Feed them until they turn into this
While wearing these
Then get your hot sauce and do this
Viola! Hot elf chicks.
Not as funny as Gothridge Manor's post but definitely in the spirit of the day.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
How make a fantasy hot elf chick Part XCDVMI
You start with some chicks
Feed them until they turn into this
While wearing these
Then get your hot sauce and do this
Viola! Hot elf chicks.
Not as funny as Gothridge Manor's post but definitely in the spirit of the day.
Feed them until they turn into this
While wearing these
Then get your hot sauce and do this
Viola! Hot elf chicks.
Not as funny as Gothridge Manor's post but definitely in the spirit of the day.
Mechanical Complexity of D&D Part II
There are several D&D sub system from different editions I consider good mechanics.
The Swords & Wizardry Core Rulebook, I view this is the best minimal summary of the D&D game. It is an excellent foundation on which to build your own D&D.
First is Ascending Armor Class from 3.X is better than THAC0 or a chart look up in my opinion. This is coupled with a to hit bonus that increases as you level.
Rituals from 4e. I think for a referee who wants notch up the magic level in their campaign without turning the character into super heroes this is the way to go. At a turn casting time it doesn't impact combat much but allow many utility spells to be used during the course of the campaign. There is still some resource management involved if you rigorously keep track of the total components (in g.p.) that the player have on hand.
My Ability system from Majestic Wilderlands. Yes I wrote this so I am bit biased. But I really like how it works out in play. I may need to tweak the list at some point but so far it worked out very well. The main reason is that it been additive to the game rather than restrictive. The list and the bonuses show what the character are good at not at what they can't do. It is a fine distinction but an important one as I continue to run both of my Swords & Wizardry campaigns.
Unified Level chart. I think this is by far the more straightforward system of customizing a person's character I seen. Granted it takes a couple of levels to it's do it job but then in a skill based system if you spread yourself too thin and the character will suck at everything.
The problem with this is like feats in 3e and powers in 4e. You can just keep adding classes to the mix until the sun goes down. Which is why if this subsystem is used you should really look at the setting you are going to use and pick out the mix that reflects it.
I would use the Standard, Movement, Minor Action, Free Action system of organizing a combat round from 4e. Although the actual list of actions would reflect classic D&D more than later editions. I think this is a straight forward and easy way of organizing D&D combat. As for the dreaded Attack of Opportunity I would basically allow a free attack if the character with initiative tries to leave the immediate (5') area of his opponent his opponent using a full or half move. But if they just want to slide around in short little 5' move there is no attack of opportunity.
I would use the Spell and Magic Item selection from AD&D 1st edition. It broad but doesn't occupy endless volumes either.
I would tweak the monsters and classes to work with roughly the OD&D power range. When I first refereeing S&W I didn't really appreciate the difference with AD&D but I can see it now.
While there are more elements I would consider from various editions these comprised the ones I like the best and I feel will work well with the core rules of Classic D&D without adding undue complexity to the game.
In addition I am not making another clone game. I got enough on my plate at the moment. Mainly pointing out that there are good ideas in later editions of D&D.
The Swords & Wizardry Core Rulebook, I view this is the best minimal summary of the D&D game. It is an excellent foundation on which to build your own D&D.
First is Ascending Armor Class from 3.X is better than THAC0 or a chart look up in my opinion. This is coupled with a to hit bonus that increases as you level.
Rituals from 4e. I think for a referee who wants notch up the magic level in their campaign without turning the character into super heroes this is the way to go. At a turn casting time it doesn't impact combat much but allow many utility spells to be used during the course of the campaign. There is still some resource management involved if you rigorously keep track of the total components (in g.p.) that the player have on hand.
My Ability system from Majestic Wilderlands. Yes I wrote this so I am bit biased. But I really like how it works out in play. I may need to tweak the list at some point but so far it worked out very well. The main reason is that it been additive to the game rather than restrictive. The list and the bonuses show what the character are good at not at what they can't do. It is a fine distinction but an important one as I continue to run both of my Swords & Wizardry campaigns.
Unified Level chart. I think this is by far the more straightforward system of customizing a person's character I seen. Granted it takes a couple of levels to it's do it job but then in a skill based system if you spread yourself too thin and the character will suck at everything.
The problem with this is like feats in 3e and powers in 4e. You can just keep adding classes to the mix until the sun goes down. Which is why if this subsystem is used you should really look at the setting you are going to use and pick out the mix that reflects it.
I would use the Standard, Movement, Minor Action, Free Action system of organizing a combat round from 4e. Although the actual list of actions would reflect classic D&D more than later editions. I think this is a straight forward and easy way of organizing D&D combat. As for the dreaded Attack of Opportunity I would basically allow a free attack if the character with initiative tries to leave the immediate (5') area of his opponent his opponent using a full or half move. But if they just want to slide around in short little 5' move there is no attack of opportunity.
I would use the Spell and Magic Item selection from AD&D 1st edition. It broad but doesn't occupy endless volumes either.
