Delta's wrote a good post here that has a lot of people on the forums and blogs talking.
To me this concept is a no brainer. A well designed mini-game within a RPG greatly enhances the core game. What drove this home to me is Live-Action Roleplaying.
The big problem of a LARP is manpower. You have dozens or even hundreds of players there for 48 hours+ of a weekend event. You never have enough manpower to cover every player for every hour of the event. We learned that if you come up with interesting games within a games you can entertain a lot of players for little need of manpower. One example is the ritual system where players can create magic items and other lasting effects. It require components. The event is setup so that nobody has everything they need. Thus forcing them to interact to trade for what they are missing.
For me the big three for a fantasy RPG are Mass Combat, Estate Managment, and Trading. The first two, Mass Combat and Estate Management, relate to the end game of my campaign. My end game usually involves the playes estabilshing themselves. Currently I use GURPS Mass Combat, and Harn Manor. For D&D variants I will use BattleSystem 1st edition and Expedious Retreat's Magical Medieval Society.
For trade I will use Expeditous Retreat's Spice Road. It is a comphrensive sourcebook on long distance trading for the d20 system.
The major difficulty of adding games within games is their design. If they have any type of detail then you have to essentially design and playtest it along side the core rules. It is very easy to say to heck with it and just focus on the core rules. It is seductive to design a universal system to cover all the mechanics outside of the core rules. However I find universal system to be too generic. When I have to apply to it a specific situations, like running a shop, I having to design it myself.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Today is Harn Day
Currently new Harn material is produced on a semi-regular basis. About once a quarter Harnquest subscribers get charged $25 by Columbia Games and receive a new packet of Harn material. In terms of dollars per page count Harn is expensive. However the quality of the material is outstanding.
In the past (1990s) Harn material was good but since the inauguration of the Harnquest format it gotten better. The earlier Harn material was a through description various locales and entities in Harn. It was very dry despite it's quality.
When they inaugurated the Harnquest several of the older articles were slated for expansion. In addition to the dry description of the locale you now got description of the people involved. This little change has made these articles far more useful. Plus the illustration of these folk are all down to earth. Hardly a Elmore style heroic pose in the bunch and a whole bunch you wouldn't want to be caught in a alley with.
In past year they have started new article formats, the first is a geography description of a region of Harn like a mountain range. While not as people oriented as the locale articles they are very useful if an adventuring party is moving through the area.
Another is a trail article. This article takes an important road or trail and follows it from beginning to end. The first one they did was the Silver Way from Kaldor to the Dwarven Kingdom of Azadmere. Very useful for referees who have parties going along the trail.
Another are bestiary articles, in two or four pages they give you everything you about harnic beasts. Even mundane creatures like cats and dogs have interesting articles about them. The cat include the great cats of Harn and the dog include the various wolf species.
So Today is Harn Day and here what I got
First this packet is the beginning of the revision of the Kingdom of Rethem. This is one of the western kingdoms of Harn and is is the "evil" realm. Mainly because much of the kingdom is in the hands of the Orders of the Church of Agrik (Lawful Evil) and the Church Morgath (Undead )
Important to the history and politics of Rethem are the Kubora barbarians and this article focuses on them.
Each packet comes with a map detailing one of the square grid regions of Harn. While Harn is overlaid with a hex grid of 5 leagues (12.5 miles) per hex it also has a square grid running from A to N west to east, and 1 to 10 north to south. Each of the these maps are contour maps and shows every manor and settlement on Harn.
In this package we get the map for J4 which completes the grid encompassing the Kingdom of Kaldor. It not related to the other articles but finishes up the work on Kaldor done in the previous series of Harnquests.
Next we get two articles on a Agrikan Order the Order of Mameka and their associated fighting order the Warriors of Mameka. Both of these are excellent articles detailing the personalities of the orders, their history, and structures. We get some rules for Harnmaster that showcases their unique rituals.
