There is a Lulu sale going on for Monday only. You can get the Majestic Wilderlands at 25% off if you use the coupon code CYBER305. There also report of the code HOLIDAYREADS gets you 40% off.
While you there check out some of the other publishers in the Old School Renaissance.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Ryan Dancy on the Open Game License
Ryan Dancey was the main advocate of the Open Game License and D20 SRD at Wizards in 1999-2000. On this forum post at the Paizo Messageboard he reflects on it's legacy. The release of the d20 SRD under the OGL is a seminal event in the history of Dungeon & Dragon and I thank Mr. Dancey for it. It is also the foundation of countless games including the various retro-clones we now happily play.
One of the things that makes the OGL well suited for what we do is that works can have Product Identity. Product Identity are elements of a work that are unique to the publisher and allows each of use to protect what is uniquely ours but still keeps the common rules elements free for anybody to use.
One of the things that makes the OGL well suited for what we do is that works can have Product Identity. Product Identity are elements of a work that are unique to the publisher and allows each of use to protect what is uniquely ours but still keeps the common rules elements free for anybody to use.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Free Traveller RPG
For those of you wanting to try out Classic Traveller you can download Starter Traveller for free!This post is a good summary of what the differences are between Starter Traveller and the full books.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Erie Days of Dungeon Crawling Part III
(The final reckoning)
I am not going to get into a lot of detail about the rules. It is still in early playtest and while the general outline is clear the details are in flux.
First it is in the D&D family of Roleplaying and has elements of both older D&D and the D20 system. But it is not a retro-clone more like Hackmaster Basic, True20, and Castles & Crusades. It is deadlier and more bloody as represented by subsystem involving fumbles, and critical hits.
The spell system is not vancian, although some of the general ideas like spells books are still present. Spells require a roll to see if you get the spell off and what the results are. There is corruption which result from rolling a 1 on a failed spell rolls. High level mages pay a palpable price for their power. You do spellburn which exact a toil on the body but allows you give a needed boost to your spell in a critical moment.
Luck is very important to the DCC RPG and effect everybody differently. Like Spellburn your luck can be used to turn the tide in a critical moment.
Alignment is also important. In the DCC RPG alignment are not just philosophical ideas but represent fundamental factions of the DCC universe. You are not just choosing a belief but who your friends and allies are in the natural and supernatural world. Behind all that are things that man is not meant to know.
Throughout this is the simplicity of original Dungeons & Dragons. Class dominates, and your abilities are 3d6 straight down the line. Some rule subsystems are more complex than OD&D but they are clearly there because these are rules for Swords & Sorcery.
And even at this early stage the writing shines with Joseph Goodman's love of the novels and stories that make up Appendix N of AD&D's Dungeon Master Guide. The playtest adventures I received shine likewise and feel much more like a Moorcock or Howard Adventure than a D&D adventure.
The DCC RPG is going for a specific feel and tone both in it's writing and it's rules. This means that it not going to appeal to all players of the Old School Renaissance. It not D&D but instead is a Swords & Sorcery RPG. But given the what I seen so far I think it going to develop into a game to keep an eye on. That fans of the Dungeon Crawl Classic Modules are going to really like this RPG.
First it is in the D&D family of Roleplaying and has elements of both older D&D and the D20 system. But it is not a retro-clone more like Hackmaster Basic, True20, and Castles & Crusades. It is deadlier and more bloody as represented by subsystem involving fumbles, and critical hits.
The spell system is not vancian, although some of the general ideas like spells books are still present. Spells require a roll to see if you get the spell off and what the results are. There is corruption which result from rolling a 1 on a failed spell rolls. High level mages pay a palpable price for their power. You do spellburn which exact a toil on the body but allows you give a needed boost to your spell in a critical moment.
Luck is very important to the DCC RPG and effect everybody differently. Like Spellburn your luck can be used to turn the tide in a critical moment.
Alignment is also important. In the DCC RPG alignment are not just philosophical ideas but represent fundamental factions of the DCC universe. You are not just choosing a belief but who your friends and allies are in the natural and supernatural world. Behind all that are things that man is not meant to know.
Throughout this is the simplicity of original Dungeons & Dragons. Class dominates, and your abilities are 3d6 straight down the line. Some rule subsystems are more complex than OD&D but they are clearly there because these are rules for Swords & Sorcery.
And even at this early stage the writing shines with Joseph Goodman's love of the novels and stories that make up Appendix N of AD&D's Dungeon Master Guide. The playtest adventures I received shine likewise and feel much more like a Moorcock or Howard Adventure than a D&D adventure.
