2014 A-to-Z Blogging Challenge

Well, here we are again; time for another Challenge. I've done this twice: once in 2011 and again in 2013. And, as much as I've wanted variety, I'm doing fantasy yet again! This year I'm going to focus on Swords and Wizardry Complete by Frog God Games the successors to Necromancer Games.

In last year's challenge, I might have come across as too harsh on the OSR in general and retro-clones in particular. However, as I later posted in "E is for Editions," I don't really have much of a beef with retro-clones but in their marketing and presentation. Besides, how can anyone say something bad about a company that gives their core rules away for free? Definitely not a money grab.

When I get home tonight, I'll post my first blog that, while serious in content, is somewhat of an April Fool's post. E

Until later later, gentle readers, do not confused by today's news stories! 

2013 A-to-Z Blogging Challenge: After Action Report

 

Well, here we are at the end. We made it. Life intervened a couple of times and I had a short post or two because of it (20 April, I'm looking at you!), and I accidentally posted today's post yesterday. However, all-in-all, it was a success.

 

This year, I dedicated the challenge to AD&D, first edition--no 2E, no 3.0/3.5, no Next, no bloody 4th. Some of my posts did wander into more generic roleplaying territory, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. My "E is for Editions" post showed what came before and after AD&D in an attempt to show where D&D  came from and to whence it is has gone. Because of a post-start event coming up, "O is for Oriental Adventures" became a review of "Ruins and Ronin" in support of Swords and Wizardry Appreciation Day.

 

Did I learn anything? Probably not. I vaguely structured my posts as I went along and some I had no idea what I was going to say until I started typing the title. Until yesterday's fiasco, I did not write ahead of time, either. So, if I did learn something, it is to possibly plan my writing in a more structured manner and write some ahead of time.

 

One change to come from this idea is that I will now ave theme days to post at least once a week. I have changed up the order from an earlier post. First up, I'll have Sci-Fi Monday, a hodge podge of reviews, thoughts about RPGs or MMOs, whatever catches my fancy or attention. Expect to see Mutants and Masterminds, Villains and Vigilantes, Battletech, Stars Without Number, Traveller, SWTOR, and various other topics on this day. Midweek will be Warhammer Wednesdays--not the bloody miniatures game that changes rules every two years, but the original, first edition RPG. This is a game that I have not run or played in years, but it is still a game that I hold close to my heart. Expect the occasional post about my DIY WH40K Marine Chapter, the Blood Cross. Finally, I'll close up the week with Fantasy Friday, anything from book or movie reviews or ruminations on whatever fantasy RPGs are catching my fancy at the time. This is could be AD&D, B/X D&D, DragonQuest, Hackmaster, whatever. It might even include urban fantasy such as the works of Charles de Lint or Kim Harrison or "modern" games like Vampire: The Masquerade. And the first Warhammer Wednesday is tomorrow! Woot! No rest for the wicked.

 

Finally, after yesterday's post, "Z is for Zagyg," I am dedicating this Challenge ex post facto to the memory of E. Gary Gygax, the man whose words sparked the creation of hundreds, if not thousands, of worlds.

 

Gary Gygax, 27 July 1938-04 March 2008

 

Z is for Zagyg

Zagyg the Mad Archmage, Demigod of Humor, Magic, Eccentricity, and Unpredictability

Has it really been FIVE years already? Gary has been gone so long it seems. When he passed, I wrote the next morning on Dragonsfoot, "A tremor is felt as Zaygy ascends to the higher planes once more. RIP, Gary. We'll miss you for now and meet you at the Inn later." Hard to believe that I'm tearing up again thinking about it.

 

I never met Gary in life. We corresponded by email, oh, probably since 1996 or so until his death, and I sent the occasional birthday or Christmas card to his home. He always mentioned them in his emails and he always gave me the salutation of "Howdy!" I never knew if that was a standard greeting for him or he just used it because I'm a Texan or because my first emails to him were asking about Boot Hill. It's something I would have asked him had we ever met. And I did have the opportunity. There were several conventions I could have attended where I could have met him, but I always put it off with the thought, "There's always next year." And then, there were no more tomorrows for Gary. I missed the chance to meet a friend.

