TV Review: "The Last Kingdom" (2015-)

This week, I want to give a shout out to arguably the best historical adventure show presently on the air, "The Last Kingdom":

Based on Bernard Cornwell's "The Saxon Stories" series of historical novels, "The Last Kingdom" is a historical adventure television series that tells the tale of King Alfred the Great and the rise of England, as experienced by the protagonist Uhtred of Bebbanburg, a noble from Northumbria who became a Viking slave then son to his Viking owner then independent warrior.

RPG Design: Hit Points

This week, I wanted to touch on an issue that comes up in almost every RPG: a PC's health.

Hit Points are by far the most popular method of indicating PC health. Examples of RPGs with Hit Points include D&D, Call of Cthulhu, and most other RPGs.

By "Hit Points," I mean a numerical measure of the amount of damage a PC can sustain before death or incapacity.  

Hit Points have been in RPGs since the beginning of the hobby, being an innovation of Dave Arneson in his Blackmoor campaign.  Some people might argue that Hit Points started with Chainmail, but Chainmail's system of "Hits" was different and didn't really track to the man-to-man scale.

What Hit Points are supposed to represent is a topic of debate to the present.  Gary Gygax notes in AD&D's PHB:

"Each character has a varying number of hit points, just as monsters do. These hit points represent how much damage (actual or potential) the character can withstand before being killed. A certain amount of these hit points represent the actual physical punishment which can be sustained. The remainder, a significant portion of hit points at higher levels, stands for skill, luck, and/or magical factors. A typical man-at-arms can take about 5 hit points of damage before being killed. Let us suppose that a 10th level fighter has 55 hit points, plus a bonus of 30 hit points for his constitution, for a total of 85 hit points. This is the equivalent of about 18 hit dice for creatures, about what it would take to kill four huge warhorses. It is ridiculous to assume that even a fantastic fighter can take that much punishment.The some holds true to a lesser extent for clerics, thieves, and the other classes. Thus, the majority of hit paints are symbolic of combat skill, luck (bestowed by supernatural powers), and magical forces."

However, Gygax ignores an issue that he indirectly brings up, namely that that 10th level fighter with 85 hit points, will only recover, as per the DMG, 1 hp per day of rest (for the first week and then perhaps a bit more later), which doesn't make sense if "the majority of [the 85 hit points] are symbolic of combat skill, luck (bestowed by supernatural powers), and magical forces".

Nevertheless, for D&D's abstract combat system, Hit Points are a quick and intuitive way to tracking a PC's health.  In that kind of system, Hit Points also add tension and drama to combat, escalating with every hit.  At least up to a point, as a PC with too many Hit Points raise game balance issues.

For example, that 10th level fighter with 85 hit points is a literal tank who can singlehandedly wipe out a small army.

Hit Points don't work as well for less tactical games, such as New School RPGs with story game elements.  For example, Ten Candles has no Hit Points since a PC's health is determined narratively.  This is also why Dungeon World, a New School game that apes Old School conventions, severely reduces the chance that a PC fails a roll.

Hit Points also obviously don't work for non-combat games, such as Golden Sky Stories.

RPG Game Play: Rules Lawyers

Last year, I discussed perhaps the important meta-rule in RPGs: Rule Zero.

This week, I wanted to talk about an issue that was driving factor in the creation of Rule Zero: Rules Lawyers.

"Rules Lawyer" is typically a pejorative term used to describe someone who attempts to use the letter of the rules of the game without reference to the spirit, usually in order to gain an advantage for themselves.  As this can be a literal form of "Gaming the system," with the attendant negative consequences, Rule Zero arose.  As I mentioned last year:

"For games where meta decision making is distributed along traditional lines, Rule Zero serves as a manual override to the rules set: in other words, it exists in case someone needs to override the rules when they result a nonsensical result.  Furthermore, it serves the underlying philosophy that the rules should take a back seat if they interfere with having fun."

As  "judge" and "referee," Rule Zero allows GMs to keep a game from slowing down too much or going off the rails for various reasons, Rules Lawyering included.

However, as you might expect, Rules Lawyering can be a problem for some New School games that reject traditional GM authority in favor of greater Player Narrative Fiat, such as GM-less games.

A softer and more proactive way to address Rules Lawyering is with the group's Social Contract.


In addition, in some cases Rules Lawyering and System Mastery (high knowledge of the rules) are just two sides of the same coin, even though the latter is generally viewed positively and encouraged.

Furthermore, a clever GM can sometimes recruit Rules Lawyers to assist in running games, such as serving as a rules reference, managing less focused or experienced players, etc.

RPG Design: Non-Human PCs

This week, I wanted to touch on an important related design issue that is very hard to do well, Non-Human PCs:

This isn't really a concern for my rule set, being Swords & Sorcery-themed and, unsurprisingly, humanocentric.  However, Non-Human PCs being believable are a concern for any RPG that incorporates High Fantasy and/or Science Fiction elements, which is a whole boatload of them- everything from D&D to Shadowrun to Star Wars.

