5e Modifying the Poisoned Condition

 Poison is one of the big nerfs to 5th edition. The poisoned condition RAW reads "A poisoned creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks." Poison in earlier editions was much truer to what poison should actually do to it's victims. If we take a D&D-like fantasy world, we are going to assume that most serious toxins delivered by what we might call "monsters" or giant sized animals are designed to immobilize or kill their opponents. While the 5e rule gets points for ease of use, it suffers as somewhat lackluster in describing the myriad types of toxins against which an adventuring character may be subjected. Smaller sized animals like tiny or even small spiders and biting insects are likely to cause minimal concern for most adventurers. Likely not even disadvantage on all attack rolls and ability checks. Snakes and some certain species of other venomous critters as one may find in our world, could indeed cause the poisoned condition, but very possibly death. 5e has simply removed that possibility from the game. But even real world statistics tell us that of the 5.4 million snakebites world wide about 2 million are envenomed and of those approximately 110,000 die from envenomation. Granted, we are dealing with adventurers and not common folk, but that is also expressed in higher ability scores, proficiency bonuses and better saving throw values. 

Now let us consider large, giant or huge spiders and snakes. naturally their venom will be in larger quantities and designed to knock down or kill and jellify larger prey. Prey like adventurers. It just doesn't stand to reason that a single poison condition encompasses the effects of such venomous bites. So, I propose a more useful, "realistic" and somewhat more granular approach to poison in my 5e games. Something like the following is a start:

But, even this doesn't make me entirely happy. I prefer a more nuanced and flavorful approach to poison. Which brings us back to the further adventures of SaltMarsh. 

As I said last time, the PCs were headed to Urnella's shack to find further information about the haunting in the old mansion. However, things had proceeded so quickly, I needed to make sure that the smuggler's contact on the town council was made aware of the adventurer's intentions of investigating the smuggler's hideout. So I had the guard at the Town Hall, whom the players had spoke to previously alert the mayor that they were looking for him. When the mayor arrived, the guard informed him, and the Mayor was duly concerned that there were adventurers poking about and especially with rumors of ghosts and hauntings. So Mayor White send Olly Canto, the town crier to hunt the adventurers down and ask them to come back and meet with the Mayor. Meanwhile the Mayor sends the guard for the fellow members of the council, as they would be livid had they not been included. Sonceray and Beck show up just before the character's arrive. 

The conversation was rather innocuous, and the players' didn't learn much new--but this move allowed me to plant a few tidbits of foreshadowing. Beck's dismissal of the account entirely, almost discouragement of even looking into it, and his quick exit once it was decided the adventurer's would go ahead with their investigations. The conversation with Urnella afterwards was quite entertaining. Urnella, being the mad old bat she is, no matter that she's harmless, wove all sorts of horror stories and conspiracies about the town. They were sure she was quite mad by the end of it, but they noted several things she mentioned which will become hopefully clear later on as the plot unfolds. And with this they were on their way to the ruined manor just after noon.

The party's entrance into the manor was quiet, if somewhat ominous from the descriptions of the place. I focused on how quiet it was, with only the hollow moaning of the sea breeze through the cracks and holes of the place to be heard. They assiduously checked for traps and were a bit confused the place was so safe to enter--though if they had sought out Pol the Poacher, they might have understood why. At any rate they entered, searched about a bit in the manor, when the Dwarvish Wizard played his character's traits of often mindlessly playing his pan-pipes when he wasn't smoking his tobacco pipe. Since no one was ready it caused everyone to jump as he did so, and I also decided it doubled the chance for wandering monsters. And the two giant rats appeared through a crack in the wall and ceiling in the west hall surprising the young thief Oliver. 

This is where the above discussion on poison becomes salient. I love the way that Sinister Secret handles the poisonous critters in the module. I quote here for the rats "Giant rats: these creatures will surprise 4 chances in 6. They are disease carriers: any character bitten by a giant rat has a 5% chance of being infected by disease. If an infected character then fails a saving throw vs. Poison and does not receive a cure disease spell by the third turn after being bitten, the wound will swell and fill with pus; the character will lapse into delirium and will need constant attention by another member of the party. After 1-4 days the character will die if cure disease has still not been given."

I LOVE that description of how the disease works. And though the rats posed little threat to the characters as a battle, if that disease hits--it's nasty. And that's exactly what happened. The Druid became infected from a leg bite and the whole adventure shifted into a different mode. They actually took care of the rats with little problem. But my description of their nasty yellow green teeth didn't go unheeded. And of course the saving throw tipped them off a bit. 

At first I just played it up as a really sore bite, but within ten minutes (1 turn) I noted it was throbbing and tender to the touch; 1 round later as they were exploring the library I told her that her leg was hard to walk on, and when she pulled back her ripped leathers she saw the wound had become swollen and dark. By then she was panicking, but the Cleric, Calix (who isn't really a Cleric, but a thief trying to give up her thieving ways and become worthy to be ordained as a priestess of Zodal; though she had taken magic initiate to grant her access to two Clerical orisons, and sell the fact that she was a Cleric) did not have access to lesser restoration. The party thus retreated to Saltmarsh and the Temple to seek lesser restoration. They managed to get the Druid healed and the next day headed back to the manor. 

So it is that today's topic is salient. Should 5e poison rules be fixed? I have chosen to use the poison/disease effects exactly as written in Saltmarsh, instead of the option above. Indeed I have struggled with how to make 5e more "old school" in difficulty, and the poison rules are one. I will expand on this idea in my next entry. 

The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh Begins

WARNING: Spoilers ahead!

