all that closely…I mean, I’m just not all that into how many copper mines are in Bulgaria and what their annual output is or whether or not there’s a tin trade route that is going to lend itself to a dwarven bronze-smelting center in Asia Minor.

This is just me being facetious, of course. Should I talk some smack about Alexis? I know he rubs some folks the wrong way, and some might find him a bit of a blow-hard. Personally, my approach to role-playing is a little less…um…”detail oriented,” which he would probably just call “lazy” (though he might call me out for putting words in his mouth).

Since both he and I have, I believe, put a lot of thought into our widely divergent approaches to role-playing it’s doubtful either of us would EVER change the mind of each other, but even with a vast difference of opinion and gaming paradigm, I have immense respect for the intensity he brings to The Game, and the fact that he invests so much importance in it despite being “just a game.” I happen to share this perspective: that something so innocuous as a sheaf of bound papers, some written concepts, and a handful of plastic dice can transcend the status of “a game” and actually be something of value to our society. Ridiculous idea of course…writing down “fight level 2” never put food into the mouth of a hungry child, and no D20 roll ever prevented a real life crime or tragedy or mass exploitation of a Third World nation. But even so, I DO believe in the power of community and the strength of shared ritual and urgency of exercising both peoples’ intelligent thought process and imagination…and the ability to put yourself (mentally) in the shoes of an elf or wizard can’t help but allow you to (eventually, through practice) see different perspectives of the world, perhaps leading you to a better understanding of (and empathy for) your fellow human beings.

Plus, we do need escape. But that's a whole post in and of itself.

So Alexis and I are on the same page in that regard (that this Game of ours has value and should be approached as such), even if we disagree on a lot of other things (including perhaps the reason for that value). If I’m intellectually lazy a lot of the time it’s because I’ve often found the burden of intense logical construction to be tedious when one can make a mental leap based on feeling/intuition.  That’s not an EXCUSE for intellectual laziness, just an admission. Having played in Alexis’s on-line game, I can honestly say that his detail-specific approach is just as conducive to an excellent gaming experience, if you’re willing to "let it in." Plus, I think he’s a (darkly) humorous guy.

BUT this post wasn’t really meant to be about Alexis. What this post IS about, is the re-release of the Moldvay and Cook/Marsh-edited edition of Dungeons & Dragons…what is commonly referred to as “B/X”…and what that means to the OSR.

#1 with a bullet!

The OSR has attempted to defy categorization ever since the term was coined (whether or not it’s been successful can be debated). Is it an actual movement? A state of mind? A method of play? A particular edition (or several editions) or cut-off year that determines the OSR gamer? Is it a Renaissance? Is it a Revolution? Does it matter? Does it have purpose?

I’ve been called a member of the OSR and my blog is usually identified with the OSR. As someone who has (self-published) some B/X compatible products and written a number of posts on the B/X game, I suppose I self-identify with the OSR…at least inasmuch as B/X is identified with “Old School” gaming (not everyone would give OS “cred” to anything published post-1980). While I don’t have a strong opinion on labels one way or another, I do have an interest in the OSR as a movement…and its survival.

At least, I’m interested in its survival if it’s positive thing.

So here’s the deal: now that WotC/Hasbro has made available to the general consumer public the two most popular editions of the Dungeons & Dragons lines (namely, B/X and 1^st Edition AD&D), what does that do to an OSR movement that went from ranting about the state of affairs, to joining with like-minded individuals, to publishing their own books and adventures based on the discontinued lines?

I know, I know…some people hold OD&D, or Holmes D&D, or Mentzer’s BECMI/RC up as their “standard favorite” edition of choice. But I believe if you did an actual poll (Hell…I did do a poll…I need to get that data collated one o these days!), you’d find that 1^st edition AD&D (which codified the original LBBs and supplements) and B/X (with its retro-clone resurgence) are the editions being played the most.

Labyrinth Lord especially has enjoyed a phenomenal following due to A) the ease and simplicity of the B/X rules, and B) the lack of published or PDF versions OF those rules. I know I had some resistance to folks playing B/X at my table, instead wanting something that was still IN PRINT and available especially in an electronic version. To this end, we made more than a few “Labyrinth Lord” concessions…and I know I’ve purchased multiple copies of the LL print edition for distribution (as a gift to younger players). And because of the wide dissemination of LL (and its OSR-version of the OGL) there have been plenty of supplements and adventures written for the game. Even Mr. Maliszewski eventually ended up using LL (over Swords & Wizardry, the OD&D-clone) for his long-running Dwimmermount Campaign because of its ease of use, simplification of D&D, and yet attention to the D&D-isms most of us have used and presumed over the years. The Advanced Edition Companion for LL simply allowed B/X players to adapt AD&D-isms (like the mix-and-match of class-race) to those simple B/X rules.

Now, B/X in its original form is available as a downloadable PDF for $4.99 (per book). The Tom Moldvay edited Basic set was released first and stayed in the #1 spot until the recent release of the Expert set, which has supplanted it. Thee Basic set remains in the #2 position.

[to be continued]

Skipping Downton Abbey...