The reasons for the different orders the Church of Agrik has never been detailed in the core Harn products before. Here we learn that the Mamekas are actually originated as a heretical sect of Agrik obsessed with the finding a lost cairn. If found it is said the lost cairn can be used to trigger the final conflict between Agrik and his rival the goddess Larani (Lawful Good) and bring on his victory. It happens that they believe the lost cairn is somewhere in Peran to the north of Rethem. This is one of the origins of the centuries old conflict between the Rethemi and the Kubora.
Then we move on to a expansion of the Kubora article from Harn Barbarians. Here we get a breakdown of the individual tribes and some of the Kubora personal ties. Plus we get a few interesting bits about various Kubora customs and lore.
Next is a short bestiary article on Tavedogs. Thing of them as a treant looking orangutans living in a pacific northwest style forest. They are about ogre size (1 1/2 the size of a man) and have a mean left hook with claws. They are sentient although not tool users. It expands the list of the known Harnic beast which is nice.
Next are two geography articles.
The first is about Peran the home of the Kubora and Urdu tribe. It breaks Peran into it's different regions and give you a lot of useful bits to use if a party adventures there. I like the Hand of Crador myself. It is a limestone karst region and it's central feature is a cluster of limestone pillars. It looks like somebody thrusting their hand out from the earth. The region has a eerie feel about it, along with several legends about an evil that dwells there. The fact the numerous streams combine into a large marsh doesn't help.
The second is about the Afarezirs a island chain off to the northeast of Harn. It also doubles as a articles on one of the more isolated Kuboran tribes the Nolgind. It is pretty interesting detailing maritime life in a northern climate.
Overall I feel like I got my money's worth and look forward to seeing the other Rethem articles.
For non-Harn fans these article will be broken out and sold individually. I recommend the Mameka articles. They will be useful generating ideas and personalities involving LE religions in your campaign. The two geography articles can serves as useful templates for similar regions in your campaign. The Kubora expansion can give a sense of how different tribes and clans in a barbarian nation can interact. Athough the Tavedog article is good to have if you referee Harn it has limited utility for other systems.
In the past (1990s) Harn material was good but since the inauguration of the Harnquest format it gotten better. The earlier Harn material was a through description various locales and entities in Harn. It was very dry despite it's quality.
When they inaugurated the Harnquest several of the older articles were slated for expansion. In addition to the dry description of the locale you now got description of the people involved. This little change has made these articles far more useful. Plus the illustration of these folk are all down to earth. Hardly a Elmore style heroic pose in the bunch and a whole bunch you wouldn't want to be caught in a alley with.
In past year they have started new article formats, the first is a geography description of a region of Harn like a mountain range. While not as people oriented as the locale articles they are very useful if an adventuring party is moving through the area.
Another is a trail article. This article takes an important road or trail and follows it from beginning to end. The first one they did was the Silver Way from Kaldor to the Dwarven Kingdom of Azadmere. Very useful for referees who have parties going along the trail.
Another are bestiary articles, in two or four pages they give you everything you about harnic beasts. Even mundane creatures like cats and dogs have interesting articles about them. The cat include the great cats of Harn and the dog include the various wolf species.
So Today is Harn Day and here what I got
First this packet is the beginning of the revision of the Kingdom of Rethem. This is one of the western kingdoms of Harn and is is the "evil" realm. Mainly because much of the kingdom is in the hands of the Orders of the Church of Agrik (Lawful Evil) and the Church Morgath (Undead )
Important to the history and politics of Rethem are the Kubora barbarians and this article focuses on them.
Each packet comes with a map detailing one of the square grid regions of Harn. While Harn is overlaid with a hex grid of 5 leagues (12.5 miles) per hex it also has a square grid running from A to N west to east, and 1 to 10 north to south. Each of the these maps are contour maps and shows every manor and settlement on Harn.
In this package we get the map for J4 which completes the grid encompassing the Kingdom of Kaldor. It not related to the other articles but finishes up the work on Kaldor done in the previous series of Harnquests.
Next we get two articles on a Agrikan Order the Order of Mameka and their associated fighting order the Warriors of Mameka. Both of these are excellent articles detailing the personalities of the orders, their history, and structures. We get some rules for Harnmaster that showcases their unique rituals.