Of course, what constitutes "believable" depends upon the level of immersion that the RPG purports to have.  For example, for B/X D&D's simplified rules set, where Demi-Humans are effectively the "multi-class option," as Race-as-Class mostly works.

However, for deeper levels of immersion, a lack of believability can be a problem for those who value verisimilitude.  As a world building task, it's quite hard work to develop a truly alien mind set, belief system, culture, history, etc.

Consequently, most RPGs (and other media) cut corners.  In High Fantasy, Non-Human species are typically the Tolkien standards, blatant Tolkien ripoffs or weird monocultures such as Scottish Dwarves.  Science Fiction is even worse, where most aliens are just Aliens with Forehead Ridges.

One of the few RPGs to do Non-Humans right is 2300 AD (originally titled Traveller: 2300, as the game as supposed to be a prequel to Traveller), from the genetically-engineered Pentapod to the vicious Kafers (a name based on the German word Käfer, meaning "beetle").  Culture, motivations and otherness are all done well and add to the aliens' strangeness.

The game is definitely worth a look to see how GDW handled the Non-Humans, as well as interesting relatively hard Science Fiction world building in general.  Except for having France be the reigning superpower, which shatters suspension of disbelief.

Being creative is hard, so the state of Non-Human PCs in RPGs is somewhat understandable.  However, sometimes avoidance is the best strategy (*cough*Swords & Sorcery*cough*).

Design Philosophy, Revisited

So, it's been a couple years since I started this blog, and with the first public playtest of my rules set, Sorcery & Steel, under my belt, I thought it would be a good time to look back and see how S&S matches up thus far to my stated Design Philosophy.

As I mentioned earlier, with Sorcery & Steel, I want to create an "Old School" (e.g., traditional GM authority, player skill over character skill, Combat as War, etc.) rules set that combines "enough" interesting tactical options with also "reasonably" fast speed of play (i.e., a rules set that achieves Old School-style Tactical Depth at relatively low cost in terms of Complexity).  Here, "enough" and "reasonably" reflect my opinion and YMMV.

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with how Sorcery & Steel is coming along.  In order to be an Old School game with both tactical depth and streamlined gameplay, I front-loaded a lot of the mechanical crunch, especially into Character Creation/Character Advancement.  However, as one of my players put it, once you finish making a PC and understand the basic gist of the game, it generally runs very smoothly.

Also, speaking of Character Creation/Character Advancement, I adopted both random roll and point buy elements, since I believe that Character Classes are good from a design POV in that they provide players with an easy guide to how to conceptualize and to how play their PC, but I wanted a bit more flexibility.  The end result is more of Archetype-style PCs, where the player has an overall direction for the character but still has plenty of room to customize to suit.

In addition to the above design goals, I want S&S to able to handle Swords & Sorcery-flavored adventures and adventures where Investigation is a key component.  In terms of the former, I think S&S is okay at Swords & Sorcery in terms of gritty, lower-powered fantasy (e.g., I lowered and flattered the power curve) but I did stay away from some classic Swords & Sorcery tropes (e.g., all sorcerers are evil).

In terms of the latter, S&S is inspired, in part, by the seminal work in the field of Investigation-based RPGs, Call of Cthulhu.  CoC's mechanics are rock solid, remaining largely unchanged through seven editions and nearly four decades.  Unsurprisingly, given the CoC inspiration, Horror, particularly Lovecraftian Horror, also provides a good deal of flavor to my rules set and has worked out pretty well in actual play.


However, while the basic building blocks seem to be in place, there's still plenty of tweaking and refining to do.  For example, I just completed the first major overhaul to Character Creation/Character Advancement, boosting a bit the power of starting characters.

加油!

RPG Events: NEON Retrofuturism Festival 2018

Last week, I attended the inaugural NEON Retrofuturism Festival!

NEON is, in the organizers' own words, "a celebration of Retrofuturism from the late 20th century."  As a love letter to that period's technology and pop culture, this celebration featured synthwave artists, obsolete tech, hard video games, and tons of So Bad, It's Good movies from yesteryear!  For example, Ninja III: The Domination!

A notable part of this convention was a huge arcade consisting of original restored cabinet games, including Pac-Man, Tapper, Dig Dug and Spy Hunter, only this time they were all free to play, so no need to keep begging Mom for more quarters!

The fun also included a massive selection of 80s and 90s game consoles, including relatively obscure platforms like the Vectrex:

I was amused that I still remembered a bunch of the secret treasure locations for Castlevania!

And, I had the opportunity to run the rules set I'm working on, Sorcery & Steel, for a bunch of strangers!  Specifically, I ran Ravenloft of Cthulhu, a reimagining of the classic AD&D gothic horror module with a bunch of Lovecraftian twists (e.g., Strahd is an eldritch horror rather than a vampire).

I changed a number of things so that even someone who had played and DM'd I6 many times before said he could see where certain things came from but the end results were quite different.  For example, I emphasized Lovecraftian horror rather than gothic horror, so there were no romance elements and Strahd was much more inhuman and unsympathetic.

Much fun was had, and I was happy that the session went smoothly and the game's mechanics were easily understandable by newcomers.  As a bonus, I also found a number of places to further refine the rules set.