...to write this blog post. No, I realize the show airs on Sundays. I only get to watch it "on demand" after my child goes to sleep...and last night took so long to get him down, that I went straight to bed. Tonight was much better AND I'm still awake...perhaps because I wasn't drinking all day with a Super Bowl that last extra time due to the power outage in the second half.

What I was doing today was getting my shit together writing-wise. O boy o boy!

With D going into the new daycare and the wife out-o-town, I was able to have a real "day off" for the first time in a loooong time (I got to slack on the household chores...I'll be cleaning up before I hit the hay tonight). I made good use of the time by sitting down and finishing the proofing/edits to my fantasy-cyberpunk game, which had been something I've been meaning to get to since, oh, back in August or so. Since my prospective collaborator/publisher turned out to be even busier than me, I just kind of "back-burnered" it...for six months. Sheesh!

But I put in the three-to-five hours or so to go through the whole check list, and got it all knocked out. At least to the point where I can email it to my editor for a final proof. And then I can start begging the interwebs for artwork.

[actually, this particular book is one I'm thinking of doing hardcover in a slightly different format, and I'm seriously considering a single interior artist in order to have a "consistent" vibe, which might meaning hitting up a local person whom I can "ride" with deadlines and such...but I haven't really decided yet]

It's funny that I did finish it today, after having procrastinated so long. I chalk it up to meeting a guy from the other play-test group (a group that I wasn't refereeing) and hearing his disparaging remarks about the game. Specifically, he said he really wanted to like it but it seemed "too much like Shadowrun" to him. I explained that this was not surprising seeing as how a fantasy-cyberpunk mash-up is treading the same genre ground as Shadowrun and my goal was to make something easier and more playable. He said he grokked that, but still...Shadowrun. Apparently, the guy really doesn't like the Shadowrun concept.

Which just means he's not the target demographic for the game. Duh.

IN ADDITION to this, I was back working on D&D Mine again, putting the finishing touches (i.e. illustration plates) on the covers and cover leafs (cover leaves?) of the book. In writing my own version of the Little Brown Books, I've decided that for the main illustration I would use some classic fairy tale pics that are public domain...pretty much the cheapest, tasteful way to go. For this particular project I have tapped a local artist to do some interior works, and she was very approving of the images I'd picked, feeling she can do some line drawings that will echo the feel. She did ask if she could do them lithograph style (whatever that means)...personally, I don't mind doing my own cheap-ass drawings for this project (I think my talent-level could come close to that of the original illustrators...if not, I could always trace some Nick Fury comics and add swords).

Still D&D Mine (or rather 5AK as I am currently titling the thing) has a bit more work left (like most of Book 3) before I can break out the dark ink and scanner. It is coming along though, and I'm again getting excited about the project. Which will certainly come as a relief to people tired of me blogging about Star Wars and superheroes.

Gosh...maybe I do have time to finish the dishes and watch Downton Abbey tonight! Later, gators!
: )

Touchdown Ravens

You know, I really didn't know if I was going to watch the Super Bowl today...as the priest said this morning at church (regarding the Super Bowl), "I don't really have a dog in this fight." Of course, he said it in Spanish (I was at Spanish Mass with my son, my wife winging her way to Paraguay on business once again).

Yes, even the Catholic church recognizes the Super Bowl's occurrence, though they may not ask us to pray for any particular team.

Anyway, I was EXTREMELY tired this morning (having stayed up till 2am or so working on the layout for Book 1 of D&D Mine; looks nice by the way...). And then Diego was not interested in taking his nap this afternoon (it took me, oh, close to two hours to put him to sleep), by which time I was figuring I probably needed a nap...and/or that I'd probably missed the first half of the game anyway, even if I was interested in watching the Norse (Ravens) take on the Dwarves (49ers), which I really wasn't sure I was. Plus if I was going to stay awake (which I probably shouldn't, seeing as I seem to be coming down with my wife's flu bug), I'd probably be working on Book 2.

Yet here I am, beer in hand (Newcastle Brown...there are a few more in the fridge as well), cold pizza in the toaster oven, TV showing the Ravens sacking Colin Kaepernick (and is that Wolfmother playing over the P.A. system?)...and I completely forgot the Super Bowl commercials.

Damn entertaining.

Yes, I did see the first Ravens drive and TD strike from Joe Flacco. I'm not a big fan of Baltimore, or Flacco, or (God knows) Ray Lewis...but I just can't root for the 49ers. Not with Jim Harbaugh as their coach. Not even knowing they're representing my conference and my division.

I wonder how long Diego will be asleep. Go Ravens.

***EDIT: as the 2nd quarter begins and I get ready to crack another beer while waiting for Frank Gore's first fumble, I can see the two things the Seahawks really do need to transform themselves into the championship team they appeared verging on this year: A) a big-time wide receiver, and B) an interior pass rusher that can just push the pocket around and make life uncomfortable for the opponent. The Ravens have both these things (plus a huge offensive line and a QB with a chip on his shoulder). Seattle has a lot of things going for it (and I do think they were the best team in the NFC by the end of the season), but without these things could they close the deal at the end? Can they find these things next year?

Flacco just threw his second TD pass, by the way. 14-3 Ravens.***