The original 1e Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh begins a little differently from most published adventures. Primarily, this difference lies in the delivery of the adventure hook. The Dungeon Master is advised to not present the hook right from the start. Rather, allow time for the adventurers to explore the town, spend their money and slowly unearth the clues that the house might be an object of interest worth pursuing. 

Honestly, I'm a bit befuddled by this, but I ran with it--sort of. Read on to see how it has gone so far.

The other thing the module suggests is for the DM to flesh out the town of Saltmarsh. The suggestion is to use real world 14th century coastal fishing villages with populations around 2,000 as an analogue. Don't you love 1e?! I do. So after a little research I chose Ipswich, UK as a model. Though it is thought Ipswich numbered around 4,000 souls in the 1500's I shrunk it a bit and began my work. I'll scan and post my maps and notes in a later episode, but suffice it to say that I got carried away. Naming all the adult inhabitants, complete with family stats, professions and places of residence I ended up with lots of material. And as it was in note form, not very usable. But I felt more or less prepared when the game started.

I had planned on having the group meet onboard a merchant ship returning from Greyhawk, carrying a few passengers to offset the return costs. The party consisted in a Rhenee Druid and Thief, a human quasi-cleric of Zodal and a Hill Dwarven Wizard from the Iron Hills. Their traveling companions were Lady Felicia, Sea Princess of the Holds, returning from the eastern realms, Master Willy and Lady Tilly Waters, retired potters from Saltmarsh itself, returning from visiting relatives in Greyhawk, and Samuel Alcock a cartographer from Greyhawk, hired by a sea captain in Saltmarsh. 

The idea was to give the players access to Saltmarsh lore and history via the Waters' before they landed which worked fairly well. As they landed they headed to the Whale Bone, a small, but packed and rowdy fishing tavern. They had some fun there and learned a little more about Saltmarsh. I threw in the poacher, however, and that may have been a little premature. Through him and some taunting sailors they learned a bit about the ghosts of Saltmarsh. That was enough of a hint that, though they lost the poacher in the crowd, they started sniffing around for leads about ghosts.

The way I played it, was that most of the citizens didn't know much, but when pressed might mention something odd they've been hearing recently about the old house on the coast road. They poked around a bit more and uncovered that it was long ago inhabited by an alchemist and has been left abandoned since. They also were pointed towards Olaf Fingaurd the poacher and Ulna Gillam the town beachcomber who lives in a shack on the beach just below the house. These tow it is said have been telling tales recently about the house and might be able to tell the party more. Ulna has heard some strange sounds and seen some strange lights, but if pressed she talks more about the sea ghosts. Strange ghost ships she has seen once or twice at night on the waters out to sea. Ulna is more than a little touched in the head however, and drinks copiously. She also talks about voices in the sand, fish that grant wishes, seaweed that grant magical powers, and a giant sea dragon turtle that actually runs Saltmarsh. Olaf, however, is much more certain. He stayed in the house and was run out by horrible sounds, nightmarish lights and ghosts that chased him into the streets and down the road. Problem is noone believes him. Noone except Ulna that is, and that hasn't won him any friends in town. 

The last part of that paragraph hasn't played out yet. The party has gotten directions to Ulna's shack and is headed that way, which is where we pick up next session. 

5e Greyhawk Campaign

As I may have mentioned previously, I've been on a gaming hiatus. My job has been more demanding than usual this past year, so I've taken a break for about six months. Although to be honest, there have been fitful, start-and-stop efforts since our last adventure back in December. However, summer approaches and new skies dawn ... 

So, as you likely know, my current game is a 5e game, and my current players 5e players. I've been thinking, though, during this period of gaming quietude about ways to work in some of my preferences. After lots of searching I've found that Greyhawk Grognard has some excellent 5e Greyhawk resources. And several other sites, such as Greyhawk Online have useful information and ideas as well. And given that old school modules port fairly well into 5e, I've decided to run my summer 5e campaign in Greyhawk. 

The player options I'll take from Greyhawk Grognard, which are quite excellent, by the way. And I love this little post at Greyhawk Online to set some of the tone for players new to the Flanaess. I am not entirely sure, but since Ghost of Saltmarsh was recently released by Wizards, I'll head back to my roots and run the original U series as an opening salvo. 

U1 Sinister Secrets of Saltmarsh (Characters will likely be level 2-3 by the end)

U2 Danger at Dunwater (level 4 by the end)

U3 The Final Enemy (finish at level 5-6)

These three adventures cluster fairly tightly around the coasts of The Viscounty of Salinmoor in southern Keoland, which is where the campaign will start. What I'd like to do from there is have the party travel west and north by sea to Greyhawk. From there, they'll sail across the NyrDyv to Radigast City or possibly Alhaster. Likely the hook to get them there will be the poem from Keraptis to the owner of Whelm. Whelm's owner will be in Salinmoor when he receives the poem, and as the characters bring the U series to a conclusion. After hearing of the characters' success, the owner will commission the players to retrieve the artifact from White Plume Mountain. After they return it however, to the owner who now awaits them in his home of Radigast, he will reveal to the party that  his research has uncovered that the hammer actually belongs to the lost Dankil MightyHammer Clan of Dwarves. He then further commissions the party to take the hammer across the central Flanaess to a Dwarven sage in Schwartzenbruin, Perrenland. As motivation for the players, he reveals that this sage has secret information about the location of hidden caverns containing untold wealth in the Southern Yatils. Which will lead them to ... yes, you guessed it, the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. 

S2 White Plume Mountain (finish at level 7-8)

S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth (finish at level 8-9)

From there the characters will hear of pleas that are going out from His High Radiance, Owen I, Grand Duke of Geoff at Gorna of strange creatures invading the western reaches of his lands. Thus the characters will be drawn into S3 Expedition to Barrier Peaks. At the end of which they will be around level 10-12.