I would tweak the monsters and classes to work with roughly the OD&D power range. When I first refereeing S&W I didn't really appreciate the difference with AD&D but I can see it now.
While there are more elements I would consider from various editions these comprised the ones I like the best and I feel will work well with the core rules of Classic D&D without adding undue complexity to the game.
In addition I am not making another clone game. I got enough on my plate at the moment. Mainly pointing out that there are good ideas in later editions of D&D.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Mechanical Complexity of D&D Part I
Mike Mearls wrote an article comparing the steps to a create a fighter between the different edition. To summarize it takes 6 steps for AD&D 1st, 11 for AD&D 2nd, 16 for D&D 3.X, and 18 for D&D 4.0.
I think in total D&D has gotten more complex over the various editions. The prime factor for this is player saying
Back in the day this is the prime reason why people went to Runequest, Hero, GURPS and other FRPGs. The solution adopted was generally the list of skills with the players being allowed to pick which ones his character is good at.
However the list of skills is not universally appealing or simple in the way the straightforward class & level system of D&D is. In 3.X the designer came up with a pretty elegant way of allowing players to customize their characters yet retain much of the advantages of level and class. Also skill based system developed packages, or templates which took the list of skills and distilled into a specific set of options understandable to the average player. The two approaches learned from each other.
As for D&D this one of the main factors that propelled it into a smash hit. It also helped effectively suck the wind out of 2nd and 3rd tier RPGs by closing the biggest reason for changing away from D&D.
But coupled with the open ended list of feats, diversity of classes, and other things then we start running into the complaints about 3.5.
I think in total D&D has gotten more complex over the various editions. The prime factor for this is player saying
I want to make the character that I see in my head.A good test of this is Fritz Leiber's Gray Mouser who has a bit of fighting, a bit of magic-user, and whole lot of thief.
Back in the day this is the prime reason why people went to Runequest, Hero, GURPS and other FRPGs. The solution adopted was generally the list of skills with the players being allowed to pick which ones his character is good at.
However the list of skills is not universally appealing or simple in the way the straightforward class & level system of D&D is. In 3.X the designer came up with a pretty elegant way of allowing players to customize their characters yet retain much of the advantages of level and class. Also skill based system developed packages, or templates which took the list of skills and distilled into a specific set of options understandable to the average player. The two approaches learned from each other.
As for D&D this one of the main factors that propelled it into a smash hit. It also helped effectively suck the wind out of 2nd and 3rd tier RPGs by closing the biggest reason for changing away from D&D.
But coupled with the open ended list of feats, diversity of classes, and other things then we start running into the complaints about 3.5.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Medieval Farming Year
A good source for flavor for your fantasy campaign is knowing the agriculture calender. While most folks know about the spring plowing and planting as well as the fall harvest it would interesting to know how the rest of the months went.
Andy Staples over at the Penultimate Harn site has come up with a great summary of the agriculture year for medieval farming.
Andy Staples over at the Penultimate Harn site has come up with a great summary of the agriculture year for medieval farming.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Comments on the Commercialization of the OSR
Mythmere the author of Swords & Wizardry has a great series of blog posts on the commercial side of the OSR. The first two are here and here. I think he is doing a great thing by writing these articles and that community will benefit as a whole from his insight.
I have my own take on the situation.
There are two parallel economies in the OSR. There is a commerical economy where a company or author puts up a work for an amount and people buy it. Then there is the gift economy made possible by the extreme low cost of internet and digital access. In the former, money is the medium of exchange. In the latter reputation and access to limited resources, mostly people's time, is the medium of exchange. This is part of a larger shift that our economy is making and has not yet completed.
Of the two the Gift Economy dominates the OSR due to the legacy of Dragonsfoot and other individual communities. One big issues, as Mythmere points out, is that of quality. As the biggest resource that is being competed for is people's time. Time to play, discuss, write, draw, and so on. And people want to spend time on activities involving material that is "good". Of course what is "good" differs a lot between individual but luckily for us, there is the common ground of we want good classic old school material. It what defines the OSR over any other roleplaying community.
In a gift economy people rely on trusted sources to provide an initial sort of what is good and crap. These trusted sources got that way generally because they earned it. There is a distinct first mover advantage but that is mitigated by the fact that one's position can only be retained in a gift economy by being reliable. It some project or individual quality drops it is easy enough to switch elsewhere.
Now the gift economy could have allow me to release the Points of Light for free and a lot of people would have been happy to download it. But it would not allow me to see it in print or see it in stores that have to pay rent and utility for their physical space.
It may be that someday the equivalent of Star Trek's Material Fabricators allows the gift economy to dominate the physical production of items but it is not now. So if you want to do more than see a PDF floating around the internet, you need to become commerical. You build in a profit into your price so you can have the capital to do what you want on the next project.