A reboot of TempleCon, NEON still has a way to go to fill the shoes of its predecessor.  However, this year was definitely a good start.  If you're a fan of the 80s or a fan of things that love the 80s (e.g., Stranger Things), you should check it out!

RPG Focus: Trail of Cthulhu (2008)

Last year, I took a look at Call of Cthulhu, the grandfather of Horror RPGs, and, last month, I took a look at Investigations in RPGs.

So, in honor of Messr Howard's birthday today (8/20), I wanted to take a look at a different take on Lovecraftian Horror in RPGs: Trail of Cthulhu.

Named after the series of interconnected short stories by August Derleth (who did much to keep Lovecraft's literary legacy alive after Messr Howard's unfortunate demise), Trail of Cthulhu is, like Call of Cthulhu, an RPG focused on the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror fiction.  Published by arrangement with Chaosium, Inc., creators of the Call of Cthulhu RPG, there are a handful of familiar trappings in this game (e.g., Occupations, skills) but it's just window dressing as Trail of Cthulhu runs instead on Pelgrane Press' in-house Gumshoe System.

Unlike Call of Cthulhu's d100 mechanic, playing Trail of Cthulhu only requires a single d6 for Gumshoe's target roll over mechanic.  Also, there are no ability scores for Investigators, only skills.

The supposed "killer app" of Trail of Cthulhu is the absence of rolls for Invesgiation skills.  Namely:

"Gathering clues is simple. All you have to do is: 

1. Get your Investigator into a scene where relevant information can be gathered,
2. Have the right ability to discover the clue, and
3. Tell the Keeper that you’re using it. 

As long as you do these three things, you will never fail to gain a piece of necessary information. It is never dependent on a die roll. If you ask for it, you will get it."

ToC's boosters argue that this is a revolutionary mechanic because the failure of a single roll can derail the entire session/game/campaign!

However, I consider this "No clue roll" mechanic to be highly overrated and the above argument to be hyperbole.  For example, the argument doesn't take into account that typically there's more than one PC with a relevant skill to acquire a particular clue and that typically the GM will allow multiple rolls.

In addition, such bottlenecks that this "killer app" is meant to address are usually the result of poor adventure design.  This issue can easily be overcome by the Alexandrian's Three Clue Rule (i.e., if there are enough clues, missing one in particular should not be fatal to gameplay).

Additionally, as the Alexandrian notes:

"[The "No clue roll" rule] is a mechanical solution to the problem. But while it may result in a game session which superficially follows the structure of a mystery story, I think it fails because it doesn’t particularly feel as if you’re playing a mystery. 

[Robin] Laws’ fundamental mistake, I think, is in assuming that a mystery story is fundamentally about following a “bread crumb trail” of clues...But, in point of fact, this type of simplistic “A leads to B leads to C leads to D” plotting is not typical of the mystery genre."

Furthermore, ToC is a very New School RPG in the sense of expecting the GM to cater to the players and tilting the odds in the players' favor by reducing the overall challenge.  This is as opposed to the traditional GM role of an impartial referee.

This game does have a vocal group of fans.  However, in terms of actual play, I personally cannot recall seeing a listing for Trail of Cthulhu on Roll20.

RPG Design: Active v. Passive Defenses

Last year, I discussed the importance of considering Tactical Depth v. Complexity in RPG Design.    This week, I wanted to touch on an important related design issue that is sometimes overlooked, Active v. Passive Defenses:

By "Active Defense," I mean any system where the PCs can take action to defend themselves, typically parrying or dodging.  Examples of RPGs with Active Defenses include Call of Cthulhu, and oWoD.

By "Passive Defense," I mean any game where the PCs have one or more defensive stats (calculated using the character's ability scores and/or their gear) representing their ability to avoid harm in one or more ways.

The most famous example of Passive Defense in RPG is D&D's Armor Class, which represents the difficulty to actually land an effective attack on the PC and which is calculated from the PC's Dexterity and/or their gear.

Other examples of systems with passive defense are nWoD and Savage Worlds.

There are, of course, RPGs with *BOTH* Active and Passive Defenses.  For example, REIGN allows parrying and dodging (Active Defenses) and has Damage Reduction stats for armor (Passive Defense).


So, what's the big deal about Active v. Passive Defenses?

As I mentioned before when discussing Weaponry, many RPGs make combat is a key or even central element of gameplay.  There are many, many, many different approaches to modeling Combat in RPGs, but a key design decision is whether a particular approach is more Tactical or more abstract.

Combat, as it is usually portrayed, is fast paced. However, game mechanics (e.g., Initiative, attack rolls, etc.) by their nature are slow paced.  Thus, in terms of Tactical Depth v. Complexity, the more crunchy a game's combat mechanics, the more complex and slower that game's combat becomes.

Unless a game is very narrative, most RPGs have Active Attacks.  But when the designer also adds Active and/or Passive Defenses involving rolling, a game can really slow down.

Some people love really Tactical games (e.g., miniature war games).  However, myself, I prefer faster paced combat, as it can be the more dramatic and the emergent narrative of the game session flows quicker and more easily.