The reasons for the different orders the Church of Agrik has never been detailed in the core Harn products before. Here we learn that the Mamekas are actually originated as a heretical sect of Agrik obsessed with the finding a lost cairn. If found it is said the lost cairn can be used to trigger the final conflict between Agrik and his rival the goddess Larani (Lawful Good) and bring on his victory. It happens that they believe the lost cairn is somewhere in Peran to the north of Rethem. This is one of the origins of the centuries old conflict between the Rethemi and the Kubora.
Then we move on to a expansion of the Kubora article from Harn Barbarians. Here we get a breakdown of the individual tribes and some of the Kubora personal ties. Plus we get a few interesting bits about various Kubora customs and lore.
Next is a short bestiary article on Tavedogs. Thing of them as a treant looking orangutans living in a pacific northwest style forest. They are about ogre size (1 1/2 the size of a man) and have a mean left hook with claws. They are sentient although not tool users. It expands the list of the known Harnic beast which is nice.
Next are two geography articles.
The first is about Peran the home of the Kubora and Urdu tribe. It breaks Peran into it's different regions and give you a lot of useful bits to use if a party adventures there. I like the Hand of Crador myself. It is a limestone karst region and it's central feature is a cluster of limestone pillars. It looks like somebody thrusting their hand out from the earth. The region has a eerie feel about it, along with several legends about an evil that dwells there. The fact the numerous streams combine into a large marsh doesn't help.
The second is about the Afarezirs a island chain off to the northeast of Harn. It also doubles as a articles on one of the more isolated Kuboran tribes the Nolgind. It is pretty interesting detailing maritime life in a northern climate.
Overall I feel like I got my money's worth and look forward to seeing the other Rethem articles.
For non-Harn fans these article will be broken out and sold individually. I recommend the Mameka articles. They will be useful generating ideas and personalities involving LE religions in your campaign. The two geography articles can serves as useful templates for similar regions in your campaign. The Kubora expansion can give a sense of how different tribes and clans in a barbarian nation can interact. Athough the Tavedog article is good to have if you referee Harn it has limited utility for other systems.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
OD&D paths untrodden
Grognardia has another thought provoking post here about the Dangers of Imitation.
It is good post but it raise the questions about what paths we take moving forward. Will the general history of the RPG Marketplace unfold in miniature? Or will we explore avenues that were ignored the first time around?
There are a few avenues we could exploit that allow allow for new types of products but yet still remain firmly in the Old School Camp.
The first is the Points of Lights/Wilderlands format. Not so much the whole isolated outposts of civilization thing but the idea that setting can be presented compactly and usefully by using a numbered Hex Grid. I would like to see these become as common as adventure modules.
The fact that I had a list of numbered locales to detail really helps to keep my focus. With a regular map you can ramble all over the place with really no limits what details you include aside from the number of pages the product has. This is similar to what people describe when fleshing out a dungeon level with numberd rooms.
The second is what I call the Tekumal model. AD&D had this with Oriental Adventures and the Dragonlance Hardback, and a more recent example is Supplement V Carcosa. The idea is that the author has developed a world with a specific and adapted D&D to model that world. Classes, and spells change but the system is still recognizably D&D.
Because the core of your rules remains OD&D other referee may find useful bits. Just like in the earliest days when referees played in different campaigns and took the bits they liked back to their own game. If you want to play in that setting then the rules work together to give a different experience than the core rules. By adding to the variety of OD&D then we keep the market fresh and interesting.
The last avenue is what I call the gonzo factor. Lead by Mutant Future and Encounter Critical these books are a mishmash of elements to create unique and fun games. While this went on in the early days (Expedition to the Barrier Peaks) I think this will be most enduring legacy of the Open Game License. The OGL spirit naturally lends itself to kitbashing rules and ideas together to make interesting games.
It doesn't have to be silly either for example this path can lead to supplements allowing OD&D to be used for Planetary Fantasies like John Carter of Mars.
There will probably be more ideas coming down the pike as well as more adventures, monsters, and magic items. But these are three ideas I think that authors can use to create Old School Products that are not just imitations.
