RPG Focus: Moldvay Basic Dungeons & Dragons (1981)

I've mentioned before that the Mentzer Red box (Basic Dungeons & Dragons 1983) was my introduction to tabletop RPGs (preceded by the Choose Your Own Adventure series and similar gamebooks), but this week, I wanted to take a look the another influential iteration of Basic D&D written by Tom Moldvay:

  

Moldvay Basic was the second incarnation of Basic D&D, following Basic Dungeons & Dragons (1977) written by J. Eric Holmes.  Holmes Basic was something of a strange beast, being a combination of Original Dungeons & Dragons (1974) and some of the early Supplements, and meant to be both an introduction to tabletop RPGs and to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (even though Holmes Basic is not 100% compatible with AD&D).  

Like Holmes Basic, Moldvay Basic is an introductory text and covers the basic concepts and rules for  Dungeons & Dragons and PCs of Levels 1 to 3.  Unlike Holmes Basic, Moldvay Basic (which forms the "B" in B/X D&D), along with Dave Cook's Expert Set  (which forms the "X" in B/X D&D), was designed to be a complete separate game.

This is partly a result of the settlement of one of the lawsuits by D&D co-creator Dave Arneson against TSR, which split Dungeons & Dragons into two parallel product lines, Basic and Advanced.  Thus, for legal reasons, Moldvay Basic was promoted as a continuation of OD&D (i.e., Messr Arneson would collect royalties from B/X D&D, as well as the later BECMI D&D, but not AD&D).

Moldvay Basic came in a boxed set with 64 page rule book (Holmes Basic was 48 pages), with cover art by the legendary Erol Otus.  In addition, the set included the module B2 The Keep on the Borderlands, the classic six polyhedral dice made (of soft plastic that would wear down with use (eventually, rolling the d20 could take some time until it stopped moving as it became more and more spherical)), and a marking crayon for filling in the numbers on the dice.  The interior artwork is Old School but often cartoonish in nature and considered to be generally weaker than the interior artwork for BECMI D&D.

However, Moldvay Basic does shine as an excellent example of lean RPG Design, presenting a stripped down and streamlined version of the OD&D engine.  The rules here are clear, concise and accessible.  For example, Moldvay Basic's rules for Initiative are, in contrast to their than their 1st ed. AD&D counterpart, approximately a bazillion times more concise and understandable:

To determine initiative, each side rolls 1d6 (the DM rolls for the monsters). The side with the higher roll may move first and attack first in combat for that round. If both sides roll the same number, the DM may either have both sides roll again, or may consider movement and combat for both sides to occur at the same time (known as simultaneous combat).

The side "with the initiative" has the first choice of actions. Members of that side may choose to fight, run, throw a spell, take de- fensive positions and wait to see what the other side does, start talking, or do anything else that the players or DM can imagine.

If combat occurs, the side with the initiative always strikes first in that round. Both sides should roll for initiative each round. If both sides tie on their initiative rolls, and combat is simultaneous, it is possible for both sides to be killed!

Quick and elegant!  By comparison, 1st ed. AD&D Initiative by the book is hotly debated to this day and sometimes requires a flowchart for beginners.

All of Moldvay Basic is written in this easy to follow and understand manner.

There's also a great, simple and powerful rule often overlooked near the end of Moldvay Basic on page B60:

"There's always a chance." The DM may want to base a character's chance of doing something on his or her ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and so forth). To perform a difficult task (such as climbing up a rope or thinking of a forgotten clue), the player should roll the ability score or less on ld20. The DM may give a bonus or penalty to the roll, depending on the difficulty of the action (-4 for a simple task to +4 for a difficult one). A roll of 1 should always succeed, and a roll of 20 should always fail.

This is a quick and elegant of addressing TSR-era D&D's lack of a skill system!

It's this speed and elegance that has made my old AD&D1 DM switch to using B/X during convention play.

So, if you are fan of TSR-era D&D but are looking for a lighter/faster interpretation or you are new to RPGs in general and want to cut your teeth using Dungeons & Dragons, you really should take a gander at Moldvay Basic!

Movie Review: 47 Ronin (2013)

This week, I wanted to take a look at a Flawed but Fun retelling of the epic true story of the forty-seven rōnin (四十七士 Shi-jū-shichi-shi, forty-seven samurai), "47 Ronin":

Based on the Akō incident (赤穂事件 Akō jiken), which is celebrated each year on December 14, "47 Ronin" is a fictionalized version of Akō incident that's further been reskinned as a Sword & Sorcery yarn.  This film follows the viewpoint of the fictional character Kai, a half-Japanese, half-English foundling who possesses certain preternatural abilities courtesy of being raised by the Tengu, which are Japanese spirits/demons.