The DCC RPG is going for a specific feel and tone both in it's writing and it's rules. This means that it not going to appeal to all players of the Old School Renaissance. It not D&D but instead is a Swords & Sorcery RPG. But given the what I seen so far I think it going to develop into a game to keep an eye on. That fans of the Dungeon Crawl Classic Modules are going to really like this RPG.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Erie Days of Dungeon Crawling Part II
(It would like wearing somebody's else underwear)
Robert Conley Referee
Running The Citadel of the Emerald Sorcerer written by Joseph Goodman
Al Krombach
Bing the Witless, 2nd lvl Dwarf
Figin “Not a thief”, 2nd lvl Thief
Tim Shorts
Richard of Greyhorn, 2nd lvl Fighter
Dilgar, 2nd Lvl Dwarf
Chuck, 0th Lvl Peasant
Greg Hofmann
Wilfred, 2nd Lvl Fighter
Erik the Scoundrel, 2nd Lvl Thief
Jason Sholtis
Danidrun, 2nd Lvl Elf
Derillus the Enchanter, 2nd Lvl Wizard
John Larrey
Brother Bombast, 2nd Level Cleric
Bazul the Mad Cleric, 2nd Level Cleric
They decided to take the northeast door. There they were best by another emerald guard, one that was finely crafted. The fight was over quickly and when the guard was shattered it transformed into the broken body of a peasant from the village. Brother Bombast, and Bazul tried to save him. They failed. With his dying breath the peasant uttered “Ask Thesdipedes to save my wife”
In the aftermath of the peasant’s death the party noticed the skulls entered through a round hole high on the ceiling. They looked around and spotted similar holes next to many of the doors in the corridor. After a quick huddle they determined that the wizard is using them to watch them and decided to launch a surprise attack. In a single round they shattered both skulls.
The party then decided to check the first door. After carefully checking it over they opened it revealing a small library with eight round book stands. Only two books could be seen although there was clearly room for more. When approached the books disappeared, only to appear in a nearby stand. After a few minutes of fruitlessly chasing the books the party positioned themselves so everybody was next to a bookstand. This only caused the books to repeatedly teleport across all the stands. Teleporting so fast they were a blur and could not be grabbed.
Bazul the Mad Cleric squeezed himself into one of the stands. It took him a while and he got hit with a book twice. When he pulled his last foot in, he started teleporting across the various stands. It was all he could do not to throw up Finally several the party members stepped away from the book stands bring Bazul to a stop and he shakily crawled out of the stand.
At this point the book also came to a stop in other stands. Bing hoisted his 10’ pole and found he was able to touch one of the books. With some more effort he knocked it off the shelf. Then he did the same for the second book. Upon examination the books proved very interesting the first was Thesdipedes’ Book of Transmogrification and the second was set of blueprints and instructions for creating the emerald warriors. At this moment the floor started vibrating slightly and they heard the hum of machinery revving up.
.
The party continued down the corridor and found a bedroom behind the second door. They threw a golden bust of a dragon head and a sack of silver coins into Erik’s Large Sack. At this point the corridor turned, and turned again. At another turn, Bing fell nearly into a 10’ deep pit with spikes. After debating about what to do the party went back to the bedroom and grabbed the bed to make a bridge with.
After a shaky crossing the corridor continued before ending in a short turn with a door at the end. After a careful check they opened a door to reveal a strange corridor with dark grey stone. Also the party found another secret door leading back the way they came. It was the way the Sorcerer used to avoid the pit.
After looking they could see something moving within the walls. Sending Richard of Greyhorn and Danidrun (with bow drawn) the motion became more frantic and human shapes started to emerge! The two quickly moved back into the corridor but not before Danidrun noticed a secret door next to the door they entered in.
Danidrun shoot one of the creatures while Bing threw an ax at it. They appeared to have killed it and were aiming at the others when they withdrew into the wall. The party then decided to make a mad dash to the secret door. They succeeded and found themselves in another corridor when a finely crafted emerald guard attacked them. After a quick fight they succeeded in shattering the guard which formed into the broken body of another villager. This time Brother Bombast was prepared and dashed to heal him.
While he was working on the villager’s broken body, three other doors opened up the corridor and six more emerald guards came pouring out. Two of them were crudely misshapen and the other four finely crafted. While the party engaged, Brother Bombast was able to bring the villager back from the brink of death.. But the fight grew more desperate. Dilgar went down, then Danidrun, even the last minute aid of Chuck, the revived villager, (Tim rolled him up as a zero level character), could not turn the tide as Bazul died. Bing and Figin fled. Wilfred and Erik both went down and when Chuck left with Bombast, they saw Richard of Greyhorn going down fighting midst a hail of blows from six emerald warriors.