It is good post but it raise the questions about what paths we take moving forward. Will the general history of the RPG Marketplace unfold in miniature? Or will we explore avenues that were ignored the first time around?
There are a few avenues we could exploit that allow allow for new types of products but yet still remain firmly in the Old School Camp.
The first is the Points of Lights/Wilderlands format. Not so much the whole isolated outposts of civilization thing but the idea that setting can be presented compactly and usefully by using a numbered Hex Grid. I would like to see these become as common as adventure modules.
The fact that I had a list of numbered locales to detail really helps to keep my focus. With a regular map you can ramble all over the place with really no limits what details you include aside from the number of pages the product has. This is similar to what people describe when fleshing out a dungeon level with numberd rooms.
The second is what I call the Tekumal model. AD&D had this with Oriental Adventures and the Dragonlance Hardback, and a more recent example is Supplement V Carcosa. The idea is that the author has developed a world with a specific and adapted D&D to model that world. Classes, and spells change but the system is still recognizably D&D.
Because the core of your rules remains OD&D other referee may find useful bits. Just like in the earliest days when referees played in different campaigns and took the bits they liked back to their own game. If you want to play in that setting then the rules work together to give a different experience than the core rules. By adding to the variety of OD&D then we keep the market fresh and interesting.
The last avenue is what I call the gonzo factor. Lead by Mutant Future and Encounter Critical these books are a mishmash of elements to create unique and fun games. While this went on in the early days (Expedition to the Barrier Peaks) I think this will be most enduring legacy of the Open Game License. The OGL spirit naturally lends itself to kitbashing rules and ideas together to make interesting games.
It doesn't have to be silly either for example this path can lead to supplements allowing OD&D to be used for Planetary Fantasies like John Carter of Mars.
There will probably be more ideas coming down the pike as well as more adventures, monsters, and magic items. But these are three ideas I think that authors can use to create Old School Products that are not just imitations.
Points of Light banner
Normally Banners and Ads are a dime a dozen. But every so often there is one that just catches the eye. I know I am totally biased because I am the one of the authors of these two books but there is just something about this banner created by Goodman Games. I think it because both images (from the covers) have a heavy blue background. This allows them to be combined in a striking way.
So thanks Joseph and the rest of the Goodman team.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
More Points of Light #2
I got some questions and comments in the last few days on Points of Light #2.
First Player Maps are NOW available here
Amacui has been drawn so that only the shore line is showing. Only the high peaks of the interior mountains are drawn.
Mazatl shows the surrounding jungles, the lake, river, and the lava. The contours were a tough call so I decided to show the top contour and draw a new line showing where the Volcano's base contour is. The players are going to simply have to explore to figure out where the breaks are or start climbing.
The Misty Isle was fairly easy to do. I just erase all the unknown Islands off the map. Leaving a empty area on the eastern half.
Unlike Amacui and the Misty Isle; the Golden shores is a little better known. A bunch of the interior villages and terrain has been omitted.
Hope this helps everbody.
I got a bunch of "Where the PDF" queries. Now they are up in the various PDF store like here.
I appreciate the feedback and hope you enjoy exploring the four new lands Beyond the Sunrise Sea.
First Player Maps are NOW available here
Amacui has been drawn so that only the shore line is showing. Only the high peaks of the interior mountains are drawn.
Mazatl shows the surrounding jungles, the lake, river, and the lava. The contours were a tough call so I decided to show the top contour and draw a new line showing where the Volcano's base contour is. The players are going to simply have to explore to figure out where the breaks are or start climbing.
The Misty Isle was fairly easy to do. I just erase all the unknown Islands off the map. Leaving a empty area on the eastern half.
Unlike Amacui and the Misty Isle; the Golden shores is a little better known. A bunch of the interior villages and terrain has been omitted.
Hope this helps everbody.
I got a bunch of "Where the PDF" queries. Now they are up in the various PDF store like here.