Kai flees the Tengu and is found and raised by Lord Asano Naganori of the Akō Domain.  Although an outsider to the others of Lord Asano's household, Kai is treated kindly by the Lord and his daughter, Mika, with whom there's a predictable forbidden romance subplot.  Years later, Lord Asano is framed for the attempted murder of the rival Lord Kira (in real life Kira Yoshinaka was a high ranking government official rather than a rival lord) by witchcraft and is forced to commit seppuku (切腹, "cutting [the] Stomach/belly"), a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment.

Consequently, Lord Asano's samurai become ronin (masterless warriors), which drives the rest of the film.  Despite being specifically forbidden to seek revenge against Kira, the 47 Ronin (including Kai) carve a bloody path through anyone who stands in their way to avenge their fallen lord.

Overall, this movie is a mixed bag.  "47 Ronin" is serviceable as a popcorn flick and is a decent a Sword & Sorcery film, but there's no gravitas to the movie as there probably should be for a story (the Akō incident) that has become synonymous with loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honor in Japan.    The plot of "47 Ronin" is pretty much by numbers and Lord Kira is a 2D baddie (the film probably should have focused more on the witch, playing by Kikuchi Rinko, who at least did a fun job of chewing scenery).

By contrast, Keanu Reeves' acting as Kai is, as usual outside of a few roles, is pretty flat and doesn't do a good job of carrying the movie.  The production design is good and the action sequences are fun but not particularly memorable.  Some of the CGI looks bad.

I think that the accusations of "whitewashing," which likely affected the film's box office performance, are overblown in this particular case: while Kai is the main character of the film, his actions and abilities are explained in the Sword & Sorcery context and he doesn't particularly overshadow the other characters.

If anything, this movie should have more fully embraced and explored the supernatural and eldritch parts of Japanese myth and folklore, which would have made the film more distinctive.

RPG Game Play: Starting out as GM

Happy New Year!

Recently, it came up in a conversation about how to start out as a Game Master (or GM, for short) in  tabletop role-playing.  Being a GM is the most challenging and demanding position in any gaming group, so this week, I wanted to focus on some of the key issues that new GMs should consider.

First of all, before the game session even starts, beginning GMs should make sure that that their group's Social Contract is in place, to match up everyone's expectations and to prevent easily avoidable problems.

Secondly, it is worthy to note that, with New School games, there are non-traditional ways to distribute the GM's role, including GM-less games such as Fiasco and Microscope and games using  Player-Facing Mechanics, such as Dungeon World.  This post is not aimed at those games.

Anyway, in traditional tabletop role-playing games, being a GM entails wearing many "hats" (e.g., Author, Director, Referee, Manager, etc.)  For example, as Referee, a GM must make judgement calls and decide when to apply Rule Zero.  Consequently, as one can imagine, there are many things to track and manage during a game session, but for beginning GMs, there three areas to focus on where one to get the most mileage:

• Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!
• Be Flexible
• Keep Learning

• Prepare, Prepare, Prepare!

Preparation, as with many things in life, can make all the difference when running a game session.  As you become more experienced as a GM, you'll see more and more situations and learn how to juggle more and more things on the fly.  However, when you're starting out, preparation goes a long way toward preventing problems and keeping things running smoothly.  It will boost your confidence and speed up gameplay since you'll be less likely to struggle to fix things or figure things out.

A key part of preparation is knowing your rules set and the adventure that you have planned to the best of your ability.  The more you've prepared, the faster you'll be able to identify and address potential issues, such as fielding your players' questions.  It will also make it easier to address the next bullet point, Being Flexible.

• Be Flexible

In the words of the great German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke the Elder: “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.”  Similarly, your players may (*cough*probably will*cough*) do something unexpected that will fly in the face of all your hard work and preparation.

Don't panic.  If you're caught off guard and need some time to figure out what to do, don't be afraid to call a bathroom break or even end the game session early.

And remember to keep an open mind.  Particularly, don't worry about wasting a plot, a character, a setting or anything else you've spent hours to develop.  In fact, you'll probably have a chance to reskin and recycle it later, with your players none the wiser.