RPG Game Play: Investigations

Over the years, as my tastes as a tabletop RPG GM have moved away from High Fantasy and toward Swords & Sorcery, my games have tended to become deadlier and more Old School for PCs.  Consequently, my games have also moved away from emphasizing combat and toward problem solving.  A type of problem solving that often comes up is Investigations.

So, this week, I wanted to take a look at Investigations in RPGs.

In terms of preparing an Investigation adventure, whether PCs are uncovering a conspiracy, solving a murder or finding a MacGuffin, the first thing to do as a GM is to have a firm grasp on the background and the details.  While preparation is always important for a GM, when running an Investigation adventure, it is even more so since there's a good chance that the Players will be coming up with ideas and approaches that you hadn't considered (despite that preparation) and you really need to keep the details in your head while thinking on your toes.

Whew!

Next, for a successful Investigation adventure, it really helps to have a gripping plot/scenario to grab and to hold the Players' interest.  Feel free to shamelessly rip off ideas from your favorite books, movies, TV shows... BUT do try to mix things up enough so that your Players don't realize what you are doing.  So, you want to be "Episode IV: A New Hope" (1977) (which took a LOT of ideas from "Hidden Fortress" (1958), the epic jidaigeki adventure film directed by the legendary Kurosawa Akira) and not this:

After you've worked out the plot/scenario for your Investigation, next you need to set up clues.  Lots and lots of clues.  Never underestimate the likelihood that the PCs will reach a dead end.  Thus, Justin Alexander's Three Clue Rule is a good general rule of thumb.  Furthermore, if the PCs are really stuck, consider dropping hints and even clues until they can get moving again.

Additionally, I like to also add interesting the NPCs and challenges that the PCs will face during the Investigation.  This isn't strictly necessary, but, for example, a great and engaging villain, such as Strahd von Zarovich can elevate a good adventure to a great one.

In terms of challenging the Players' minds, Investigations can be a great option if properly planned and executed.  And, as I mentioned above, they can fit in with a variety of genres.  So, if your band of murderhobos is tired of murdering their umpteenth tribe of green skins, consider throwing an Investigation at them.

RPG Events: Roll20Con 2018

Like last year, I again attended this year's Roll20Con!

FYI, Roll20 is a website that hosts a bunch of tabletop role-playing games that are played online (a ka virtual tabletop).  Roll20 is notable because it provides a set of tools (e.g., online dice roller, text chat, dynamic character sheets, automated  shared maps with character and enemy tokens, triggered sound effects, etc.)

The Roll20 interface also includes integrated voice chat and video chat, but, frankly, their implementation is pretty pants, and in every game I've played on Roll20 (including Roll20Con 2017 and 2018), we used Discord instead for voice chat.

Compared to last year, Roll20Con 2018 was poorly managed (after an initial notification a few months ago, Roll20Con didn't follow up with potential GMs until a few weeks ago.  Consequently, there were far fewer games.  Nevertheless, I did manage to get into some interesting games, most notably "Forget Me Not".

"Forget Me Not" is a one-shot modern scenario for Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition from the 'The Things We Leave Behind' anthology published by Stygian Press.  This book is labelled "mature content" and boy is that an understatement!

Without getting into any spoilers, let's just say that "Forget Me Not" is really dark, even by Call of Cthulhu standards.  It was interesting to play but it's also helpful to remember that, with scenarios like these, gameplay is more about the journey than the destination.

RPG Game Play: Social Contracts (Part II)

A couple years ago, I discussed the importance of setting up a Social Contract with your gaming group.

This week, I wanted to go into greater detail as to some topics that you might want to include in your Social Contract.

While the specifics of a Social Contract will vary from role-playing group to role-playing group based on preferences and personalities, here are some basic issues that are applicable to most groups.

• Playstyle

A major issue to settle before starting is the play style of the group.  If a player wants to be a fantasy swashbuckler and their character gets quickly killed because the GM is running a realistic and historically accurate campaign, there's a disconnect that should have been cleared up by the Social Contract.

Nowadays, I run a beer & pretzels Old School game and our group uses a lot of light-hearted humor and plays casually (e.g., talking In Character is not emphasized).  We play cooperatively (no PvP) and, as GM, I'm willing to change a decision if someone makes a compelling argument that doesn't break the story.

• Attendance

Obviously, it's impossible to game if people don't show up.  Furthermore, it's rude to keep others waiting.  So, it's helpful to cover what happens if someone can't or doesn't show up, including what happens to their PC (e.g., does someone else get to play the PC?).

Life happens and being late or missing a session is inevitable and alright but I tell my players that they need at least to inform me in advance when they will be late/miss a session.

• Mature content

Obviously, not everyone is looking for a game that features mature content and/or mature themes.  For the sake of harmony, this should be sorted out in advance.

I run a PG-13 campaign, so stupid jokes are welcome but explicit language is frowned upon.  So, dropping an F-Bomb is an easy way to be permabanned.

• Character Death

As I mentioned earlier, Character Death can be a touchy subject that people don't want to think about.  So, it's wise to get ahead of the curve before it comes up in actual play.

