Why Grognards Aren't Hipsters

Hipsters and grognards have completely different terrible beards.

Grognards aren't wearing their Transformers tshirt ironically.

Hipsters like the early albums, before they got commercial, not the early edition, before they got commercial.

Hipsters argue about stupid things like the definition of 'alternative'. Grognards argue about important things like the definition of 'old-school'.

Hipsters use pretentious French words like mis-en-scene and cinema verite. Grognards use pretentious French words like bec-de-corbin and glaive.

Hipsters are into irony, which is where you wear something even though you don't like it. Grognards are into nerd-rage, which is where you talk incessantly about something even though you don't like it.

Hipsters spend hours making themselves look like they just put on any old pair of clothes at random and didn't bother to do their hair. Grognards don't spend hours.

Hipsters write zines because their band fell apart. Grognards write blogs because their campaign fell apart.

Grognards know that what they're doing isn't impressing women.

(in response to this).

Fantasy-themed stamps from Australia Post

Australia Post recently put out this set of stamps, called Mythical Creatures. This is a bit of a pet subject of mine, but it reminded me how fantasy in general popular culture is quite different to fantasy as represented in role-playing. D&D and other games seem to have a lot more 'sex and violence', in the form of female nudity and concentration on weapons and armour, than you'd get in most representations of fantasy worlds (heavy metal album covers and the work of Frank Frazetta being obvious exceptions, and perhaps that's what a lot of D&D artists were inspired by). In this case the differences between new and old versions of D&D don't really matter.

Dungeon Generator

This is a project I did a while ago. It's a random dungeon generator, for either Tunnels & Trolls, or Basic D&D/Labyrinth Lord combined with Mutant Future.

I know there are a lot of random dungeon generators around the web. But this one is a lot more detailed. For example, it doesn't pick monsters from a list: it creates all-new monsters for every dungeon. It also has a lot of features that most generators ignore, such as relations between different groups of monsters, the difficulty of bargaining with them, the availability of hirelings in the area and so on.

The Carcosan Grimoire

I'm hosting this free collection of material for the Carcosa D&D setting on my site. The page is here.

More free adventures

I don't know if anyone remembers the Worldwide Adventure Writing Month that Jeff Rients ran in 2007 and 2008. However all the entries are listed on my site here. There are a total of 17 free adventures, for various systems.

I'm So Old-School

I bought a pair of brogues. But I call them bthieves.

19th Century Edition Wars

Eventually so many rules sprang up, as each regiment improvised their own variations, two versions came into use. One, known as "rigid Kriegspiel", was played by strict adherence to the lengthy rule book. The other, "free Kriegspiel", was governed by the decisions of human umpires. Each version had its advantages and disadvantages: rigid Kriegspiel contained rules covering most situations, and the rules were derived from historical battles where those same situations had occurred, making the simulation verifiable and rooted in observable data, which some later American models discarded. However, its prescriptive nature acted against any impulse of the participants towards free and creative thinking. Conversely, free Kriegspiel could encourage this type of thinking, as its rules were open to interpretation by umpires and could be adapted during operation. This very interpretation, though, tended to negate the verifiable nature of the simulation, as different umpires might well adjudge the same situation in different ways, especially where there was a lack of historical precedent. In addition, it allowed umpires to weight the outcome, consciously or otherwise.

From Wikipedia.

My favourite description of a fantasy RPG world

My conception of the T&T [Tunnels & Trolls] world was based on The Lord of The Rings as it would have been done by Marvel Comics in 1974 with Conan, Elric, the Gray Mouser and a host of badguys thrown in.

Ken St. Andre.

The Buffy universe officially has dungeons

A while ago I read the Buffy Season 8 series of comics. They weren't that great to be honest (the Angel ones were worse, even leaving aside that they effectively re-write the ending of the TV series). However, I found something interesting in the 5th comic in the series.

In this issue, one of the Slayers goes into a D&D-like underworld, which is filled with mutually hostile groups of monsters - fairies, slime monsters, some things that look like some kind of ogre/orc/troll type, and apparently a couple of others.

 

This underworld seems to literally be under the ground: she's shown climbing down, rather than having to go through a magic portal or anything like that.

The plot is that the ogre things are planning to invade the surface world, and if they do so will destroy the other species who live closer to the surface. Thus the Slayer has to convince everyone to make an alliance against the ogres. The whole setup seems very similar to various older D&D modules.

The Wizard's Tower - the module

This is the other module I used in my recently ended 1974 rules Dungeons & Dragons campaign. As before, it uses ascending AC.