• Keep Learning

Lastly, keep learning!  Curiosity is a natural trait of the best GMs.  You will get better with experience but there's always something that you can work on to become a better GM.

IMHO, one of the best things about being a GM is the opportunity to stretch your creative muscles, but muscles only get stronger with training and use.  Talk to your players and other people- don't be afraid to solicit feedback and don't overreact to criticism.


Obviously, there are many, many, many other things to help start out as a GM and to become a better one, but if you begin with the above three areas, you'll have a head start!

Movie Review: Ben-Hur (1959)

Happy Holidays!

This week, I wanted to give a shout out to arguably the most epic (in several senses of the word) movie of all time, "Ben-Hur":

A remake of the 1925 silent film of the same name, which in turn was adapted from General Lew Wallace's 1880 novel, Ben-Hur is an inspirational tale of betrayal, torment, vengeance and redemption.  A sweeping historical drama that also manages to be intensely personal (director William Wyler dubbed the movie "Hollywood's first intimate spectacle"), the film successfully combines period drama, action, politics, and romance.

Set in the time of Jesus Christ, Ben-Hur has a clever double narrative that begins with the birth of Jesus and follows the future messiah into young manhood before shifting to Judah Ben-Hur, a Prince of Judea.  The titular character is reunited with his childhood friend, Messala, who returns as the new commander of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem and who is second in authority only to the provincial governor.

Messala is eager to use his friendship with Judah to cement Roman authority, only to be rebuffed.  Later, the tables are turned after Judah's sister accidentally injures the governor and the spurned Messala sentences Judah to slavery on a galley and his sister and mother to the dungeon.  En route to the gallery, Judah nearly dies of thirst after being denied water by a cruel guard when a young carpenter gives the new slave a drink and stares down the guard.

After a twist of fate leads to Judah's freedom, he returns home and, believing his sister and mother are dead, challenges Messala to a brutal chariot race, where anything goes, including allowing the Roman to ride a scythed chariot!   The tribune's attempt to carve up Judah goes poorly and he ends up trampled to death by another racer.  However, before passing, Messala smugly tells Judah that "the race is not over" and informs him that his sister and mother are not dead, but rather lepers.

Judah brings his sister and mother to Jerusalem to see a young rabbi preaching peace, only to find that 1) the rabbi has been sentenced to crucifixion and 2) he is the man who gave Judah water years before.  Judah witnesses the crucifixion, learning to let go of his hate, while his sister and mother miraculously healed.

This is a monumental (in several senses of the word) film!  Not just worthy successor to the 1925 film, Ben-Hur was an enormous financial and critical success, the highest-grossing movie of the year that won a record 11 Academy Awards (Titanic (1997), tied the record nearly 40 years later)!

Intelligent, engaging, exciting, and dramatic, Ben-Hur has stood the test of time as a landmark film.  In the classic style, there's both an overture and an intermission, breaking up the running time of 212 minutes.  However, the movie never drags yet still allows scenes time to breathe.

Miklós Rózsa composed the longest ever film score, which remains influential.  However, there's no music in the dramatic parts (e.g., leprosy), relying on the strength of the acting and allowing the audience to reach their own conclusions, whereas a lesser film would use musical cues to tell the audience what to feel.

Ben-Hur also successfully treads a fine line.  The movie deals with intensely Christian subject matter, but director William Wyler succeeds in making a film that appeal to anyone.  Additionally, Wyler used Jesus sparingly and didn't show the face or voice of the messiah, only other people's reactions.  This allows the viewer's imagination to fill in the rest.

Ramming speed!

With MGM facing bankruptcy, the studio bet the house on this film!  This was most expensive movie in history at the time, with a final production budget of over $15 million (more than double what was planned).  It featured more crew and extras than any other film before it - over 10,000 extras alone for the stunning chariot race sequence.

MGM built over 300 sets (some of which took more than a year to complete), including the 2000 foot long Circus (i.e., racing stadium) and filled it with thousands of costumed extras, giving the film a verisimilitude that CGI simply cannot match.

Additionally, Ben-Hur was shot in 65mm, cutting edge technology for the time.  These wide shots, combined with the restrained use of close ups, added to the epic feel while also revealing a huge amount of detail, adding to the sense of realism.  The film also featured graphic violence for the time (e.g, dismemberment, trampled to death by horses, etc.)