• Environment

People's definition of what constitutes an acceptable environment can be different, so it may be necessary to set rules on smoking, alcohol, using other people's dice, bringing and consuming food and drink, etc.

If problems do arise with a group, the best thing to do is to address them head on and the worst thing to do is to be passive aggressive.  It's important to be respectful of other people's opinions and feelings, but sometimes the GM does need to make a tough decision and to be decisive for the benefit of the rest of the group.

RPG Game Play: Campaign Basics (Part II)

Two weeks ago, I discussed some of the basics applicable to running all RPG campaigns.  This week, I want to touch on the types of RPG campaigns.

By "types of RPG campaign," I mean the genre, background and feel of a RPG campaign, rather than the mechanics.  Of course some GMs, for a variety of reasons, just focus on running a campaign and purchase a commercial product, of which there are many.

So, how does one choose the type of an RPG campaign to run?  This decision is usually driven of the preferences of the GM (and, for some New School games, the Players).  There do seem however to be three common and effective types of RPG campaigns:

• Sandboxes
• Adventure Paths
• Relationship-Maps

The three types are of course not mutually exclusive and all of them can work (for different kinds of storytelling and approaches to RPG play).  Furthermore, many campaigns combine elements of some or all three types, but many times one of them is dominant, because of the preferences of the GM and/or Players.

• Sandboxes

Last year, I touched on Sandboxes as a style of Game Play, and now I'd like to look at them again in terms of campaigns.

In a sandbox campaign, the GM creates an area and populates it with NPCs, events, monsters, etc. and the players choose where they want to go and with whom they want to interact.  It is a form of emergent storytelling, where the narrative develops as play happens.

As Old School as it gets, Sandboxes go back to the beginning of the RPG hobby (e.g., Blackmoor), and some of the best known examples are the classic modules B2 The Keep on the Borderlands and X1 The Isle of Dread.

Sandboxes can be a good starting point for novice GMs because they only need to create the area in which the players will adventure, and the campaign can be expanded as necessary

• Adventure Paths

What is nowadays called an "Adventure Path" (i.e., a series of interlinked adventures featuring pre-scripted events) has been a popular mode of campaign play since DL1 Dragons of Despair (1984) kicked off the Dragonlance Saga (which many Old School gamers consider to be the beginning of the end for TSR, as it was a decisive step away from Sandbox play).  In an Adventure Path, the plot is directed by the GM.  For example, DL1 states:

"Events

As opposed to encounters, which take place in specific areas, events take place at specific times. They may happen anywhere unless stated otherwise. The first event begins your adventure, then each follows at its stated time in the sequence below."

Adventure Paths can also be a good starting point for novice GMs because they limit the number of things with which the Players can interact.  However, they can also devolve into a railroad, stripping Players of agency.

Adventure Paths continue to be produced today, such as many Pathfinder products (e.g., Rise of the Runelords).

• Relationship-Maps

These campaigns are typically Player-driven affairs, most often seen in indie games, such as Fate, Smallville, Apocalypse World, etc.

In a Relationship-Maps campaign, many or all of the background details of the campaign are determined by the Players, usually in the course of Character Creation.  This is a type of Player Narrative Fiat.

Since the Players come up with most or all of the campaign background, Relationship-Maps campaigns can be low or no-prep for the GM, who primarily focuses on knowing the rules set well and managing the group's Social Contract.

TV Review: "Adventure Call" (2010-2013)

This week, I want to give a shout out to a hi*LAR*ious recurring sketch on "Limmy's Show!", "Adventure Call":

"Limmy's Show!" was a surreal and bizarre Scottish comedy sketch show broadcast on BBC Two Scotland, written and directed by Brian "Limmy" Limond.  In "Adventure Call," Limmy played Falconhoof, the host of a premium-rate call-in show, wherein callers attempted to work through a dungeon crawl similar to the all-time great text adventure game Zork, whilst being charged an exorbitant fee per minute.

The first thing that strikes most viewers is Falconhoof, who's dressed up like a Ren Faire reject.  He's quirky but plays it straight, and has to deal with all manner of strange and/or angry callers, which produces much of the humor.

Additional humor comes from the game itself, which is, like Zork, quite challenging, with players needing to say the right thing at the right time and featuring Permadeath!  Old School!

Here's my favorite sketch:

"Kill Jester."

RPG Game Play: Campaign Basics (Part I)

Ever since Dave Arneson created Blackmoor (aka the First Fantasy Campaign), wherein he pioneered, among other things, the concept of Character Advancement, GMs (and now some players) have been creating their own game worlds and settings.  So, this week, I wanted to talk about some of the basics of running RPG Campaigns.

By "Campaign," I mean an ongoing set of adventures or a continuing storyline, typically set in the same game world and nowadays often involving the same PCs (unless there has been Character Death).  As a result, running a campaign is usually more challenging and demanding for a GM than a one-shot adventure, since the GM needs to know more and in greater detail about the background, the locations, the NPCs, etc.