It was originally going to be based on the Conan story The Tower of the Elephant. However I ended up changing everything except the prisoner Yag-Kosha, and the name of the sorcerer Yara.

The text is here (Word document), and the map is here (jpg). You'll also need the diagram of room 10, which is here.

The idea for the coffee monster (but not the stats) is from the Field Guide to Encounters volume 2. The Men of Wounds are from Varlits and Vermin by Roger SG Sorolla.

EDIT: I've changed the link to the map, in case people were having problems downloading the original link.

The Emira's Necklace - the module.

This is one of the modules from the Dungeons & Dragons campaign that I ran, in case anyone's interested. It uses ascending AC.

The text is here (Word document), and the map is here (jpg).

The appearance of the wicked priests, and the miniature city, are by Aaron Somerville. I got them from issue 7 of Fight On! The giant arm is based on this. The stone faces are by ragnorakk from the odd74 forum.

EDIT: I've changed the link to the map, after some people reported problems downloading it.

The Guy Who Wrote Dragon Warriors Likes My Game

I recently got a post on the guestbook for my online game Age of Fable from Dave Morris, saying he liked the game.

Which was pretty cool for me, because this is the same Dave Morris who co-wrote the Fabled Lands gamebook series, which was the biggest single inspiration for Age of Fable.

He also wrote Down Among the Dead Men, which was another big inspiration, especially in terms of the game world, and Dragon Warriors, which first gave me the idea that it made more 'fantasy sense' to have barbarians and knights as two classes instead of a single 'fighter' or 'warrior' class.

another one from Simulated Comic Product

From the discontinued web comic Simulated Comic Product.

As with all pictures on this blog, click to get the full-sized version.

Origin of the Idol on the Players Handbook Cover?

I wonder if the 1924 silent film The Thief of Bagdad was the inspiration for the idol shown on the 1st edition Players Handbook (perhaps via the 1940 remake). The two idols don't look terribly similar, but in the film a character climbs the idol in order to steal its eye.

from Simulated Comic Product

This is from the discontinued web comic Simulated Comic Product.

As with all pictures on this blog, click to get the full-sized version.

Meeples as a Dungeons & Dragons race?

My post on Meeples seemed to be pretty popular, and someone commented that they wanted to play one.

So how would you stat a Meeple race (or racial class)?

Hollow Mockeries for old versions of Dungeons & Dragons

AC equivalent to leather armour.
HD 3
Save as Cleric 3
Damage 1d6 (sharp hooves)
Movement 18
Morale 5

Hollow Mockeries have the appearance of the corpse of a horse, which has been whipped around the head and neck, so that it is covered in blood and strips of flesh, and much of the skull is revealed. They are usually festooned with bells and bright bows, as if they were to be presented as a gift.

Most scholars agree that they may be created when a person dies in a way which caricatures the purpose of their entire life. The idealist who builds so many prisons in the name of freedom that he is eventually hung as a tyrant; the woman who, desperate for a child to nurture, steals another's baby and then starts a house fire while cooking for it, killing the baby and herself; the hunter who seeks food, freedom, and solitude in the forest, and then starves to death, caught in their own trap and with no one to call for help. The spirit of such a person knows no rest as the morbid irony gnaws at them, and so the corpse releases melancholic vapours which can coalesce into this spiteful creature. That at least is the most commonly-accepted theory of their origin. Another theory is that they are scape-goats - animals ritually filled with the sins of a community and driven into the wilderness - who were filled with spite and malice.

They are undead (immune to sleep and charm, can be turned). They are spiteful and vicious creatures, and will generally demand a 'tax' from anyone entering their territory (they speak Common). The tax can be any amount of money, or thing of value. Player-characters will feel an utter humiliation and outrage at the thought of submitting to the creatures' demands. If they do so they will lose 100XP (and if they give treasure, won't get any XP for that treasure).

The creatures are hollow, which has several consequences: Blunt weapons such as clubs do only half damage. Blades such as swords do normal damage. Pointed weapons such as arrows and spears do normal damage, and there is a 1 in 3 chance that the creature will be pierced. In this case it will react like a balloon which has been blown up without being tied, and then let go: the creature will whiz around the room and collapse, deflated and 'dead'.

Optionally the DM may give the creatures some sort of poison - although it is unliikely to be fatal.

Class for old versions of D&D: The Natural Philosopher, or Alchemist.

This is untested and unfinished, so please feel free to criticise.

The Natural Philosopher, or Alchemist, is a scholar who specialises in the lore of potions and the construction of devices.

The class is designed for a campaign in which there is no opportunity for the player-characters to buy magic items. It would be far less useful in campaigns where this is not true.

