Elementary, my dear Watson!

Well, it has been a while, but I'm ready to jump back into writing in my blog. It's been a long summer, but we're ready to go!

Now, as for this entry, I've recently made a decision that when I start any new Dungeon & Dragons campaigns in the future, I will use either Swords & Wizardry Complete (SW&C) or a Holmesian clone I found a few tears ago titled Dungeons & Dragons Holmes Reformatted (more on that later).  The reason is simplicity itself. The older I get, the less time I want to spend working on minutiae; even Fifth Edition, which is a breeze to run, has many fiddly bits. For instance, monster have huge stat blocks with detailed powers and attacks. I am left with one of two alternatives: first, I can just use monsters found in published modules or the Monster Manual (boring) or, second, I can detail out all the monsters myself and make them unique to the adventure I'm designing (time-consuming). I do not have to do that with earlier editions and especially not in anything close to OD&D like S&WC or Holmes Reformatted (hereafter HR).

If I do need more monsters, I can easily use the AD&D Monster Manual. As is regularly pointed out by the cast of the Save Or Die! Podcast, the Monster Manual was published around the same time as the Holmes edition (1977) and was the first of the AD&D Core Rules to see the light of day. As the system was not quite set in stone, there are many Holmes and OD&Disms in its text. For instance, base AC is 9, there still appears to be a 3- or 5-point alignment system in use, and a couple of others. It's definitely easily compatible with Holmes as it stands. I can also lean on Rafael Chandler's Teratic Tome (which has some truly terrifying creations in its pages) and New Big Dragon's CC1 Creature Compendium. that's really all I need; and creature creation is simple enough in the early games; a quick and easy stat block and I'm done.

"Why Swords & Wizardry Complete, then?" I hear you ask. That's another simple one. For years I have dreamed about getting Isungr Games off the ground and publishing through RPGNow my on line of PDF and POD adventures. I can contribute to the mass of stuff out there in a good way. The ultimate goal is to publish my campaign world, the one that I've been working on since 1986 when I started scribbling out the political and continental map in Mr. Stemper's World History class. I want it to be a 128-page hardcover with map similar to the AD&D Dragonlance book; that is my dream anyway. 

"Ok, so what about this Holmes clone you mentioned? How does that fit in?" I have recently fallen in love with Holmesian D&D. I never had the chance to play when I was younger, but I do remember perusing the open boxed set at my local Kroger's grocery tore when I was 8 or 9 and being entranced. I like the simplicity of the system--there's much in the way of "What if?" floating around in my head about what if there had been no Moldvay and Holmes had continued.

Enter 2010 or -11 when I came across D&D Holmes Revised. Written anonymously by "The Reviser," this project extrapolates what might have been using Holmes's notes and postings on the Zenopus Archives. This fits the bill nicely and might well be the ruleset that I use in the future. The one thing that would keep me from using it exclusively is the fact that I do want to become a S&WC author. Also, while S&WC is actually an OD&D emulator that consists of the LBBs + Supplements, it plays like how I and my friends played AD&D back in middle school in the early 1980s; we ignored the complex AD&D initiative, speed factors, weapon length, bonuses/penalties to hit due to AC, etc. So, there is that nostalgia factor working overtime as well.

Some might question why I don't use Mazes & Perils. Well, the authors themselves admit that there is much from AD&D blended in as well. Whenever I want that fictional Holmes Expanded version, well, I have to agree with the Reviser:

"The various Holmes expansions borrow from a variety of sources, from the original game through to 1st Edition AD&D, and in one case even 3rd Edition D&D, but none have attempted to faithfully follow the path that Holmes himself trod by using only the same source material, without the "taint" of house rules....Having said that, this document is more than just a reformat of the original rulebook, and more than just an expansion of the rules, it is also a revision of those rules. Quite a few changes were made by TSR to the Holmes rulebook between its first print in 1977 and its third edition in December 1979. Thanks to the wonderful detective work of "Zenopus76" in his article List of Changes Made to the Holmes Rulebook (1st/3rd)*, we have a detailed list of these changes. Working from that article I have revised this document to include various weapons, monsters and magic items mentioned in the rulebook but lacking detail, as well as text missing from one print to the next."

And there it is. Such are my thoughts. Now, if I can only keep writing....