While it's true that some New School games encourage cooperative world building and shared narrative fiat between GMs and players, the majority of games and campaigns still follow the traditional GM-led model  (i.e., the GM is primarily responsible for developing and running the campaign).  So, this post will focus on the latter, (i.e., the role of the GM in running the campaign).

So, in terms of general advice for running a campaign, probably the first thing for a GM to keep in mind is that, regardless of how much you prepare, something is not going to go as expected, whether it's because you made a mistake, your players killed the NPC that you intended to keep as a recurring foe, your players left the location/plot you oh so carefully prepared, or whatever.  Thus, being a good GM requires at least a little improv ability (i.e., being able to handle curve balls and to think on your feet).

For novice GMs, a good way to reduce the likelihood and scope of the unexpected is to run dungeon crawls.  In fact, one of the reasons that Messr Arneson put his first adventures underground was to expressly limit what the players could do.

Additionally, GMs shouldn't be overly attached to any particular plot, NPC or whatever or concerned that the PCs didn't interact in the GM's desired way.  It's always possible to recycle material into a later game session or future campaign.


Secondly, the GM should take some time to know the applicable rules set.  Constantly looking things up will disrupt the flow of a game session.  Also, it can be disheartening to find out that you misquoted a rule.


Thirdly, the GM should prepare enough to feel comfortable.  Some GMs spend hours getting ready for a game session, while others do literally no prep.  For myself, over time, I've prepared less and less, partly because I usually use rules with which I'm quite familiar and because my improv skills have improved.


Fourly, the GM should be on the same page as the players regarding expectations.  Here, the group's social contract is key.  Also, remember to keep in mind that the goal of playing RPGs is to have fun.


Of course, there are many other things that can play a part in running a campaign, if you can get down the above, you should be starting from a good position!

RPG Focus: 2nd Edition Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (2005)

This week, I want to take a look an all-time great Dark Fantasy tabletop role-playing game, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay:

"It is a dark time: far to the north, the gate of chaos has opened once more. Archaon, Lord of End Times, had waged his insane war on the civilized world, although he was beaten back at the last moment, Chaos is still prevalent throughout the land: Beasts ravage the countryside, Mutation and Insanity are rife. Heroes are needed, heroes who will beat back the darkness, heroes the like of which who have better things to do than to save inbred, misbegotten peasants like these.

So, you lot will have to do. May the lords of ruination spare your souls..."

With a very British sense of black humor, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is set in the grim and perilous Warhammer Fantasy setting, where the power of Chaos lurks in the heart of every person and  simply surviving day-to-day in the midst of various dark and deadly threats is an achievement.  First used by the Warhammer Fantasy Battle tabletop miniatures wargame, world of the Warhammer Fantasy drew inspiration from a number of sources, including Tolkien's Middle-earth, RE Howard's Hyborian Age (Conan the Barbarian), Michael Moorcock's Elric, and early modern European history. 

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is only of the best RPGs in terms of capturing the flavor of Dark Fantasy.  Rather than playing (at least in the beginning) badass warriors and powerful wizards, in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, the PCs start as everyday scrubs that need to scratch and crawl their way up out of mediocrity, assuming that they don't die in the process.  For example, starting PCs include rat catchers and tax collectors.  Also, regardless of how powerful the PCs become, they can still be taken out by a lucky shot.

The 2nd Edition did a good job of updating and streamlining the 1st Edition.  For example, 2e only uses d10s for resolution.  Thus, similar to Call of Cthulhu, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay uses a roll under percentile system, so task resolution is straightforward.

However, Character Creation and Advancement is quite crunchy in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.  There are 8 primary attributes AND 8 secondary attributes, as well skills and talents (i.e., perks and disadvantages).  This makes creating a PC a lengthy task not easy for a beginner.

Also, as an alternative to leveling, PCs have the ability to shift careers by spending XP.  However, there are around 60 basic careers AND 60 advanced careers.  That's a lot of careers!

In addition, each career has specific career entries and career exits, so one cannot simply go from  rat catcher to noble.  This means that players need to crunch out in advance their career paths if they have a specific goal, similar to the feat system in WotC D&D.

While Character Creation and Advancement is clunky and there are many look up tables to slow down game play, the tremendous flavor of Warhammer Fantasy makes up for it.  The game really is gritty and PCs can die from a single unlucky hit and there's an element of survival horror.  However, under the bleakness, there's a gallows humor and a sense of real accomplishment if you do manage to survive.

So, if you're a roleplaying fan of the Warhammer Fantasy setting, Dark Fantasy, or Horror generally, this may be the tabletop role-playing game for you!

RPG Design: Character Advancement

This week, I wanted to discussed an issue that is important in almost all tabletop role-playing games with campaign play, Character Advancement:

By "Character Advancement," I mean the mechanical advancement of a character rather than narrative or other development of a character (e.g., becoming a landed noble in a fantasy game, gaining magic items, etc.).  Traveller (1977) is a role-playing game that famously originally didn't have any Character Advancement system (i.e., the PCs were rewarded with, among other things, information about the setting).  In addition, RPGs not intended for campaign play (e.g., Fiasco) also lack any Character Advancement system.