I appreciate the feedback and hope you enjoy exploring the four new lands Beyond the Sunrise Sea.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Sometimes Chores can be fun
I did study of human propelled projectiles yesterday for my upcomming GUR...
Nah
Thanks to a brilliant idea by my friend Dave, a tedious chore of cleaning computer equipment out of my garage apartment became way too fun.
The Garage Apartment has my Game room.
Right now it is not used much as the local gaming scene has died out. The hazards of living in rural NW Pennsylvania. What you see is me sorting all my minatures into new containers. I used to use the blue bolt rack in the background but since Tim gave me his miniatures there was no room. My wife, Kelly Anne, knows where to buy good inexpensive storage bins so I got a couple. They can be found at Wal-mart in the craft section. I like them as I can peer through the translucent top and get a sense of what in there. The Air Speed book is where I store all my Dungeon Tiles.
The round table is from my SCA days and is from a historical medieval pattern. The cross legs slip over each other and the round top has groves that snap into place. Pretty nice and portable too. The brown table with the flowery contact paper top has been used by me since the early 80s when I was still in Junior High. It originally came from my grandparents who had it since World War II. The nice thing about that table is that the legs are held on by bolts. It is built so that one bolt holds each leg in place. It makes it easy to move so it has stayed with me all these years.
Also if you read the Bat in the Attic story that was the table we were playing on when the bat came into the attic.
Nah
Thanks to a brilliant idea by my friend Dave, a tedious chore of cleaning computer equipment out of my garage apartment became way too fun.
The Garage Apartment has my Game room.
Right now it is not used much as the local gaming scene has died out. The hazards of living in rural NW Pennsylvania. What you see is me sorting all my minatures into new containers. I used to use the blue bolt rack in the background but since Tim gave me his miniatures there was no room. My wife, Kelly Anne, knows where to buy good inexpensive storage bins so I got a couple. They can be found at Wal-mart in the craft section. I like them as I can peer through the translucent top and get a sense of what in there. The Air Speed book is where I store all my Dungeon Tiles.
The round table is from my SCA days and is from a historical medieval pattern. The cross legs slip over each other and the round top has groves that snap into place. Pretty nice and portable too. The brown table with the flowery contact paper top has been used by me since the early 80s when I was still in Junior High. It originally came from my grandparents who had it since World War II. The nice thing about that table is that the legs are held on by bolts. It is built so that one bolt holds each leg in place. It makes it easy to move so it has stayed with me all these years.
Also if you read the Bat in the Attic story that was the table we were playing on when the bat came into the attic.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Light Posting (so far)
Sorry for the light posting the last two weeks. My garage was in serious need of cleaning out and tidying up. With two boys and full time job I just never gotten around to doing it for a couple of years. The good news is that I finally found a Wilderlands map I thought I lost. (Map 4 & 5 Tarantis/Valon)
Finally got my eldest son excited about reading some of my sci-fi books and comic. When I got to the boxes of my stuff I pulled out a selection of material and let him go through it. Since he has been devouring my DC Star Trek Comics and 80s era Star Trek Novels.
I tried to get him interested in RPGS and wargames but he has fine motor skill issues stemming from his premature birth. To say he despises writing is an understatement. One of the games he wants to try is Star Fleet Battles.
I think I finally found a way around this with Star Fleet Battles. Using the Cadet versions of the main starships I can make FASA style sheets for him to use for energy allocation. I have a total power track and other tracks for the different systems. He can then use chits instead of laboriously filling out a sheet.
Finally got my eldest son excited about reading some of my sci-fi books and comic. When I got to the boxes of my stuff I pulled out a selection of material and let him go through it. Since he has been devouring my DC Star Trek Comics and 80s era Star Trek Novels.
I tried to get him interested in RPGS and wargames but he has fine motor skill issues stemming from his premature birth. To say he despises writing is an understatement. One of the games he wants to try is Star Fleet Battles.
I think I finally found a way around this with Star Fleet Battles. Using the Cadet versions of the main starships I can make FASA style sheets for him to use for energy allocation. I have a total power track and other tracks for the different systems. He can then use chits instead of laboriously filling out a sheet.
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