Battlesystem vs the Retro Clones

I was reading up on Battlesystem and when I noticed that they talk how it works with BECMI D&D. Playing around with it I see it working with Swords & Wizardry, Labyrinth Lord, and of course OSRIC. Can work with the D20 as long as you realize that THACO means whatever you need to hit a 20 AC.

If I can figure out the math behind the damage chart I bet I can make a retro clone out of it.

A full dose of AD&D Combat (more than the doctor's recommended daily allowance)

If you want to get the full dose of what Gygax wrote for the 1st edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons look at A.D.D.I.C.T. It explains the AD&D combat system in full. It is 20 pages, the first 10 pages goes rule by rule through the entire system and the rest is a detailed combat example. David M. Prata put this together and went the extra mile by footnoting everything so you can go back to the rulebook and see if he got it right in your opinion.

While you are at Dragonsfoot you may want to browse around. They have many excellent downloads for older editions of D&D.

From the Attic: A fantasy Rome

After reading McCullough's First Man in Rome, I created a fantasy version of Rome called Ramos to use in a plot I was running in NERO Live Action Roleplaying. I tried to simplify the confusing aspect of the historical Rome into something understandable, gamable, and fun.


Ramos

Along the shores of the mighty Middle Sea lies the Republic of Ramos. Founded over 600 years ago by the Valernos and his sister Vendera, Ramos has stretched her hand to dominate all of the lands surrounding the Middle Sea. From the deep forests of Sylvania to the west to dreaming Myrr of the two kings to the east, Ramos is destined control the world.

The City of Ramos was founded 652 years ago. It expanded and overcome all of it's enemies to dominate the Middle Sea. The triumph of Ramos came with their defeat of Delenda 123 years ago. Ramos and Delenda fought four wars for control of the western Middle Sea and the fourth war ended with Delenda totally destroyed and it's fields sown with salt. Only three areas remain outside of Ramos control: the barbarian plains to the north. The forest of Sylvania to the east dominated by the Elves, and the mystical realm of Myrr to the east dominated by the Kzin.

Ramos is a Republic, it's populace are divided into thirteen tribes which vote as a tribe for the offices of the Republic. The tribe used to be based on the thirteen villages that joined to form the city of Ramos. But now the tribes are based mostly on wealth. Men and women of Ramos who become wealthy pay one of the existing tribes to be adopted. Today the wealthiest 10% of Ramos control nine of the thirteen tribes. This ensures that their candidates are the ones elected to office.

The highest offices of Ramos are the two Consuls elected yearly. Their power comes from the ancient power of Ramos' old kings. When the tribes revolted against King Septimus Servus, they started electing two Consuls to exercise the power of the old kings. However the tribes drew the Saecerum around Ramos. The power of consuls extended only outside the Saecerum. Once they cross the Saecerum are treated as any citizen of Ramos and their powers are severely limited. The duties of the Consuls are to protect Ramos and lead her wars. They are to ensure the flow of tribute to Ramos from the provinces and to make treaties with Ramos enemies and allies. They are also expected to heed the advice and council of the Senate of Ramos.

The next offices are that of the Praetors. The Praetor have the same powers as Consuls except that they are limited to a specific geographical area such as a province. The Consuls can overrule any action of a Praetor and take command of the Praetor’s forces at any time. There are two special Praetors that operate within the city of Ramos. The first oversee all judicial matter and is the second-highest judicial office in Ramos. The second oversee the finances of the city and the administration of public works and the distribution of the public grain to the poor.

The last office is the Aediles which work under the Consuls and Praetors to perform numerous administrative and military duties.

All offices are elected by a majority vote of the thirteen tribes at the yearly tribal assembly.

In addition to the these offices there are three other institutions of the Republic.