However, almost every other RPG incorporates some system for Character Advancement, of which there are many different types, including:

• Leveling (e.g., D&D)

In D&D and similar games, once a PC has accumulated a sufficient number of Experience Points, their Level increases (i.e., they level up), resulting in mechanically defined increases in some of the PC’s capabilities.

Some games, such as older iterations of D&D, try to use Character Advancement as a balancing mechanism by having different Experience Point requirements for different classes.  However, the success of this balancing mechanism is questionable.

Leveling is the most common type of Character Advancement.

• Ongoing Point Buy (e.g., GURPS, WoD)

A continuation of Point Buy from Chargen, once a PC has accumulated a sufficient number of Experience Points, they receive a mechanically defined number of Points to further improve the character.

Ongoing Point Buy is probably the second most common type of Character Advancement.

• Advancement through Use (e.g., Call of Cthulhu)

Like it says on the tin, a PC advances through successful use of skills (e.g., Call of Cthulhu) or what have you.  While this may be a realistic approach, it can also result in players trying to squeeze in skill checks even in such are not appropriate.


Of course, there are also other possible Character Advancement systems, including non-mechanical advancement, such as Milestones in Fate Core:

"A milestone is a moment during the game where you have the chance to change or advance your character. We call them milestones because they usually happen at significant “break points” in the action of a game—the end of a session, the end of a scenario, and the end of a story arc, respectively."

Basically, the above is advancement through narrative fiat.


While not every role-playing game features Character Advancement, for those that do, it is a key method to maintaining player interest in the game and to increase player investment in their character.  "The Hero's Journey" is a part of humanity's collective unconscious and most people love feeling more powerful and seeing numbers go up.

Character Advancement in RPGs was a key innovation of Dave Arneson, as leveling was one of the key differences between Blackmoor and the earlier Braunsteins of the Midwest Military Simulation Association (MMSA).  So, many thanks to the Cheeky Wizard!

RPG Game Play: Really Bad Stats

Last year, I discussed the issue of Stat Inflation (the incentive for players to play characters with higher statistics) in role-playing games which use Random Roll for character creation. 

This week, I wanted to talk about the opposite side of the coin: characters with Really Bad Stats.

If you use Random Roll for character creation, eventually Random Number Generation (RNG) will catch up and give you a character with Really Bad Stats.  And by "Really Bad Stats," I'm not talking merely below average but rather, bottom of the barrel (in D&D terms, I'm talking 3s, 4s or 5s) and I'm talking having more than one Really Bad Stat (even in a well designed game, it's usually possible to play around one Really Bad Stat).

So, this begs the question: Does having a character with Really Bad Stats materially affect fun?

Well, it depends.

Firstly, some players simply don't care about their character having Really Bad Stats.

Secondly, in some games, this is a moot question since some or all stats have no or little mechanical effect.  For example, in OD&D, a PC's Strength, Intelligence and Wisdom no mechanical effect other than possibly an XP bonus.  OD&D's other stats, except for Charisma, don't significantly effect gameplay either.

Thirdly, the circumstances can matter a great deal: it's different playing a character in a one shot or that doesn't otherwise require much mental investment in the character by the player. For example, it's easy enough to play up Really Bad Stats for comedic effect.

However, what about a character where the GM is looking for significant mental investment by the player in the character and wants to play a long-term campaign?  In other words, a player cannot simply wait until next session to play a different character.

Two common reasons that people play tabletop role-playing games are for escapist fantasy and for wish fulfillment.  Really Bad Stats can put a damper on both of those.

There's also the issue of fairness.  It's not really fair to having one character be significantly mechanically worse than the others.  Really Bad Stats can mitigated by the GM if he is able to provide the character with Really Bad Stats alternate ways to be effective and is able to still give the character their time in the spotlight.  However, this does require a level of trust in the GM and really should be expressly stated in the group's social contract.

RPG Design: Gamist Restrictions On Classes

Last year, I discussed the important issue for tabletop RPG Design of Balancing Classes.   This week, I wanted to discuss a particular approach to game balance: Gamist Restrictions On Classes.

First made famous in Original Dungeons & Dragons (1974) and OD&D's linear and spiritual descendants, RPGs that use character classes typically have various limitations baked in at the RPG Design-level in order to differentiate the abilities of different game characters and to provide niche protection (e.g., only Clerics can turn undead, Magic-Users cannot cast spells in armor, etc.).

These limitations also reflect OD&D's war-game lineage (e.g., unit types often have sharp and unexplained differences).  For example, no one asks why the Knight in Chess is the only piece in Chess that's able to jump over other pieces.

However, these limitations can go too far IMHO, particularly when they provoke bizarre mental contortions trying to justify themselves.

For example, there is the eternal D&D question, "Why can't wizards use swords?"