But going commerical doesn't mean you can ignore the gift economy either. You can if you want but that means you are throwing yourself in the same boat as any other RPG startup company and forced to build your own audience. The industry is littered with the broken dreams of many who tried this. But to be fair many succeeded as well.
If you want to take advantage of the OSR then you need to keep the gift economy side very much in mind. That means not only adhering to the letter of the Open Game License but it's spirit. Charging a reasonable price for your material. Release the occasional free article or product. Particpate in the community through blogging, or the forums. And finally be reliable and honest so that you are viewed as a trusted source.
Finally there is the profit motive. Money is a part of our lives and while it is fashionable in some segments of society to disdain it, I believe that to be driven to make a profit is a good thing in a individual. Provided one is straightforward and honest in their dealings. I have no problem paying for good work for a person who deals fairly, and works hard. And I think if I do good work and deal fairly that people will buy the material I create.
I have my own take on the situation.
There are two parallel economies in the OSR. There is a commerical economy where a company or author puts up a work for an amount and people buy it. Then there is the gift economy made possible by the extreme low cost of internet and digital access. In the former, money is the medium of exchange. In the latter reputation and access to limited resources, mostly people's time, is the medium of exchange. This is part of a larger shift that our economy is making and has not yet completed.
Of the two the Gift Economy dominates the OSR due to the legacy of Dragonsfoot and other individual communities. One big issues, as Mythmere points out, is that of quality. As the biggest resource that is being competed for is people's time. Time to play, discuss, write, draw, and so on. And people want to spend time on activities involving material that is "good". Of course what is "good" differs a lot between individual but luckily for us, there is the common ground of we want good classic old school material. It what defines the OSR over any other roleplaying community.
In a gift economy people rely on trusted sources to provide an initial sort of what is good and crap. These trusted sources got that way generally because they earned it. There is a distinct first mover advantage but that is mitigated by the fact that one's position can only be retained in a gift economy by being reliable. It some project or individual quality drops it is easy enough to switch elsewhere.
Now the gift economy could have allow me to release the Points of Light for free and a lot of people would have been happy to download it. But it would not allow me to see it in print or see it in stores that have to pay rent and utility for their physical space.
It may be that someday the equivalent of Star Trek's Material Fabricators allows the gift economy to dominate the physical production of items but it is not now. So if you want to do more than see a PDF floating around the internet, you need to become commerical. You build in a profit into your price so you can have the capital to do what you want on the next project.
But going commerical doesn't mean you can ignore the gift economy either. You can if you want but that means you are throwing yourself in the same boat as any other RPG startup company and forced to build your own audience. The industry is littered with the broken dreams of many who tried this. But to be fair many succeeded as well.
If you want to take advantage of the OSR then you need to keep the gift economy side very much in mind. That means not only adhering to the letter of the Open Game License but it's spirit. Charging a reasonable price for your material. Release the occasional free article or product. Particpate in the community through blogging, or the forums. And finally be reliable and honest so that you are viewed as a trusted source.
Finally there is the profit motive. Money is a part of our lives and while it is fashionable in some segments of society to disdain it, I believe that to be driven to make a profit is a good thing in a individual. Provided one is straightforward and honest in their dealings. I have no problem paying for good work for a person who deals fairly, and works hard. And I think if I do good work and deal fairly that people will buy the material I create.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Mythmere of Swords & Wizards takes the plunge.
I welcome Matt Finch aka Mythmere to the world of blogging. It will be mostly Swords & Wizardry announcements but also include some tips and tidbits as well.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Some Harn Pottage for your campaign
PottageAmong the gems over on Lythia.com there are several that standout: Harn Pottage I, Harn Pottage II, and Harn Pottage III.
The main staple dish eaten at least once a day by everyone, rich or poor. Varying between a thin broth and a very thick stew, its base would be an herb, vegetable or meat stock, to which cereals, peas, beans, vegetables, meat or fish would be added depending on the wealth of the person and the season of the year.
These three are filled with useful bits not only for running a Harn campaign but any fantasy campaign. Much of the content comprised of various locales but detailed vaguely where they are located in Harn. The idea is that the referee can place them where needed rather than fleshing out a region like in the main Harn supplements.
For example Harn Pottage I contains
The freehold of a farmer
A Town House for Sale
Small Cave
A Magic Item: Janob's Divining Heart
Magic Weapon: Dawn's Grace
An Inn
A House of Courtesans
A Gargun Cave (Harnic Orcs)
Metalsmith shop
Abandoned Temple
Wilderness Settlement
Yeoman Steading
Tavern of Ill repute.
A Cottar home (a very poor serf)
Hunting Lodge
Magic Item: Cloak of Varadel
Magic Armor: Wyrm Guard
Magic Armor: Falen's Grasp
The other two are likewise filled with varied and interesting material ranging from a fully fleshed out Keep, a generic village, an unsanctioned holy order, and son on. I highly recommend this as a resource and a source of inspiration no matter what FRPG you play.
Edited:
For certain interested individuals here is a like to a Medieval pottage recipe.
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