I sit beside the fire and think
of all that I have seen,
of meadow-flowers and butterflies
In summers that have been;

Of yellow leaves and gossamer
in autumns that there were,
with morning mist and silver sun
and wind upon my hair.

I sit beside the fire and think
of how the world will be
when winter comes without a spring
that I shall ever see.

For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood in every spring
there is a different green.

I sit beside the fire and think
of people long ago,
and people who will see a world
that I shall never know.

But all the while I sit and think
of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet
and voices at the door.

--J.R.R. Tolkien

 

The good Professor's poem sums up my maudlin and sentimental feelings as I write this post. Incidentally, I want this poem to be read before my rosary when I pass on some day; it is bittersweet and captures the feeling of life and death superbly.

 

There has long been a bit of friction between adherents of Gygax and Arneson over who is the "Father" of D&D; Bledsaw's contributions seem to be ignored in the scuffle, and there were plenty of others involved as well. But I bring up Zagyg for my final post of the 2013 A-to-Z Challenge because I focused on AD&D specifically for this run. And, say what you want about early D&D, but AD&D was Gary's. It has the indelible stamp of Zagyg himself all through. The charts, the fiddly bits, the "High Gygaxian" prose--will anyone ever forget Gary's ability to turn a memorable phrase as in "perforce, as the killing of humans and other intelligent life forms for the purpose of profit is basically held to be the antithesis of weal"--the amalgamation of disparate fantasy and mythical traditions etc. AD&D was truly his magnum opus, more so than anything that preceded it or followed it. It is Zagyg's. It is his.

 

I'm actually writing this on Monday afternoon since I have some free time. I want to proof it again (and again and again and...) so it is nigh perfect (it never is). There is little more I can say. Tonight, after my youngest daughter's softball game, I'm going to go home, fill a pipe with fine tobacco and pour myself a mug of a tasty adult beverage, probably a stout German one. Then I'll sit on my porch, watch the stars come out, and reminisce about my friend Gary and the worlds his words have inspired. And finally, I will contemplate his words, "I would like the world to remember me as the guy who really enjoyed playing games and sharing his knowledge and his fun pastimes with everybody else."

 

Good night, Gary. See you at the Inn later.

 

 

 

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)

R is for Roleplaying

Roleplaying is what is supposed to happen in our games. But do our expectations equal the reality? Probably not, but as long as we're having fun, does it really matter?

[This is a short one because I'm leaving in five minutes to take my daughter to Houston for a college meet. I should have planned this post better. lolz]

Q is for Quincey P. Morris, Esq.

A Texan, a British Lord, and a British Doctor...which one is out of place?

Mina: What is that?
Lucy: It's a Texan!
--Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

I'm drifting into more generic roleplaying territory today as Q is a difficult letter. So, onward!

There's always one in any group. You have a nasty Chill RPG game set set in Victorian England, but there's a guy who wants to play a Texan with a big Bowie knife always at his side. Or maybe you're running Star Trek, an original series Federation campaign, but someone wants to play a Klingon or an Orion pirate! Or you're planning a campaign in your custom game world that doesn't have monks and, by the way, it's a "humans-only" game. So what happens? Yeah, you got the picture.

Brother Silence, a most troublesome monk who is NOT an elf!

So what does a good DM do? Does he stick to his guns or does he cave? Personally, I like having players with the QPMS (Quincey P. Morris Syndrome); they might make things difficult, but you know what? The player is ENGAGED; he's INVESTED in the game. Maybe he likes his characters to stand out and not fall into the background. Let's face it, Quincey is one of the more more memorable characters in Dracula; he's also the one that actually deals the mortal blow to the vampire...WITH A BOWIE KNIFE!!! Rarely have I seen a player with QPMS actively try to derail the game; it's usually just a fellow trying to have fun, and you know what? This is a game; we're supposed to have fun. I think some people lose sight of that fact at times.

The odd man out is actually a trope in most forms of literature. Sometimes he just stands out and is different from the herd (Quincey). At other times, he's unique in his plainness in an otherwise flamboyant group and serves as lens for the audience: Bilbo in The Hobbit, for instance. Bilbo is the one who allows the audience to understand the narrative. What this means in the roleplaying context is that as a DM you have a player who is accessible; you have a hook to use. So work with it.

Until tomorrow, gentle readers, when we reach R!