S3 Expedition to Barrier Peaks

But, with an unexpected twist toward the end of S3, the characters will be shunted away to Dungeonland and the Land Beyond the Magic Mirror! Here they will make it to levels 12 or so and be unceremoniously dumped from the realms of Greyspace back to the southeastern realms of the Flanaess in Sundii. Specifically in the dangerous swampwater border town of Calgen. In fact, they land smack dab in the center of the summoning circle of the infamous Otiluke. Otiluke was in the process of summoning "a being or beings from GreySpace that are capable of "penetrating the Lair of the Lost Lich". Whatever Otiluke was imagining might come through his somewhat unwise conjurational gateway, he was not expecting a party of adventurers. But being as here they are, and despite their doubtless protests he puts a special geas upon them to fulfill the adventure of what Otiluke calls the Lair of the Lost Lich (which is secretly S1, Tomb of Horrors). Thus, south they go into The Vast Swamp to follow Otiluke's somewhat dubious directions towards their their greatest challenge yet, or their doom.

EX1 Dungeonland

EX2 Beyond the Magic Mirror

S1 Tomb of Horrors

After this, who knows? If we even make it this far. This is sort of a bucket list thing for me, to run the entire gamut of the "Special" series modules back to back. Not to mention to run both EX1 & 2, an opportunity which rarely comes up. Granted, it's in 5e, but truthfully my players are have little experience outside of 5e, and certainly haven't any familiarity with the modules above. We did run Tomb of Annihilation, but that adventure is enough unlike the original Tomb of Horrors that I'm not worried there. The biggest challenge is that old school adventures were notoriously large for the level ranges for which they are designed. So, though I detest it, I will likely use something like milestone advancement. And, about half way through the proposed campaign arc, given the fact that a number of magic items will have been gained, I'll have to beef up some the encounters. At least if past experience is any guide. 

Of course you know what they say about the best laid plans ... I'm a little worried about White Plume Mountain, as I'm not sure what my players will do when and if they get their hands on the three artifacts. That could be problematic. Things could go off the rails. But if so, that's fine--I'll improvise.

Oh and in case your wondering, no, my players do not read my blog. I'm not even sure they know I have one :-)

Too Much D&D

The Flies and the Honey Pot

"Flies were attracted to a honey jar. They ate greedily. But, their feet and wings got covered with the honey so they could not get free. They died."

The Moral: Too much of a good thing can be bad.

Aesop

I was looking at my bookshelf the other day. I have limited book shelf space -- well, actually I have over 175 feet of shelving space, I just have too many books. Which in and of itself is probably a sufficient application of Aesop's above quoted fable. But I earnestly believe there is no such thing as too many books. But, back to making my point, my gaming shelf holds all my 1e materials, my Hackmaster 4th and 5th edition collections, a few other games I refer to often and my 5th edition stuff. 

As I perused them from a distance, it hit me that my 5th edition collection outnumbered any single other edition present. Now, having said that I do have 3rd and 4th edition D&D books in storage that probably outnumber 5e, but with this awareness came the thought the Gary and others expressed in 0e, "why have us do all the imagining for you?" 

I hate DMing in Forgotten Realms. There is so much damn stuff in that world I feel stifled. It feels like there is no room for a DM to breathe, no bare spot for me to set down my own creation--at least not if I want to include canon in my game as well. Now, I know this is an illusion. FR really does have space, and plenty of GMs fill it with their own stuff, and still allow most things from canon to exist in their campaigns as well. But the feeling for me is like I'm stuck in honey and can't breathe. 

To be fair, AD&D began to feel this way sometime before Unearthed Arcana came out. The addition of Oriental Adventures came with so much extra stuff and rules that were ported in one way or another into the game that it was already creating arguments. Dragon Magazine, though I loved it, didn't help. So much optional lore, NPC classes, race variations, etc. etc. was coming out a DM couldn't keep up. And no matter how cool we all thought UA was when it came out as we began to play with it it was clear no only had the game began to suffer from bloat, it also had jacked the power level up by at least half. Each subsequent release, the survival guides, Manual of Planes, and the Adventures tomes were almost ignored with a sense of growing supplement numbness. 

Now, I know that they were releasing these to try and save the brand. TSR had become a money machine, and a poorly run one at that. Frankly I think if -- no, I'm not gonna go there again. My point is that too much of a good thing had become a bad thing. The 2e re-boot didn't help. Well, it helped financially to propel the company through the first half of the 90's, but they multiplied the supplement load by over 200% and I now think it would have almost been impossible for one person to have everything 2e related. Although current day collectors are proving me wrong. 

But D&D, by then in Wizard's control, didn't learn. 3rd edition was known for the flood of supplements and the OGL, which just made the playing field enormously overwhelming. Back in the day it was considered a badge of honor for DMs to have actually read the DMG. Knowing the rules was a large part of game mastery. And by gamer mastery I do not mean game mastering, I mean mastery of the game. See Gygax's two works in this vein as well as the original rules themselves for proof of this ethos. Simply put a Dungeon Master was supposed to have read and know the rules. By the time 1e was dying, having been dealt it's death blow by the ousting of Gary, the company was simply about churning out as much as possible to make more money. 

I realize this is a controversial and almost unavoidable part of the hobby. Gamers thirst for material--I get it. I do too. But anymore, I'm just not impressed. I know Gary himself fell pray to this as he tried to right the company's mismanaged finances with the production of both OA and UA. They had learned along time ago that modules where big buck and gamers were dying for them. And the fact is if a company is pulling in more money they can't support the fans. Fans want product and companies oblige them.