It was a grueling shoot.  By the end of the production more than 1,000,000 pounds of plaster and 40,000 cubic feet of lumber were used.  With the fate of the studio on the line, producer Sam Zimbalist died of a heart attack from the constant and mounting pressure.

So, if you want to see thoughtful and eloquent storytelling that is both moving and uplifting, check out this all-time great flick!

RPG Design: Tactical Depth v. Complexity

Earlier, I discussed the importance of Tactical Depth to RPG Design.  This week, I wanted to talk about the trade off between a game's Tactical Depth and it's Complexity.

As I mentioned before, by "Tactical Depth," I mean the relative number and types of meaningfully different options available to PCs that can change the state of the game, both and out of combat.  However, the currency which with an RPG Designer buys Tactical Depth is Complexity (i.e., as a game becomes Deeper, it concurrently also become more Complex).  This is because as a game's Complexity increases, there are more rules to consider before reaching a resolution and, as a consequence, the game's pace slows down.

IMHO, ideally any RPG should have sufficient Tactical Depth to keep players interested.  However, this Tactical Depth, IMHO, should be bought with the least possible Complexity to keep the game's pace moving.

A great example of Complexity-efficient Tactical Depth is utilizing a universal Core Mechanic, such as the d20 System, the first iteration of which appeared in 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons.

To resolve an action in the d20 System, a player rolls a 20-sided die and adds modifiers based on the  ability modifier, if any, and the skill modifier, if any, as well as other, situational modifiers.  In Dungeons & Dragons, the d20 System replaced a host of different and usually unrelated subsystems in older editions, making the game easier to learn and quicker to play.

However, speed is not the be all and end all in RPG Design.  For example, in Original Dungeons & Dragons, there's no mechanical difference between weapons since all weapons do 1d6 damage.  This is certainly less Complex than variable weapon damage introduced in Supplement I: Greyhawk, but most people would consider non-variable weapon damage to be less fun.

Also, as mentioned above a game's Complexity increases every time a new rule is added, and rules are added for more than just Tactical Depth.  So, Complexity issues must be considered in other contexts as well.

For example, beginning with 1e AD&D, material spell components are required in order to successfully cast spells, such as:

Spider Climb (Alteration)

Level: 1     Components: V, S, M    Range: Touch     Casting Time: 1 segment    Duration: 1 round + 1 round/level     Saving Throw: None    Area of Effect: Creature touched

Explanation/Description: A Spider Climb spell enables the recipient to climb and travel upon vertical surfaces just as a giant spider is able to do, i.e. at 3" movement rate, or even hang upside down from ceilings. Note that the affected creature must have bare hands and feet in order to climb in this manner. During the course of the spell the recipient cannot handle objects which weigh less than 50 g.p., for such objects will stick to the creature's hands/feet, so a magic-user will find it virtually impossible to cast spells if under a Spider Climb dweomer. The material components of this spell are a drop of bitumen and a live spider, both of which must be eaten by the spell recipient.

As a result, material spell components adds a resource management element for casters and is also a way to address Linear Fighters, Quadratic Wizards, since, as a caster levels up, it is increasingly unlikely that they will happen to have all the material spell components that they would like for a particular today.

However, many (if not most) groups consider material spell components to be a poor purchase of Complexity since they consider the rule unnecessarily restrictive and too much of a drag on the game's pace.  Thus, material spell components are often hand waved or ignored outright.

Movie Review: "Ronal the Barbarian" (2011)

This week, I wanted to give a shout out to an interesting recent animated comedic Swords & Sorcery flick, "Ronal the Barbarian":

In "Ronal the Barbarian," our titular character is from the Barbarian tribe (yes, in this film, "Barbarian" is an ethnic identifier rather than a class), except, unlike all the other Barbarians, Ronal is weak, cowardly... and clever.  However, being an outlier proves to be a benefit when the evil Lord Volcazar, comes to kidnap the Barbarian tribe for a sorcerous ritual and mistakes Ronal for an average person rather than a Barbarian.

After Volcazar's men murder his uncle and raze his village, it's up to Ronal to save the surviving Barbarians with his new sidekick, the... amorous... Alibert the Bard.  Next, there's a putting the band together segment as Ronal "recruits" the rest of his adventuring party, Zandra the Shieldmaiden (which again is an ethnic identifier) and Elric the Elf.

Then, the party has to find the Sword of Kron (the only weapon able to defeat Volcazar) before time runs out.  Things end up pretty much as you might expect on this "definitely not a quest," although some tropes are inverted for comic purposes.