The Tribal Assembly is comprised of all thirteen tribes. They generally meet only once a year and have three main functions. The first is to elect the year's Consuls, Praetors, and Aediles. The Second is to hear any cases of High Treason or Impeachment. High Treason and impeachment are the only reasons that the Tribal Assembly may meet outside of the yearly meeting. Third they may pass decrees that effect the entire city. Since the founding of the Republic this has evolved to rubber-stamping the decisions of the Senate.

The Wealthiest 1% of Ramos dominate the first five tribes. The next wealthiest 10% dominate the next four tribes. And 80% of Ramos are in one of the remaining four tribes.

The Senate of Ramos is perhaps Ramos important institution. Any former Consul, or Praetor is automatically inducted into this body. Also Senate may vote in worthy citizens of Ramos in by a two thirds vote. The Senate requires that it's members hold a substantial fortune or property. This is verified every five years by two Censors appointed by the Senate.

The Senate started a council of the respected elders of Ramos whoes recommendations and suggestion carried great weight. Over the years as the wealthiest families consolidated their control. The proclamations of the Senate evolved to have the force of law. The Tribal Assembly was reduced to little more than a rubber-stamp for the Senate.

Over seventy-five years ago Ramos was ripped apart by a class war. The Patricians versus the Plebs, in the resolution of the war the lowest four tribes won the right to hold a separate assembly. This became the Plebian Assembly, they can pass plebiscites which can overrule any decree of the Tribal Assembly or proclamation of the Senate.

They elect five tribunes who can veto any action of any official or assembly of the Republic including the Plebian Assembly itself. The ruling families still remained in power as they used their great wealth to bride Plebeians to elect tribunes of their choice. These Tribunes then veto any action of the Plebian Assembly that threatened the power of the oligarches. Along with the public dole of Grain the great families of Ramos were able to keep control of the plebeians.

The Celestial Guild of Ramos
One of the main institutions supporting the might of Ramos is the Celestial Guild. When the ancient city-states of Archea were conquered thousand of Archeans scholars were enslaved to teach the Ramons of their arts. The Senate voted for funds to establish many colleges and schools for the Celestial arts and stipulated that any Celestial mage must be ready to aid the senate and people of Ramos. With the conquest of the ancient land of Goshen fifty years ago the Celestial Mages had access to all the known lore of Celestial Magic.

Chirugeons Guild
In Ramos, all Earth Magic is feared and hated . The Ramons believe that all magic power is drawn from somewhere and the caster taking and transform the magical energy for his own use. With Earth Magic being tied to the earth, every time a Earth Magic spell is cast a little of the vital energy of the Earth is taken and the natural flow of earth magic in the world is disturbed. This occurs whether the spell is necromantic or healing. With enough casting of Earth spells the land become barren and desolate due the tremendous disruption of the flow of the magic of the earth. Ramos was one of the first cultures to proclaim this and banned the use of Earth magic throughout it's territories and provinces. One of the main causes of the wars with Delenda is the that they continued to use Healing magic. Also this is cause of the Ramos fanaticism against the Elven and human tribes of Sylvania.

In response to the loss of the healers, the alchemist of Ramos came into the forefront. Soon a new guild was formed from the Alchemist Guild and they named themselves the Chirugeon's Guild. They dedicated themselves to the brewing and use of healing elixirs and salves. They also undertook the study of the body and improved their skills in the healing arts. They incorporated many of the ideals and goals of the old healing guilds and now they are widely respected as paragons of good and healing.

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Unfortunately the plot wasn't that popular as I made the Ramosian Legions a little too effective. I made sure that the NPC player work as a team and tactics I used were highly effective given the NERO rules.

Using History in your game

In the beginning ... hmm... perhaps not that far back. I got started on my history kick after reading the appendixes to the Return the King. In addition I had a big three inch thick book called the Timeline of World History. Many of my friends were bored to tears by the format but I could see the ebb and flow as I read the various timelines and king's list. When I starting writing setting background I naturally made my own timelines and kings list.

And my friend were still bored to tears by it all although they like playing in my campaigns.