The problem is what happens every single time! We flood the market with product, and in the end (five or six years after release) it usually isn't of the highest quality. Less and less sales happen and eventually a new edition gets talked about to revitalize the company's finances. All of a sudden that game we thought was so great seven years ago we now see as irreparably flawed and in need of a major overhaul. We all need $5000 of new books, while the others go into storage. I mean has anyone noticed that most of the 5e books released are re-releases. Of course you notice. Sure, they gave them a new coat of paint, and a theatrical screenplay makeover but what they're churning out now isn't even new. And I know all about the nostalgia market and WOTC's attempt to appeal to the grognards who had fled the modern gaming scene with 4e, but even still aren't we repeating mistakes of the past? 

So, you ask, what's my solution. I think we need to get back to our roots. And those roots are in 0e. Yep, not even my preferred edition. I suppose you could say basic D&D just as well, but the idea of a very light, flexible and open game. And what about support? I think the answer is zine based--high quality print AND digital. A robust OGL is a must, and instead of just the open marketplace like DMs Guild (which is not a bad idea, though they need to get away from the template based garbage they force people into now), we need a sense of connection to other DMs worlds as was intended in the early days of D&D. Somewhat like Planescape, only with gates to different worlds leading to the millions of DM created worlds instead of company produced planes of existence--although that could be included too. DMs and players would be responsible for their worlds and what exists on that world starting from a very limited base: something like fighter, thief, cleric magic user, and human, dwarf, elf and halfling. 

There is no need for the company to control the product so tightly any more. Or offer ten thousand options themselves. Back in the day this was an issue for a time due to tournament play. But we have left that far behind. I thought 5e was supposed to replicate this feel, with a very basic, flexible template upon which people could write their own stories. But instead we end up with the same thing was always have had--a company based product bloat that has made the game and playing overwhelming to the point of pointlessness. DMs aren't master of their game any longer. 

And, yes, we all know you didn't have to read the DMG back in the day to DM, nor do you now. You need to know a few critical rules and run with it. This is what such a system should be. A light, flexible system that as it is played fleshes out a world and gives rise to unique and an infinite variety of options for all concerned. Cause too much of a good thing is a bad thing. And right now, there is way too much 5e on my shelves. I'm sure the business managers at Hasbro are happy--but I'm not. 

In Defense of the Save or Die Trap

 

The argument here is simple really. As the sinister, evil-genius baddie who has gone to all the trouble to hide my secrets, and my loot, six or more levels below the earth and guarded them with all sorts of fell beasties, foul magics and traps the reason should be crystal clear. I don't want ANYONE coming near my stuff. Especially a band of those pesky, meddling, and potentially quite dangerous, adventurers!

Now sure, there are other purposes to set traps. Maybe I want to maim someone, or slow them up so they'll be easier for my minions to take care of. But why main or cripple or slow someone down when I can just kill them with the trap itself? Maybe it's to keep my somewhat rock-brained minions away from places they shouldn't be meddling, but a key and lock does that job cheaper and costs me less minions. Or perhaps mark them with permanent die, so I know who opened my spellbook when they shouldn't have. There could be lots of reasons, sure.

But the most straightforward reason to set lethal traps is to kill people I think are a pain in the asp. Death traps make all the sense in the world. Of course, these traps need an off mechanism of some sort, and maybe even a reminder or sign to help me and my minions remember where they are. Which makes the whole process for adventurers a lot more fun and manageable. 

Now, I'm not saying every trap should be lethal. As outlined above, there are other reasons to have traps. But don't shy away from the good old save or die trap just because players think they suck. Provide a different avoidance mechanism the players can figure out, and go for it. It only makes sense.

Oh, just as one other possibility why the arch nemesis of the adventurers may choose to prefer less than lethal traps--the ToH principle. Quite often our baddie is a twisted sadist and he finds it funny to prolong the adventurers agony. He wants to slowly whittle them down and torture them. A finger here, a head of hair there, a gender change in one room, a blinding one in another. In such cases the baddie almost always wants some way to watch this happen, or at least know when it happened. This too can be a clue to the party. Instead of the slightly off colored brick at every trap, that creepy floating eye appears. You get the idea. 

The Spirit of AD&D

 

AD&D is magic items. I don't think it's possible to overestimate the importance of magic items in AD&D. They were the premium of treasure taken in adventures. And they grew to define what your character could do and accomplish. As opposed to all of your abilities being defined by abilities you gain as you advance, AD&D often defined a character's power level by the items they had managed to win on their adventures. Some feel like this is a bad thing. For such items can be lost, broken, stolen or otherwise stripped from your character. That is exactly the point. Certainly a 10th level fighter was far superior to a first level fighter. But a 10th level fighter with a Vorpal Blade was much more powerful than a 10th level fighter without a magical blade. This may seem unfair, but it was a matter of drive and motivation for characters to adventure to gain such items. Items such as a Holy Avenger were precious beyond belief. A paladin who lost such an item was presented with a powerful challenge that cased them to play much harder and more strategically than one who could simply take a short or long rest and rise again just as powerful as they were yesterday. 

The purpose or intent of some of the changes in 5e's magic items was said to make them more strange, usual or rare. This is not at all what they have achieved. In fact magic items are almost irrelevant in most of today's 5e games. They are not near as wondrous or useful as they were in AD&D making them less impressive and "magical". And moreover they are often superfluous to a character that already possesses a great number of super abilities. 

In AD&D magic items played a major role in most games and were far more magical than people are used to today.