XP As Magic-Users.

Weapons As Magic-Users.

Hit Points As Magic-Users.

Attacks As Magic-Users.

Armor Natural Philosophers may wear leather or chainmail armor, or any magical armor. They may use shields.

Prime Requisite Intelligence.

Saving Throws
Swords and Wizardry: Alchemists start with a Saving Throw of 15.
Fortitude, Reflex, Will: Alchemists have a good Fortitude save.
Basic/AD&D: Alchemists save as Fighters.

In all cases Alchemists have a bonus against poison and intoxicants, including alcohol, equal to their level +1.

Other Abilities

Dungeon Features: Natural Philosophers have the same chance to notice dungeon construction features as dwarves.

Starting Potions: Natural Philosophers start play with two potions, which are rolled randomly as if generating treasure.

Create Potions or Miscellaneous Items: In areas with the proper facilities (usually large towns and cities) Natural Philosophers may make potions or miscellaneous items when not adventuring.

It takes a day to make one such item. At level 3 they may create two potions in a day. At level 6 they may create three potions in a day. They may not divide the time. For example a level 3 Natural Philosopher could not work for half a day and make one potion. Nor may they make more than one miscellaneous item at a time.

The player may roll randomly as if generating treasure, on the sub-table for potions or miscellaneous items as they choose. This costs 500gp per potion or item.

The player may also attempt to make a specific potion or item. Their chance of success is 10% times their level, to a maximum of 90%. Failure indicates that the player has wasted 250gp (and their time). 

Identify Potions: Alchemists may attempt to identify potions (but not miscellaneous items). In a properly-equipped facility they can do so with certainty given a day, and 100gp spent. They may also try to identify a potion by taking a small sip. Their chance of success is 45%, plus 5% per level, to a maximum of 90%, secretly rolled by the DM. Failure indicates (equal chance of each):
i) they accidentally drink too much (ie they drink the potion)
ii) they misidentify the potion (roll randomly for what they think it is)
iii) they are unable to identify the potion, but may try again if they are willing and able to spend another 100gp.

Alchemist Class: Draft 2

This is untested and unfinished, so please feel free to criticise.

The Alchemist, or Natural Philosopher, is a scholar who specialises in the lore of potions. It might be objected that most such would not be adventurers. This is of course true, but it is equally the case that most priests and wizards are unlikely to live as wandering vagabonds, and likewise that most soldiers would be in an army and most thieves in a gang of other thieves.

Alchemists have the same XP requirements, Hit Points, weapon restrictions, and attacks as Magic-Users. However they may wear leather or chainmail armour, or any magical armour (platemail is too heavy for them), and may use shields. Their Prime Requisite is Intelligence.

Saving Throws:
Swords and Wizardry: Alchemists start with a Saving Throw of 15 like Magic-Users, but have no bonus against spells.
Fortitude, Reflex, Will: Alchemists have a good Fortitude save.
Basic/AD&D: Alchemists save as Fighters.

In all cases,  Alchemists have a bonus against poison and intoxicants, including alcohol, equal to their level +1.

Potions:
They start play with two potions, which are rolled randomly as if generating treasure.

In areas with the proper facilities (usually large towns and cities), they may make potions when not adventuring. It takes a week to attempt to make a potion.

The player may roll randomly as if generating treasure. This costs 500gp.

The player may also attempt to make a specific potion. Their chance of success is 10% times their level, to a maximum of 90%. Failure indicates that the player has wasted 250gp.

Alchemists may also attempt to identify potions. In a properly-equipped facility they can do so with certainty given a day, and 100gp spent. They may also try to identify a potion by taking a small sip. Their chance of success is 45%, plus 5% per level, to a maximum of 90%, secretly rolled by the DM. Failure indicates (equal chance of each) they accidentally drink too much (ie they drink the potion), they misidentify the potion (roll randomly for what they think it is), or they are unable to identify the potion.

Optionally the Alchemist may be given the ability to make miscellaneous magic items as well as potions.

Desperate Courage: A Proposed Rule for Halflings.

This rule can be used if falling to 0 Hit Points causes unconsciousness rather than death.

If a halfling loses enough Hit Points that they would fall unconscious but not die, they may make a Saving Throw. Success means that they stay conscious until the end of the combat, or out of combat for ten minutes. If they receive further non-fatal wounds within that period they do not need to make further saves.
 
"There is a seed of courage hidden (often deeply, it is true) in the heart of the fattest and most timid hobbit, waiting for some final and desperate danger to make it grow."

Lord of the Rings.