First off, I want to say that, while "Ronal the Barbarian" is animated in the style of a children's film (e.g., style, character design, etc.), this is an adult film.  Not pornographic, but definitely not for children, with copious amounts of foul language, T&A and sexual innuendo.  For example:

Elric: "My senses say that Ronal is in great dan-" 

Alibert: "We're fucked."

If they make a TV broadcast version, there will certainly be a lot of edits and/or bleeping!

This film is clearly influenced by Conan the Barbarian (1982) and is a parody or an homage of many other fantasy works and tropes.  It is also purportedly influenced by Heavy Metal, but evidence is scant (other than the movie being set in the world of Metalonia) and it lacks the awesome rock soundtrack of Korgoth of Barbarian.

Overall, "Ronal the Barbarian" is a solid but not spectacular movie.  Assuming one is the appropriate audience, this is a fun film, with plenty of slapstick, juvenile and sexually-based humor.  The animation is okay but not great, and the story is reasonably entertaining (there's an interesting face-heel turn that's unfortunately telegraphed from a mile away).

So, if you want to see an earnestly made animated Swords & Sorcery yarn that's heavy on comedy and fan service, check out this film!  

RPG Design: Spell Points

Last year, I discussed a hallmark of Dungeons & Dragons, Vancian Magic.  This week, I wanted to take a look at perhaps the most popular method of handling magic in role-playing games, Spell Points.

By "Spell Points," I mean a game mechanic whereby a Player Character's ability to use magic (or similar abilities) is denoted as magic points (or mana points, etc.) and where each use of magic has a certain magic point cost.  Different spells have different magic point costs and if a Player Character runs out of magic points, they must wait until the game's recovery mechanic kicks in before being able to use magic once more.

Spell Points have been around since almost the beginning of tabletop role-playing games.  For example, Warlock, a home-brewed variant of Original Dungeons & Dragons (1974) that used Spell Points, was published in the Spartan Gaming Journal in August 1975.  No less a person than J. Eric Holmes, author of the Holmes Basic D&D Set (1977), was a fan of Warlock.  Indeed, Messr Holmes tried to convince Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, to include a spell point system in Holmes Basic.

However, Messr Gygax was famously not a fan of spell points.  For example, in The Dragon #16, he pontificated:

"Spell point systems are also currently in vogue amongst the fringe group which haunt the pages of “Amateur Press Association” publications. Now APAs are generally beneath contempt, for they typify the lowest form of vanity press. There one finds pages and pages of banal chatter and inept writing from persons incapable of creating anything which is publishable elsewhere. Therefore, they pay money to tout their sophomoric ideas, criticise those who are able to write and design, and generally make themselves obnoxious.* While there are notable exceptions, they are far too few to give any merit to the vehicles they appear in. From this morass rose the notion that a spell point system should be inserted into D&D. Strangely enough, “realism” was used as one of the principal reasons for use of spell points. These mutterings are not as widespread as the few proponents of such a system imagine. The D&D magic system is drawn directly from CHAINMAIL. It, in turn, was inspired by the superb writing of Jack Vance. This “Vancian” magic system works splendidly in the game. If it has any fault, it is towards making characters who are magic-users too powerful. This sort of fault is better corrected within the existing framework of the game — by requiring more time to cast spells, by making magic-users progress more slowly in experience levels. Spell points add nothing to D&D except more complication, more record keeping, more wasted time, and a precept which is totally foreign to the rest of the game."

The above is, of course, just one of many examples of Messr Gygax passing off his opinion as fact and a part of his epic flame wars with various West Coast gamers in the 1970s.

Other minds were more open, even in the early days of the hobby.  For example, Adventures in Fantasy (1978), the second fantasy RPG produced by Dave Arneson, the other co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, used a Spell Point system.  Of course, Adventures in Fantasy was a commercial failure, due in large part to the complete lack of marketing support.


Like Vancian Magic, a well-designed Spell Point system is simple, easy to understand and turns spells into a limited resource, adding Tactical Depth to a game.  In addition, if the number of Spell Points is correctly balanced, a Spell Point system can help address Linear Fighters, Quadratic Wizards.

Hands down, the biggest attraction of a Spell Point system is that they give magicians great flexibility.  However, that flexibility in a poorly-designed Spell Point system can exacerbate Linear Fighters, Quadratic Wizards, so due care must be taken to balance a game properly.