The Spirit of AD&D

AD&D is working hard for levels, very hard. As you can see above, the amount of experience required for each level were much higher than people are used to today. And the above chart was for Thieves, the easiest level within which to advance. And though experience awards varied vastly between awards it generally took at least six to ten sessions of play to gain one level. However it wasn't abnormal to wait over twenty in some cases. Levels mean something in AD&D. Which is of course why level drainers were so utterly terrifying. 
 

The Spirit of AD&D

 

AD&D is a black skinned, spike haired, gravely odiferous beast called a wight. Every hit does 1d4 damage and drains one level of experience. Every time it hits. Every time. That's one level complete with HP, spells, class abilities and all other features of that level. Sucks your beloved character right down, smack dab into the middle of the previous level's experience table. Next to save or die, nothing struck fear into characters, especially high level characters like the level draining monstrosities of the Wight and the Vampire. 

And for those of you who don't know, levels in AD&D ... well, maybe we'll cover that next time. 

TTRPG Nostalgia

I don't know what it is, but I'm here again. This place I get to time and again when I feel overwhelmingly like my D&D is lost. Why do I feel this way? Is it just nostalgia? Or is it something more?

I have been doing some reading along with my soul searching lately and have come to find quite a bit online about gaming related nostalgia. Almost all of it is about video game nostalgia, but I think alot of it applies equally well to TTRPGs. One thing in particular stuck out. Nostalgia for video games tend to be so powerful because we invested so much emotional energy in them. We might be nostalgic for music, for a style of dress or even a movie. But we could spend hours and hours on a game. Sound familiar? Clearly I am very nostalgic for TSR era D&D because I spent almost every available moment, thinking about it, drawing, writing, mapping, reading, talking and certainly playing the game and every thing associated with it. 

I have teased before that D&D is my religion more than my hobby. I suppose, inasmuch as religion defines us from before to after birth and throughout our life, D&D does that as much for me as my religion does. Of course that's hyperbole. I just saw this old ad, and it brought back a wave of nostalgia for something that I wish could be recaptured ...

The Spirit of AD&D

AD&D is players coming up with creative, out of the box solutions because they aren't super heroes and can't blast, magic or feat their way out of every obstacle. It's about DMs running with it too, because some of the best stories arise when we let imaginations loose trying to creatively solve what would otherwise be an impossible challenge. 

The best memories ever ...

The Spirit of AD&D

 

Dave Trampier Monster Manual 1977

AD&D is being terrified when you step into a corridor, cavern or castle festooned with white sticky spider webs. Because you knew there was probably a wicked hairy giant spider lurking in there and that they just needed one bite and you'd be making that save or die roll. 

Aint no better thrill than that ...

The Spirit of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

 

David Laforce DMG 1979

AD&D is being trapped in a room filling with water, while being chased by a 1HD skeleton that you are so afraid will kill you, you desperately try and find the secret button to open the locked door instead of fight it.

Good times man, good times.

Weird Pete Makes Me Want to Play Hackmaster

Weird Pete, Owner & Proprietor of the Games Pit
And Grognard Extraordinaire

 And to a certain degree Crazy Eddie does too ...

Eddie's the one behind the counter

In case you haven't yet figured it out, I'm referring to the best comic book of all time, Knights of the Dinner Table. Specifically the most recent issue, number 278. Without giving away too much I want to share two sections of dialogue. Admittedly the dialogue alone doesn't do it justice, you really have to go and buy the zine, but you'll get the idea once I share Pete's rant. 

So Pete runs the friendly local game shop in Muncie Indiana, although some might argue with the label of "friendly" where Pete is concerned. I personally love Pete's shop because it reminds me so much of my hole in the wall FLGS growing up Austin Books, Comics & Games. And the guy who was behind the counter could have passed as a double for Pete, short, chubby, bearded and always yelling at me and my friends to quit pawing product if we weren't going to buy it. Anyway, as issue 278 opens Pete is in the shop when a millennial type comes up wanting to purchase a new game. Pete tries to warn him off it as an inferior game, "At the end of the day it's still a turd son." But the kid isn't having it, this is his game and he wants Pete to ring him up. That's when the fun begins...

Pete: Ho'kay -- you're money. But hey -- If ya ever find you're ready for the training wheels to come off ... come back and see me. I also sell real games, like Hackmaster -- Haar.

At the mention of Hackmaster the kid turns up his nose and scoffs. Nitro Ferguson, hard rolling HM GM, asks the kid why, to which the kid responds:

Millennial: My friends and I actually like playing when we sit down at the table. And having fun. Not dying all the time. And not spending entire sessions rolling up new characters--which can take two hours!

Pete: Oooooh ... I see. Well, I apologize junior. My bad -- I mistook you for an actual gamer. You know -- one who appreciates real risk and a challenge when it comes to high fantasy, but hey you have a nice day! Enjoy your connect the dots gaming experience.

Millennial: "Connect the dots" ... What's that supposed to mean? My adventures are full of risk and challenge.

Pete: Are they really tho ... ? I mean come on ... Where's the risk in a game where death is so frickin hard to come by ... ? I mean geezus -- you really gotta try hard. I sat in a demo once -- I kept trying to suicide my character. It couldn't be done. The GM dispensed healing like bar nuts at a bikini bar. In the end -- I told 'im I had to take a leak. Left the table and never came back.

At this point Nitro knows Pete is getting up head of steam up for a rant and gently tries to warn him off a bit, but there's no stopping Pete now, and his grognard momentum is full steam ahead.