Using the secret door as a shortcut they spiked it shut and fled the citadel. The last thing the survivors saw was new emerald warriors taking up guard positions outside the citadel’s entrance.
That where the game was called at the convention. If this was a campaign we would have undoubtedly recruited new characters among the villagers. Character generation for 2nd level characters was fast, zero level character is even faster as Tim was able to roll up Chuck the Peasant up in between rounds of the fight.
Note that during the fight when Danidrun when down, Jason was offered the use of one of the other characters. He waved it off. Stated he was OK with it and that how the dice rolled. Tim quipped, “No problem it would like wearing somebody else underwear anyway.” It took a while before the table stopped laughing.
Running The Citadel of the Emerald Sorcerer written by Joseph Goodman
Al Krombach
Bing the Witless, 2nd lvl Dwarf
Figin “Not a thief”, 2nd lvl Thief
Tim Shorts
Richard of Greyhorn, 2nd lvl Fighter
Dilgar, 2nd Lvl Dwarf
Chuck, 0th Lvl Peasant
Greg Hofmann
Wilfred, 2nd Lvl Fighter
Erik the Scoundrel, 2nd Lvl Thief
Jason Sholtis
Danidrun, 2nd Lvl Elf
Derillus the Enchanter, 2nd Lvl Wizard
John Larrey
Brother Bombast, 2nd Level Cleric
Bazul the Mad Cleric, 2nd Level Cleric
They decided to take the northeast door. There they were best by another emerald guard, one that was finely crafted. The fight was over quickly and when the guard was shattered it transformed into the broken body of a peasant from the village. Brother Bombast, and Bazul tried to save him. They failed. With his dying breath the peasant uttered “Ask Thesdipedes to save my wife”
In the aftermath of the peasant’s death the party noticed the skulls entered through a round hole high on the ceiling. They looked around and spotted similar holes next to many of the doors in the corridor. After a quick huddle they determined that the wizard is using them to watch them and decided to launch a surprise attack. In a single round they shattered both skulls.
The party then decided to check the first door. After carefully checking it over they opened it revealing a small library with eight round book stands. Only two books could be seen although there was clearly room for more. When approached the books disappeared, only to appear in a nearby stand. After a few minutes of fruitlessly chasing the books the party positioned themselves so everybody was next to a bookstand. This only caused the books to repeatedly teleport across all the stands. Teleporting so fast they were a blur and could not be grabbed.
Bazul the Mad Cleric squeezed himself into one of the stands. It took him a while and he got hit with a book twice. When he pulled his last foot in, he started teleporting across the various stands. It was all he could do not to throw up Finally several the party members stepped away from the book stands bring Bazul to a stop and he shakily crawled out of the stand.
At this point the book also came to a stop in other stands. Bing hoisted his 10’ pole and found he was able to touch one of the books. With some more effort he knocked it off the shelf. Then he did the same for the second book. Upon examination the books proved very interesting the first was Thesdipedes’ Book of Transmogrification and the second was set of blueprints and instructions for creating the emerald warriors. At this moment the floor started vibrating slightly and they heard the hum of machinery revving up.
.
The party continued down the corridor and found a bedroom behind the second door. They threw a golden bust of a dragon head and a sack of silver coins into Erik’s Large Sack. At this point the corridor turned, and turned again. At another turn, Bing fell nearly into a 10’ deep pit with spikes. After debating about what to do the party went back to the bedroom and grabbed the bed to make a bridge with.
After a shaky crossing the corridor continued before ending in a short turn with a door at the end. After a careful check they opened a door to reveal a strange corridor with dark grey stone. Also the party found another secret door leading back the way they came. It was the way the Sorcerer used to avoid the pit.
After looking they could see something moving within the walls. Sending Richard of Greyhorn and Danidrun (with bow drawn) the motion became more frantic and human shapes started to emerge! The two quickly moved back into the corridor but not before Danidrun noticed a secret door next to the door they entered in.
Danidrun shoot one of the creatures while Bing threw an ax at it. They appeared to have killed it and were aiming at the others when they withdrew into the wall. The party then decided to make a mad dash to the secret door. They succeeded and found themselves in another corridor when a finely crafted emerald guard attacked them. After a quick fight they succeeded in shattering the guard which formed into the broken body of another villager. This time Brother Bombast was prepared and dashed to heal him.