As time went by my GMing and writing improved and what I realized that it isn't about history but about the people who make up history and the more importantly the people in the "present" where the adventuring is at.

The choices people make now are made in the context that is created by the choices of people in the past. Because it is impossible to detail every person's past for a game I instead focus on the cultures. Then make each NPC a variation on that culture. So the histories I write today are the history of the cultures that make up the Majestic Wilderlands.

The reason for each aspect of a culture can be found in it's history. Much of this will be pure color but here and there are nuggets that can be exploited for adventures in the present. And it serves as a good guideline for creating NPCs of that culture.

The complexity comes from the fact in real life people are not of "one" cultures. Instead a multitude make up the context in which a person makes their choices. Social, Religious, Nationality, etc.

To me the best use of writing histories is to explain why the people of your setting are the way they are. The NPCs won't know everything you now. Some facts will be lost despite being part of the chain that leads to the present. Doing this will help make your setting come alive and that the people have their own lives and agendas that didn't come out of nowhere. By having a history the player can discover what underlies the people of the lands in which they travel and use that knowledge for weal or woe.

Runequest 2nd edition questions

Does Runequest really cause this amount of amputations? There were over a half dozen plus one PC getting a leg smashed. Luckily the PC had Healing 6 but still. The rule states that if a limb take more than 6 over the amount of hit point it is severed or irrevocably crippled. For example arm with 4 hit points will be severed if it takes 10 points of damage. Part of this was due that one of the players had a pole ax doing 3d6 or so damage.


My second question is that when you fire a missle weapons what defense the target gets? I know that if the target moves the skill is reduced by 1/4 and if the target is actively dodging the skill is reduced by a further 1/2. So moving and doding mens 1/4 skill.

Also I am not getting how movement and strike ranks work. I guess is boils down to what determines who moves when when they are not engaged. Plus how do you get out of melee if you want to run away? Rather are their any penalities for moving out of melee. Or moving from one melee to another (provided you only move half your move).

Thanks
Rob

Runequest Nights and oh the body parts flew,

Dwayne of Gamer's Closet came into town on vacation and we decided to do some gaming with Tim of Gothridge Manor. Being my usual self I suggested we try Runequest ... 2nd edition not II not Mongoose I. At first character generation went fairly quickly. Rather too quickly. My reaction was "That all there was?" There was a pair of lame 16 years old characters. I dug into the rules and found that you can get loans from three different guilds/cults/organizations. In addition there were prior experience rules that allowed to you age to 21.

So Loans were taken out and the characters shaped up much better. Tim plowed everything into his healing spell and wound up with a Healing 6. He bought a grain flail as it was one of the cheapest weapons in the book. I don't think he was supposed to use his thief and fighter funds to do this but hey it was a one night game. Dwayne rolled really well on his attributes and elected to do take shimmer, detect magic, and a really big ass pole axe.

So off they went to Apple Lane and were promptly ambushed by two goblins. I typically run a short combat before the game to give me and everyone else a feel for how it work. It was short. One goblin died with a smashed head and the other died nearly severed at the abdomen.

They went to the Tin Inn in Apple Lane where they were accosted by Gringle the proprietor of Gringle's Pawn Shop. After buying their character a meal and a drink he told them of his problem. Apparently an adventurer stole a magical crystal from a local goblin tribe and sold it to him. A couple of members of the tribe came into the shop and wanted it back. When they balked at the price (20,000 Lunars) they attacked and when beaten off by Little John his halfling bodyguard they threatened vengeance.

He received a vision of his pawnshop being attacked by the 8 goblins and it was defended by Tim and Dwayne characters. He has important rituals to perform tonight so needs to hire the two to defend his shop and the crystal. After some haggling they agreed on a price.

Now at this point some of you who are familiar with Apple Lane are going mmm what is Rob talking about. Sorry folks I just can't take Baboons tribesmen, and ducks, that seriously. So I waved my DM Pen and turned them into Goblins and Halflings. The stats remained the same.