Pete: Oh...? tell me I’m wrong, Victor! (Victor is Nitro's real name) The problem with all these new fangled ass games and rules systems...? They love to coddle the players. It’s like they took fantasy role play ... and put a bicycle helmet on it. Gawd forbid anyone should have to think, be challenged or have any virtual skin in the game. Or, “BOO HOO” — have to roll up a new character. Cry me a river! I tell ya — it really grinds my gears. to see what’s happening to our hobby. And don’t think  Hackmaster is immune. No sir. I see this mamby pamby “kinder gentler” pablum of mediocrity worming its way in!! Ya know — there was actually an article in the latest issue of Hack Journal that was entitled... “Finding Solutions Without Resorting to Combat” I kid you not!!! I’m tellin’ ya — the whiners and complainers really annoy me ... claiming the “old style” of play was somehow wrong or inferior. Heh — we played hard by gawd — coz most anything could kill ya. We’re talkin’ edge of your seat adventures — tappin’ the floors with a ten foot pole ...lookin’ up — lookin’ down. Never knowing what was gonna do you in! And if you died? - you choked back the tears, pulled out a new sheet!! And went at it again. Now that was roleplayin’ Gawdammit!! It took us a dozen runs at the Temple of Unspeakable Evil. We lost 36 player characters. and we didn’t quit, whine or complain about it either. Death meant something. Coz without it — there aren’t any heroes. Somebody fired an arrow at yer buddy — you took it for him. Coz that’s just how ... hey — where’d the kid go?

By this time the millennial has left (with good reason obviously) and Nitro and Patty (another Hackmaster GM) has come in an realized Pete is ranting on without anyone there to rant at. 

Oh my gosh when I read those first few panels I was dying laughing and eating it up at the same time. I mean, look, I know KODT is about satire, and in a way they are satirizing players like me. I mean how much of Pete's complaints have been topics of my very recent posts!? This is as real as it gets. But we shouldn't be surprised, because KODT has had their satirical finger on the pulse of gaming reality for over three decades now. Pete was able to more effectively say what I've been saying in my long winded diatribes and more humorously too. We love you Pete. 

So, a little further in we find out that Crazy Eddie used to be called The Thrasher -- Butcher of PCs!! Back in the crew's Junior High days he had the highest TPK percentage of all GMs in their circle. They called him "dick-GM" -- "behind his back of course" HAHAHAHA! You just can't make this stuff up! Because even though the KODT writers are making it up, it is based almost totally on reality! I so identified with Eddie at that moment I about wet myself laughing! I started playing AD&D in Junior High School, and and a DM I killed so many characters, it's amazing my friends still wanted to play with me--just like Eddie evidently. Eddie does not GM in the Knights, just plays and he is so meek and mild you just would never figure him on being a killer GM, and I won't give nay more spoilers about how this fits into the storyline. I mellowed of course, but I also learned the game better, and began to understand the role of adversary as a GM, not assassinator. Truthfully I never set out to kill NPCs like Eddie evidently might have, but I've written on this very forum about those days and how death was a baptism almost all early players and GMs passed through multiple times. And I'm not the only one, as the comment made recently by Dave that he was on Sparrowhark the XXIII before he ever reached second level. 

Anyway, these portions of issue 278 truly warmed my heart and fired me up. And truthfully made me want to play Hackmaster more than ever. Way to go Jolly and the the KCo team. Love the work you are doing.

A Tribute to GURPS

 NOTE: This post was written some time ago during my "search for the perfect game" period. I found it recently, re-read it and realized it reveals several truths about my search and I believe search for the old school generally. So, even though some of it doesn't apply today, I offer you a walk down my memory lane and what amounts to a personal tribute to GURPS.

After a prolonged period of self reflection and gaming analysis, brought on by a particularly bad gaming year and the advent of the 5th edition of Dungeons & Dragons, I may have found my new game of choice: Steve Jackson's infamous RPG, GURPS. I'm sure some of my readers will no doubt wonder why, or at least be curious as to my reasoning. And even if you aren't, I feel it necessary to defend my choice, given all that I have written over the lifetime of my blog.

Steve Jackson Games is one of the longest running role playing game companies in existence. Next to Chaosium (RuneQuest, and Call of Cthulhu), Palladium ((Rifts) and Flying Buffalo Games (Tunnels and Trolls) SJG has shown a dedication to the ideals of gaming beyond about any other company I can think of. I am so tired of being let down by companies trading hands, going out of business and discontinuing lines that support my gaming. Yes, I could continue playing them even if the company or line was sold or discontinued. But as I have made clear in numerous previous posts—I want an actively supported line, by a reliably supportive company of GAMERS.

SJG has stayed true to their flagship RPG. Though GURPS has grown immensely over the years, with the biggest changes being their 3rd edition line, and their biggest consolidation 4th, GURPS itself has remained basically unchanged. I don't expect SJG to radically change the game in the future either. Will their be a 5th edition? Undoubtedly—but it will still be GURPS, not some unrecognizable simulacra thereof.

I have learned that I prefer a game that allows for unlimited flexibility and creativity. This has been discovered in my love for systems like the original Dungeons & Dragons game, Swords & Wizardry, Castles & Crusades and the like. GURPS is the ultimate creators toolkit.

But I have also realized that I love a level of detail and crunch in a system through games like Hackmaster, Rifts and even the good times I had in 3.5 and 4e. The problem of course is that such games can become restrictive and can feel too confining. However GURPS allows the best of both worlds. I can create anything and have the mechanics it back it up.

And I have to admit, I like a dangerous world in which death is a constant presence. I don't like having games where the fantasy is carried to such an extreme that death is rarely possible. Unless of course that is a basic assumption of the game such as in supers. GURPS can accomplish both ends of these extremes, but it's core game is one where death is a realistic presence. In other words you don't generally have much HP in GURPS. Combat must be entered into with caution and strategy in mind.