While he was working on the villager’s broken body, three other doors opened up the corridor and six more emerald guards came pouring out. Two of them were crudely misshapen and the other four finely crafted. While the party engaged, Brother Bombast was able to bring the villager back from the brink of death.. But the fight grew more desperate. Dilgar went down, then Danidrun, even the last minute aid of Chuck, the revived villager, (Tim rolled him up as a zero level character), could not turn the tide as Bazul died. Bing and Figin fled. Wilfred and Erik both went down and when Chuck left with Bombast, they saw Richard of Greyhorn going down fighting midst a hail of blows from six emerald warriors.
Using the secret door as a shortcut they spiked it shut and fled the citadel. The last thing the survivors saw was new emerald warriors taking up guard positions outside the citadel’s entrance.
That where the game was called at the convention. If this was a campaign we would have undoubtedly recruited new characters among the villagers. Character generation for 2nd level characters was fast, zero level character is even faster as Tim was able to roll up Chuck the Peasant up in between rounds of the fight.
Note that during the fight when Danidrun when down, Jason was offered the use of one of the other characters. He waved it off. Stated he was OK with it and that how the dice rolled. Tim quipped, “No problem it would like wearing somebody else underwear anyway.” It took a while before the table stopped laughing.
Friday, November 19, 2010
D&D 4e Virtual Table
Since it was announced several years ago I thought that a D&D 4e virtual tabletop hosted by Wizards would a major change in the hobby. If probably done it would make it easy for D&D 4e players to find each other and play when it convenient for them. Especially if it had on a server/meeting room front end where players could browse and find games to play.
This benefits the rest of the hobby as this helps keep the network of D&D players healthy. Which is where most other RPGs get their players from. Also by popularizing Virtual Table Tops this will draw attention to this type of software. Making it slightly easier for us who play other RPGs, like Swords & Wizardry, and use VTTs to find players. It will also spur innovation as other VTTs strive to exceed what Wizards offers.
After a long period, we have some news, a FAQ, and a Screen Shot. Of course nobody has a lot of respect for Wizard's programming team so we wait to see if they can actually pull this off right.
To me it looks like they are going 2D and integrating their token and tile art into the product. The earlier incarnation was going to be 3D which was going to be too big of leap. I think going the 2D route will leverage the advantage in art that Wizards has and provide an achievable goal.
Update:
The things Wizards will need to get right to be competitive in the long run will be
This benefits the rest of the hobby as this helps keep the network of D&D players healthy. Which is where most other RPGs get their players from. Also by popularizing Virtual Table Tops this will draw attention to this type of software. Making it slightly easier for us who play other RPGs, like Swords & Wizardry, and use VTTs to find players. It will also spur innovation as other VTTs strive to exceed what Wizards offers.
After a long period, we have some news, a FAQ, and a Screen Shot. Of course nobody has a lot of respect for Wizard's programming team so we wait to see if they can actually pull this off right.
To me it looks like they are going 2D and integrating their token and tile art into the product. The earlier incarnation was going to be 3D which was going to be too big of leap. I think going the 2D route will leverage the advantage in art that Wizards has and provide an achievable goal.
Update:
The things Wizards will need to get right to be competitive in the long run will be
- Integration with Character Builder and Compendium.
- Use of Dungeon Tiles and other art assets,
- good game lobby to find other players.
- A regular release of precanned modules similar to encounters or delves so that even the most time pressed DM can get involved.
The Silver Standard
Michael Curtis ask his readers about using the Silver Standard.
I used it for over two decades now including in my current Swords & Wizardry campaign.
The basic coin is a silver penny abbreviated as d or denarius. The old roman term for the coin. So 20d is 20 silver pennies.
The silver penny weighs 250 to a pound.
I have two large value goings. The first is the gold penny worth 20d. It's weight is also 250 to a pound. The second is the gold crown. It is worth 320d and weight 16 to a pound. The gold penny is not a common coin. I generally only use it for ancient hordes found in the ruins of past civilization. The gold crown is the common high value coin used both as a unit of accounting and actual coin.
There is another rare form of currency which is the silver mark. It is a 1 lb bar of silver stamped with a mint mark worth 240d. If you wondering about the discrepancy in weight is because the silver penny is debased slightly to produce a more durable coin. Hence you get 250 of them out of a lb of silver. The gold crown is heavy enough that this is isn't an issues so it is a nearly pure coin.
There is also the farthing. There are 4 farthings in a silver penny. It could be a copper coin but in the Majestic Wilderlands (like Harn) the silver penny is minted in such a way to make it easy to divide into quarters. Things like a mug of ale are priced in farthings.