So as Gringle and Little John went off to do their Ritual. Tim and Dwayne tried to setup some traps but only succeeded at the front door.

Then late at night the attack game. The goblins busted though the front door. Using the bars of the public area as a shield the Dwayne successfully mauls the goblins coming through the front. Every time that pole axe hit a body part or two flew off. Meanwhile more goblins tore through the roof and dropped into the whirling flail of Tim's Character. Alas the fight didn't go so well when Tim's Legs was crushed by a luckly mace hit and was attached only by a few shreds of meat. However Tim managed to pull himself together (literally) and with the aid of his Healing 6 ,and a miss by the goblin, reattached his leg and heal most of the damage.

Tim got the upper hand after that, the remaining goblins on the roof ran away, and he killed the two that were in the building. At this point Xarban's Gang busted through the back door. The two parties raced through the building to meet in the Temple. Dwayne stepped behind a doorway and Tim kept healing them.

However the bandit gang was more skilled than the baboons err goblins. Dwayne and Tim were pushed back taking minor hits here and there. The turning point game when they managed to sever the arm of Xarban a Beaked Dragonnewt, the gang's leader. In the gang's retreat, a crested dragonnewt went down with a crushed skull, and the centaur, Big Laugh, got cut off. As Xarban and Pinfeather escaped, Tim and Dwayne hacked down Big Laugh. First by severing an arm, then the killing blow by Dwayne in the hindquarters.

After sunrise Gringle was impressed and paid the party the agreed fee plus a bonus for the bandit gang. Dwayne was shrewd enough to have as part of the term the right to all the goblin's and bandit's equipment. So they sold that to Gringle for a tidy sum as well.

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My impression of Runequest 2nd edition is that like all older games it has some really fiddly bits. Don't get me wrong it was interesting and fun in many ways. With roughly the same stat range and probability range as GURPS it is a far bloodier game. Especially with the big ass pole axe.

The Magic System has some useful bits and has a different feel. I can't say I like it. But I can see how it work in terms of the Glorantha setting.

The importance of paying for training was very different than most games I am used too.

I am glad refereed this. After getting some current projects done I plan to do some work on what I call Majestic Quests a d20 version of Runequest % system. This session showed me some of the strengths and pitfalls of the original game.

I will say that first scenario for Apple Lane is rather lame. The raid on Gringle's Pawnshop has a lot of plot holes in it. But as an introduction to Glorantha, the cast of Baboons, Ducks, Dragonnewts, Centaurs, and Rune Lord or two certainly a good example of the setting.

Still don't really got a grip on how Strike Ranks and movement interact. I can see why BRP got away from it. Plus what do you defend with against missile attacks?

Canoes, Organic Gardening, and Games Oh My!

What does Canoes, Organic Gardening, and Gaming have in common? Most of the time nothing; but at Outback Adventure Games in Tionesta, Pennsylvania. You will find all three.

On the gaming side, they have a good selection of 4th edition D&D, and several popular euro style board games. Plus they have a smaller selection of Call of Cthulu, GURPS and other RPGs. Coupled with a couple of minatures, Axis & Allies, Star Wars, etc. And dice lots of dice. It is a small game store but has a full range of modern product lines. Interestingly it appears to be the only Game Store in that region of Pennsylvania. From Warren to Clarion, Oil City to the east.

Kelly Anne, my wife, was pleased to find gardening supplies and picked up a bag of bird poop err sea bird guano plus a bag of organic fertilizer.

The owner Steven is a nice guy and enthusiastic about the hobby. He has been operating the store for a year as a sideline to his internet business and of course the canoe rental, organic and indoor gardening supplies. Don't let the store front fool you. When you walk you will see that much of the back half of the place is filled with gaming goodness. If you live in the area give him a call and see if he has what you are looking for. He just may have it.