Which leads me to my sixth reason—realism. The main reason I participate in role playing games is for communal escape. A fantastic based escape into the worlds of imagination. Especially those that allow for adventure beyond what we normally encounter in our everyday lives. However, I am also of a very rational mind—even though my imagination often carries my thoughts into Ultima Thule and beyond, my logical mind expects a level of reason and reality to my fantasy. The realistic foundation upon which GURPS is based appeals to my desires for a “realistic” fantasy. I have often dreamed of what it would be like if I passed through a magical gateway into the fantasy realms I dream of. Would I survive? What would it be like? GURPS is based on real world physics in this sense.

My appeal for Hackmaster is, I realize, partially generated by the gaming camaraderie of the Knights of the Dinner Table. But it is also preserved by the level of what I call the old school ethos within the game. This ethos is partially captured by the GM vs player mentality so prevalent in the comic and to a lesser degree in the game's rules themselves. But the structure of the game does this via a number of very real mechanics. First is the player optimization potential within the game. Via point buy options, ability manipulation, advantages, disadvantages, quirks, perks, skills, powers and the like-- players are free to engage in free wheeling optimization and character creation potential thus creating the best PC possible with which to face the GM's challenges. But the structure of the system is also very realistic and deadly, incorporating criticals, hit location, and the like thus making challenges significant regardless of the players efforts at optimization. The whole effect is very much like Hackmaster in a completely unexpected way.

But this similarity is, upon further reflection quite logical. Hackmaster is a syncretic parody of two game systems—Dungeons & Dragons and GURPS. Even the fictional head of Hard Eight Enterprises Gary Jackson—attests to the fact that the two huge names in gaming at that time, Gary Gygax and Steve Jackson are preserved in his moniker. Essentially communicating that Hackmaster was preserving the ethos of a period of gaming when GURPS and D&D held sway over the gaming world.

And the personal connection here becomes even stronger. I grew up gaming in Austin, Texas. Without giving my home address let's just say that the HQ of Steve Jackson games was about 4 blocks from my childhood home. Just behind my Elementary School. I understand that SJG has now moved, but as a part of my youth SJG figured very prominently. In central Texas there really were only two systems at the time: D&D and GURPS. There were other fly by nighters, but those were the mainstays. I did play Car Wars and OGRE and admired Steve Jackson and his company highly, even if my main game was AD&D. I even had a friend in my church who was a game designer for them for a few years.

So when we talk old school, what are we really talking about? The old school ethos preserved in Hackmaster has it's roots in two gaming systems. Some might say that HM was really trying to preserve AD&D2e, with its proliferation of character options and game expansion. But much of the character and campaign options of 2e were rooted in other game systems. Especially those systems that had pursued a model of skill based PCs instead of the class based PCs upon which D&D was based for so long. It was an effort to bring these methods to players of D&D, likely with the idea of keeping all gamers within its fold. But this concept was pioneered by companies like SJG who sought to make a more realistic skill based game as an alternative to the predominant class based systems of the time.

Above and beyond considerations of my past, there is something else I've realized. My early gaming showed efforts to bring in other games & genres to my gaming group but that these efforts met with minimal or limited success. I have always had a penchant for science fiction, but it has been an itch I have rarely been able to scratch with an RPG. Lovecraftian horror has been my longest foray into other fields of gaming—but that is a love often enjoyed in private; but what little non D&D gaming I've done has been Call of Cthulhu.

The RPGS I've bought and or tried over the years: AD&D 1e, Gamma World, RuneQuest, Star Frontiers, GURPS, Top Secret, Traveler, Space Opera, Champions, Marvel Superheroes, HERO, AD&D 2e, Call of Cthulhu, Shadowrun, D&D 3.5, D&D 4e, OSRIC, Hackmaster Basic, Pathfinder, Labyrinth Lord AEC

But of those only 1e, 4e, OSRIC & Pathfinder experienced play of any significant length. My reason for mentioning this here is to show that I have desires to play other games, experience other genres, especially science fiction and have been unable to fulfill that wish. Often the greatest barrier to playing a different genre is that it requires changing systems, learning an entirely new way to play. GURPS circumvents this by offering a single system for any genre you would wish to play.

All this being said there are of course issues with GURPS. I'm not fooling myself that GURPS is some kind of perfect game. In fact as I've discussed this with my brother, who has been very helpful btw. He has jokingly called this my search for the perfect game. In a way I suppose there's truth to that. But not in the sense that I think a perfect game exists. GURPS, has it's issues mechanically and stylistically. As does every game on the market. It is also a skill based PC creation system not a class based one—this will require adjustment on my part.

I've been immersed in D&D style gaming since my entry into the hobby. It's sort of in my gaming DNA as it were. I think my opinion of gaming has been colored to such a degree that I can no longer see clearly when it comes to RPGs. I tend to judge everything in terms of D&D. In part this is just because that is where my experience lies, but I can;t help but believe that it is also to make sure I don't lose what has gone before. Nothing but D&D will do, right? Well, to be short I feel it is time to get out of my D&D jeans as it were. Try on some new duds.

I also realize that given the nature of the variability of my gaming analyses, and opinions I am committed to sticking with the same system for at least two years. I would say one year, but my gaming cycle tends to  run in yearly intervals. And I do tend to change systems at more or less yearly intervals anyway. So I wanted to break my usual pattern and initiate a new era for me. My indecision tends to cause me to vacillate from system to system trying this and trying that in an effort to regain something that was lost.