Fantasy Friday: Blueholme

Well, there's another retro-clone out there I'm waiting on: Blueholme. I'm interested in it partly because I just recently read J. Eric Holmes's novel The Maze of Peril and partly because I'm always on the lookout for a simple "D&D" rules system. While my first iteration of D&D to play was B/X Moldvey, I was vaguely familiar with the Holmes version prior to that. There was a copy or two on the games aisle of our local Kroger's grocery store, one of which was open. I could never convince my parents to buy it for me, but I leafed through as often as I could at the store. So, I remember Stone Mountain and the five alignment system graph, and the art even though I never actually played it. Personally, I was always interested in that Domed City on the 7th level and the older me wonders if it has any connection to The Maze of Peril.

 

 

Holmes D&D gets some love from a small but fanatical fanbase; GM Liz of the Save or Die! podcast comes to mind. But there are problems. First, Holmes goes no higher than 3rd level; that's really not conducive to long-term play. Second, there are some oddities that are not really found in earlier or later editions such as the aforementioned FIVE alignment system: LG, CG, LE, CE and N. Or how about the rule that a surprised PC has a chance of dropping whatever's in his hands? Initiative determined by dexterity score EVEN FOR MONSTERS! Third, there's the problem that even B/X suffered from: TSR's marketing changed more rapidly than design and publishing schedules. For example, B/X was supposed to have a Companion book. That volume was scrapped when the decision was made to produce Mentzer's BECMI.

 

So, why the fascination with Holmes D&D, especially if it's "incomplete?" Well, as a transitional/gateway game, it is not tied to concepts that we now take for granted. It's much more flexible. As for the level limitations, that's what the Blueholme project is supposed to address: taking that minimalist ruleset and expanding it out to 14th level. And part of it is also that the older I get, the less I care about detailed rules, much as I like games such as GURPS, Champions, and even AD&D. Let's roll some characters and sling some dice around--I've got some orcs to kill So, yes, I'm definitely looking forward to this game,

 

Until Monday, gentle readers!

S is for Save or Die!

Well, I had a horrible migraine yesterday and did not crawl out of bed until sometime after two in the afternoon and was worthless even after that. Whoever wrote up the migraine flaw for Hackmaster got it right, I must say! Therefore, I will do two posts today. So let's get started!

 

 

See? The Joker rolls old School!

There has been some discussion on some of the OSR Google+ communities lately about the "save or die" mechanic. It essentially boils down to the argument of "letting the dice fall as they will" vs. "coddling the players by fudging the rolls." Now, admittedly most of the discussion focuses on 0E and its clones, but the attitudes hold forth for 1E as well and some of its later iterations such as 2E or Hackmaster. It is interesting to note, as an aside, that there is blasted little dying in 3.5 from level drain, resurrection, poison, etc.; mostly it's ability loss. However, that keeps characters (and thus players) in the game. But, to quote Kelly Bundy, "I digest."

 

Random Hot Girl Pic of the Day

A close examination of AD&D, however, reveals that there is little in the way of save or die. "But what about poison?" I hear my gentle readers asking. Good point. However. an examination of the poison tables in the DMG (p. 20) shows that only the most expensive of the insinuative poisons (Type D, onset time of 1 segment, 1500 g.p. per dose!) is save or die. The type A poison allows a +4 save, has an onset time of 2-5 ROUNDS, does 15 damage, and costs 15 g.p. per does; this is the one that should most often be encountered at lower levels. (For comparison, a +1 sword "costs" 2000 g.p per DMG, p. 124.) While 15 h.p. will kill most first level players outright anyway, there are characters that could survive that at first level (it is possible for a barbarian and ranger to max out at 20 hp at 1st level). Even natural poisons are not that deadly. Per MM1, a giant spider's poison is save or die, but that creature has 4+4 HD and AC 4 making it as deadly as an ogre to a first level party just by way of fortitude!

 

What about polymorph? Even a character with a constitution score of 10 have almost a two-thirds chance (65%) to survive. Petrification? Stone to Flesh. Magic? Most magic does directed damage with a successful save allowing for half damage.

 

So, it would appear that save or die, as such, is actually more connected to 0E and stems from a wargaming mechanic "ported over" to original D&D.

 

And speaking of such, I must recommend the Save or Die! podcast if you have any interest in 0E, Holmes, B/X, BECMI, or any of their myriad clones. They're always entertaining and I say that even though DM Mike and DM Liz are friends that I have known about 25 years. Please check them out at the link below. Also, I have posted links to Roll for Initiative, a 1E Podcast and  THACO's Hammer, a 2E podcast.

 

 

 

 

Save or Die! Podcast (Class D&D)

 

Roll for Initiative (AD&D podcast)

 

THACO's Hammer (2E podcast)