The cornerstones of my silver system are silver penny and the gold crown. I find having single standard unit of currency paired with a really high value gold to be ideal. Price lists are simple with everything in a single coin. While when gold is found in the form of crowns and sometimes pennies it is appreciated by nearly every players for it's value.
For example in the last session of my S&W campaign the players have a stock of valuable art they gained on an adventure. Tim of Gothridge Manor taking Dwayne's security measures a big lightly until the appraiser came in. When he told them that the lot could fetch up to 800 crowns both Tim and the Rusty Battle Axe were on-board about making sure it is secure. Back when I was running AD&D, 800 gp didn't have same draw dropping result as 800 crowns.
The basis of my price list is from Harn which is based roughly on prices of 12th century England. You can download a copy from Columbia Games here or from the War Flail here.
You can download the version I use from here. It also include a herb list adapted and expanded from the list of herb Harn has. The effects are written for use in Swords & Wizardry.
I also found that the prices in Swords & Wizardry and similar clones are in the ballpark with the Harn List. Simple multiply by 10 to get the value in silver. For things priced in copper I just round to the nearest copper. Where this helps is not so much the ordinary items but when you get into building castles and magic item prices.
For gems the prices are it's weight in carats SQUARED times a factor based on the gem type.
For example Quartz the factor is 5d. So a 10 carat Quartz gem is worth a 100d. Amber is 2d, Agate is 10d, Diamond is 800d, Emerald is 700d, and Ruby is 1,000d.
I been busy with work related matters this weeks and plan to resume regular posts on Saturday with finishing up the Dungeon Crawl playtest and getting another "How to build a Fantasy Sandbox" post up.
I used it for over two decades now including in my current Swords & Wizardry campaign.
The basic coin is a silver penny abbreviated as d or denarius. The old roman term for the coin. So 20d is 20 silver pennies.
The silver penny weighs 250 to a pound.
I have two large value goings. The first is the gold penny worth 20d. It's weight is also 250 to a pound. The second is the gold crown. It is worth 320d and weight 16 to a pound. The gold penny is not a common coin. I generally only use it for ancient hordes found in the ruins of past civilization. The gold crown is the common high value coin used both as a unit of accounting and actual coin.
There is another rare form of currency which is the silver mark. It is a 1 lb bar of silver stamped with a mint mark worth 240d. If you wondering about the discrepancy in weight is because the silver penny is debased slightly to produce a more durable coin. Hence you get 250 of them out of a lb of silver. The gold crown is heavy enough that this is isn't an issues so it is a nearly pure coin.
There is also the farthing. There are 4 farthings in a silver penny. It could be a copper coin but in the Majestic Wilderlands (like Harn) the silver penny is minted in such a way to make it easy to divide into quarters. Things like a mug of ale are priced in farthings.
The cornerstones of my silver system are silver penny and the gold crown. I find having single standard unit of currency paired with a really high value gold to be ideal. Price lists are simple with everything in a single coin. While when gold is found in the form of crowns and sometimes pennies it is appreciated by nearly every players for it's value.
For example in the last session of my S&W campaign the players have a stock of valuable art they gained on an adventure. Tim of Gothridge Manor taking Dwayne's security measures a big lightly until the appraiser came in. When he told them that the lot could fetch up to 800 crowns both Tim and the Rusty Battle Axe were on-board about making sure it is secure. Back when I was running AD&D, 800 gp didn't have same draw dropping result as 800 crowns.
The basis of my price list is from Harn which is based roughly on prices of 12th century England. You can download a copy from Columbia Games here or from the War Flail here.
You can download the version I use from here. It also include a herb list adapted and expanded from the list of herb Harn has. The effects are written for use in Swords & Wizardry.
I also found that the prices in Swords & Wizardry and similar clones are in the ballpark with the Harn List. Simple multiply by 10 to get the value in silver. For things priced in copper I just round to the nearest copper. Where this helps is not so much the ordinary items but when you get into building castles and magic item prices.
For gems the prices are it's weight in carats SQUARED times a factor based on the gem type.
For example Quartz the factor is 5d. So a 10 carat Quartz gem is worth a 100d. Amber is 2d, Agate is 10d, Diamond is 800d, Emerald is 700d, and Ruby is 1,000d.
I been busy with work related matters this weeks and plan to resume regular posts on Saturday with finishing up the Dungeon Crawl playtest and getting another "How to build a Fantasy Sandbox" post up.
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