As with Spell Points, Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, was also famously not a fan of wizards using swords.  For example, in The Dragon #16, he pontificated:

"Why can’t magic-users employ swords? And for that matter, why not allow fighters to use wands and similar magical devices? On the surface this seems a small concession, but in actuality it would spoil the game! Each character role has been designed with care in order to provide varied and unique approaches to solving the problems which con- front the players. If characters are not kept distinct, they will soon merge into one super-character. Not only would this destroy the variety of the game, but it would also kill the game, for the super-character would soon have nothing left to challenge him or her, and the players would grow bored and move on to something which was fun."

However, not only does Messr Gygax's argument feature classic logical fallacies but it is patently ridiculous.  By itself, wizards using swords will not create a "super-character" that will "kill the game".

This particular topic is something of a personal bugbear for me, as it also exacerbates Linear Fighters, Quadratic Wizards in D&D.

Thus, by "Gamist Restrictions," I'm referring to those RPG Design limitations on character classes that fly in the face of verisimilitude for Gamist reasons (typically game balance).

For Sorcery & Steel, my rules set, I've endeavored to avoid any Gamist Restrictions.  Consequently, wizards can use swords (and any other type of weapon), as well as armor!

RPG Design: Thief Skills

A couple years ago, I discussed the Thief Class and the importance of Balancing Skills,  and last year, I discussed the importance of Balancing Classes.

This week, I wanted to riff off those discussions and take a look at the mechanic for Thief Skills in 2nd edition AD&D compared to earlier editions.  Like earlier editions, in 2e, there is a chart stating the base scores for Level 1 Thieves, to be modified by Dexterity, race, and armor, if applicable.

Then, however, the Player gets to do something pretty different for TSR D&D:

"Each time the thief rises a level in experience, the player receives another 30 points to distribute. No more than 15 points per level can be assigned to a single skill, and no skill can be raised above 95 percent. including all adjustments for Dexterity, race, and armor. As an option, the DM can rule that some portion of the points eamed must be applied to skills used during the course of the adventure."

I've mentioned before that 1st edition AD&D is my favorite iteration of Ye Auld Fantasy Game, but I do really like the 2e approach to Thief Skills.  It is basically a type of Point Buy for character advancement that allows the player to customize to suit in this area, while still retaining the archetypal flavor benefits of using a class.

This is able to work with Old School D&D since the OD&D game engine is robust enough to have multiple independent sub-systems, which in turn means that DMs can mix and match sub-systems as desired with limited or no mechanical repercussions (e.g., changing Thief Skills has no knock effect on combat mechanics).

Inspired by the mechanic for Thief Skills in 2nd edition AD&D, in my own rules set, I have added a skills system influenced by Call of Cthulhu, allowing players to customize their characters to a much higher degree than in Ye Auld Fantasy Game.

Video Game Review: "Darkest Dungeon" (2016)

I wanted to give a shout out to arguably the best recent CRPG, "Darkest Dungeon"!

Developed by Red Hook Studios (the moniker being a sign of their Lovecraft fandom!), Darkest Dungeon is a low fantasy dungeon crawling and team management CRPG.  In terms of background, in the finest Lovecraftian tradition, The Ancestor of the player spent too much time delving into Things Man Was Not Meant To Know, hordes of monstrosities were subsequently unleashed and now it's up to the player to set things right.

Dungeon by brutal dungeon, you direct a legion of adventurers to clear your blighted estate, often at the cost of the latters' lives and/or sanity, until you face the eponymous Darkest Dungeon.

Like the grim and gritty setting, this is a grueling and challenging game, in large part because, in the best Old School tradition, Random Number Generation (RNG) has a huge impact on gameplay!  More than once, a string of bad die rolls will turn the situation upside down and you'll be screaming  in frustration at the screen.

In a big departure from the majority of dungeon crawlers, in this game, much like a soccer manager, you are more focused on developing an entire roster of adventurers to meet various goals and challenges, as opposed to leveling up a specific party.  If you miss the forest for the trees, it's easy to get too invested in a particular  adventurer or group of adventurers, spending way too much resources on them.

Mixing side scrolling movement (a la Castlevania (1986), Old School!) and turn-based combat, tension mounts palpably as you explore various procedurally generated dungeons and the hordes of opponents whittle away at the party's health and sanity, not unlike Call of Cthulhu!

There's little hand holding in this game, and one poor decision can cost you, so you need to constantly pay attention (who's attacked so far this round?) or the situation can quickly devolve into a TPK!  Moreover, this is another way that the game punishes you if you get too invested- if a dungeon delve is going poorly, sometimes it's better to cut bait and run than risk ruining or losing one or more characters to death or insanity.

In addition, between the classes, their skills and camping skills, quirks, dungeons, monsters, curios, etc., there's a *HUGE* amount of crunch to absorb, so don't feel like looking things up in the wiki is cheating!  In addition, FilthyRobot has put together an excellent and informative series of class guides, beginning with the Abomination:

Overall, Darkest Dungeon is an amazing Old School game!  It rewards planning, preparations and smart play, but sometimes stuff happens and you just have to bounce back.  The art style is apt and the artwork is moody and evocative, as is the voice acting, and the attention to detail is superb.

So, if you are looking for an intense, Old School dungeon crawler that demands your best and keeps you on your toes, you'll love (and, at times, love to hate) "Darkest Dungeon".