Now, I've written numerous entries about the loss of an era in gaming. When TSR was sold an age changed. For the past 3 or 4 years I've been tooling around the OSR, sometimes at the edges, sometimes deep within it's search for the past. I've sampled the new, modern age as well; playing the latest iterations of the D&D legacy. The fact is I've been unable to find the world that was lost—but that may be because I've been locked into a D&D only mindset for so long I cannot see the forest for the trees. It may also be that what is the past is the past, and can never truly be regained. That it is time to look forwards in my gaming—not back.

Deciding to switch out of this mindset is really the only way out of the rut I've been in for some time now. Seeing this has helped me open my eyes to the fact that there has been an old school that I've been unable to see or at least to acknowledge as a possibility. As soon as I saw this I began to see GURPS and the gaming industry in a whole new light. Hence my points made at the start of this little essay.

And call it personal angst or grudge, but I couldn't help but feel like the D&D world has misplaced themselves due to the fact that the company has changed, the D&D world has changed and I resent that more than a little. It made me envious of those fans of gaming systems that still had their parent companies intact and were still producing their games. So I took a bit of a look around and realized that several lifetime companies (by that I mean in my gaming lifetime) are still up and running, doing their thing much to the happiness of their fans and supporters.

Flying Buffalo Games preserves Tunnels & Trolls, which is evidently a great fantasy simulacra of early D&D (not quite but close). And tho' rich in tradition has never attracted me. Chaosium is probably the next oldest, and has put out a number of highly rated games. Unfortunately only Call of Cthulhu remains largely unchanged. Tho' Chaosium has synthesized their game systems into the BRP release. It is new, and remains to be seen if it has any staying power. But I gave Chaosium much thought as it does have a strong universal system, and creates probably my second most favorite game CoC. Palladium, like Flying Buffalo, inherits the D&D legacy through their Rifts line, largely built on the 1e framework. Though Kevin Siembieda has taken it far beyond what could still be called 1e. I am attracted to Rifts in strange and inexplicable ways. By all accounts it is a clunky, broken, overpowered system—but it still attracts me. However, it is a somewhat narrower system than GURPS in scope and still very close to the D&D Matrix. I need to unhook from the Matrix and see reality for what it really is.

What is a Game?

 I made some bold assumptions in my last post. Namely that Fifth Edition might not be a game. That assertion certainly requires a further elucidation. So, if you'll allow me ... 

Generally game is defined as: "a form of play or sport, especially a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck."

In this sense, fifth edition might be considered a game even though the competitive element has been downplayed to a significant degree.

Game as a concept, however, is much more nuanced. Wittgenstein, the first to really philosophically take a crack at defining the idea, pointed out that the elements of most games, including play, competition and structure (or rules) are insufficient to capture the concept of "game", and indeed that the term cannot be so much defined as categorized by family resemblances. 

Wikipedia tell us that the philosopher Roger Callois took a crack at it nonetheless by defining the elements of a game as being,

    "fun: the activity is chosen for its light-hearted character

    separate: it is circumscribed in time and place

    uncertain: the outcome of the activity is unforeseeable

    non-productive: participation does not accomplish anything useful

    governed by rules: the activity has rules that are different from everyday life

    fictitious: it is accompanied by the awareness of a different reality"

Upon which account 5e could be said to possibly satisfy most of these elements fairly strongly except for the uncertainty. The uncertainty is there, to be sure, simply because players do not know the outcome of the story. But don't they? They know they'll almost assuredly make it through to the end, and ideally they will be the heroes once again. This ties directly into the whole death conversation of earlier, but I do suppose one could take out death as a possibility and retain some uncertainty. 

Game designer Chris Crawford (again the almighty Wikipedia) went into a little more depth and highlighted the idea of playing "against" someone. While he admits that having someone you play against is a conflict (or whom can interfere with you as a competition) he underlines the problem in considering algorithmic artificial intelligences "someone". Is such an entity an active participant working against you? For if not, then it is a puzzle, not a game. And given the uncertainty with whether D&D played in the default style of 5e satisfies Callois' idea of uncertainty this interference could be considered algorithmic in quality. If a player is "playing right" and the DM is "playing by the rules" then D&D is just a puzzle you figure out so that the story can come to its conclusion. Crawford's final definition of a game is an "interactive, goal-oriented activity ... with active agents to play against, in which players (including active agents) can interfere with each other." So, given that the only active agent for the players to play against is the DM then it is understood that D&D is players vs DM. At the least this brings into question the way many RPGs today are played being called games.

Clearly the topic is a deep one, as most things philosophers fret about are. And some contend that a clear definition still eludes us. This, later philosophers took issue with, and in fact have developed somewhat of a consensus around Bernard Suits' definition in Grasshopper, Games, Life and Utopia when he said games are, “the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles.” I personally like that very much and tend to join in the consensus. I will not summarize the arguments here, but suffice it to say that Suits and those who commented upon his work have sufficiently analyzed this definition to adequately stand the philosophical test of durability. 

So, to answer the question of this blog post, "What is a Game?" 

A game is "the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles."

So, is 5e a voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles. Well, in true philosopher fashion. I suppose that all depends on how you define obstacle. No, I won't go there. But I will offer a few questions for consideration. Are the obstacles in your game really obstacles? Is their defeat or their solution to them a forgone conclusion? Is the entire game a farce? And if we are going to say that it really doesn't matter. An obstacle is an obstacle. It doesn't stop being an obstacle just because I defeat it easily. It is an obstruction placed in the way of the story being completed. The fact that I will inevitably overcome it doesn't not make it an obstacle. 

Very well. I will concede that. We could argue all day about whether an obstacle easily overcome is an obstacle at all, let's just say it is an obstacle. Does overcoming such an obstacle really satisfy? If the forgone conclusion is that it really doesn't challenge you, it just slows you down ... Well, friends all I can say to that is I have better things to do with my time. Better games to play.