Magic Realm: The Black Knight

I've mentioned before that Avalon Hill's Magic Realm is the best fantasy-adventure role-playing board-game ever invented.

Magic Realm's greatest fault? An earlier set of labyrinthine, and nearly inscrutable, rules. Those rules caused most Magic Realm early-adopters to throw up their hands in frustration, relegating the game to the top shelf of the game cabinet, never to be played again.

Though the rules remain labyrinthine, they have since been cleaned up by a group of stalwart fans. But the game is now long out of print. And it's unlikely to be reprinted anytime soon, since the world has moved on from the chit and hex styled board-game.

Attempts to purchase a copy of Magic Realm are an exercise in frustration, because of the game's out-of-print and cult status. But you can obtain a free electronic version, called Realmspeak, that is a near perfect re-creation of the board-game.

The problem is, once you download Realmspeak, what do you do with it?
That's where video tutorials come in. Here is the first part in a series of tutorials at Bookshelf Games, this one using the Black Knight, my favorite Magic Realm character.



Magic Realm Black Knight 2 Week 1 from BookshelfGames on Vimeo.

If you have a copy of Magic Realm, or are interested in trying Realmspeak, these videos are a good place to start, to understanding how Magic Realm works, and what you are supposed to do, with each of the Magic Realm characters.

Magic Realm: The Black Knight

I've mentioned before that Avalon Hill's Magic Realm is the best fantasy-adventure role-playing board-game ever invented.

Magic Realm's greatest fault? An earlier set of labyrinthine, and nearly inscrutable, rules. Those rules caused most Magic Realm early-adopters to throw up their hands in frustration, relegating the game to the top shelf of the game cabinet, never to be played again.

Though the rules remain labyrinthine, they have since been cleaned up by a group of stalwart fans. But the game is now long out of print. And it's unlikely to be reprinted anytime soon, since the world has moved on from the chit and hex styled board-game.

Attempts to purchase a copy of Magic Realm are an exercise in frustration, because of the game's out-of-print and cult status. But you can obtain a free electronic version, called Realmspeak, that is a near perfect re-creation of the board-game.

The problem is, once you download Realmspeak, what do you do with it?
That's where video tutorials come in. Here is the first part in a series of tutorials at Bookshelf Games, this one using the Black Knight, my favorite Magic Realm character.



Magic Realm Black Knight 2 Week 1 from BookshelfGames on Vimeo.

If you have a copy of Magic Realm, or are interested in trying Realmspeak, these videos are a good place to start, to understanding how Magic Realm works, and what you are supposed to do, with each of the Magic Realm characters.

Um, I was promised Witches?

Witches are one of the few archetypes that never appeared (as far as I know) as an official sub-class in either basic or advanced Dungeons and Dragons. That, despite the fact that we were promised (promised, I say!) a Witch class in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.

The 1978 Holmes edition of Dungeons and Dragons had this to say about additional character classes.

"There are a number of other character classes which are detailed in ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. They are sub-classes of the four basic classes. They are: paladins and rangers (fighting men), illusionists and witches (magic-users), monks and druids (clerics), and assassins (thieves)." [page 7]

Now, i'm not some big-city lawyer ... (gasp!) ... but it seems to me that when we are promised a sub-class in an official D&D game-book, that TSR is obligated to deliver same . I propose, therefore, the immediate activation and use of the wayback machine, in which we will travel back to 1978 and demand, from EGG, the inclusion of Witches in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook.

Perhaps the exclusion of a Witch class was not such a bad thing, what with the D&D hysteria that arose in the early 80's. The existence of a Witch class would certainly have added fodder to the claims that D&D was promoting devil-worship. And if you really wanted a Witch sub-class, there was an un-official version published in the pages of The Dragon, sometime in 1980 or 1981 (i'll have to check the exact issue later today). You could also have houseruled a sub-class, for use in your own campaign.

Still, there was something magical and powerful about having an "official" version of a sub-class. It gives the player some assurance that her character will not be disallowed at the table of the next DM. And it says that the archetype is sufficiently recognizable to permit its inclusion in the official rules.

I'm sure there is a story behind the Witches' exclusion from the Players Handbook. It may be as simple as "there wasn't enough room for another set of specialist spell-lists". Or it may be that Witches were considered as easily represented by the magic-user class, so we didn't need a sub-class for it. Alternatively, it may have been seen as too gender-specific, or even needlessly pandering to an almost non-existent female audience (role-playing and war-gaming being an overwhelmingly male past-time in the 70's).

One of the communication methods I have employed in my writing is to use both male and female pronouns when describing situations. I could use gender-neutral ones instead, but that seems even more complicated.

Going back and looking at the old D&D materials now, I wish there had been more talk of Gladiatrix's, Huntresses, Swordswomen, Sorceresses, Amazons, Witches, and Cutpurses, not as NPC's to be wooed, but as characters to be played.

Not because i'm into gender-bending, but because it would have sent the message that D&D was a game open to all, not just to those who were born with a Y chromosome.

Um, I was promised Witches?

Witches are one of the few archetypes that never appeared (as far as I know) as an official sub-class in either basic or advanced Dungeons and Dragons. That, despite the fact that we were promised (promised, I say!) a Witch class in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.

The 1978 Holmes edition of Dungeons and Dragons had this to say about additional character classes.

"There are a number of other character classes which are detailed in ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. They are sub-classes of the four basic classes. They are: paladins and rangers (fighting men), illusionists and witches (magic-users), monks and druids (clerics), and assassins (thieves)." [page 7]

Now, i'm not some big-city lawyer ... (gasp!) ... but it seems to me that when we are promised a sub-class in an official D&D game-book, that TSR is obligated to deliver same . I propose, therefore, the immediate activation and use of the wayback machine, in which we will travel back to 1978 and demand, from EGG, the inclusion of Witches in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbook.

Perhaps the exclusion of a Witch class was not such a bad thing, what with the D&D hysteria that arose in the early 80's. The existence of a Witch class would certainly have added fodder to the claims that D&D was promoting devil-worship. And if you really wanted a Witch sub-class, there was an un-official version published in the pages of The Dragon, sometime in 1980 or 1981 (i'll have to check the exact issue later today). You could also have houseruled a sub-class, for use in your own campaign.

Still, there was something magical and powerful about having an "official" version of a sub-class. It gives the player some assurance that her character will not be disallowed at the table of the next DM. And it says that the archetype is sufficiently recognizable to permit its inclusion in the official rules.

I'm sure there is a story behind the Witches' exclusion from the Players Handbook. It may be as simple as "there wasn't enough room for another set of specialist spell-lists". Or it may be that Witches were considered as easily represented by the magic-user class, so we didn't need a sub-class for it. Alternatively, it may have been seen as too gender-specific, or even needlessly pandering to an almost non-existent female audience (role-playing and war-gaming being an overwhelmingly male past-time in the 70's).

One of the communication methods I have employed in my writing is to use both male and female pronouns when describing situations. I could use gender-neutral ones instead, but that seems even more complicated.

Going back and looking at the old D&D materials now, I wish there had been more talk of Gladiatrix's, Huntresses, Swordswomen, Sorceresses, Amazons, Witches, and Cutpurses, not as NPC's to be wooed, but as characters to be played.

Not because i'm into gender-bending, but because it would have sent the message that D&D was a game open to all, not just to those who were born with a Y chromosome.

Playing Dead Characters: Delian Book Of The Dead

All this talk of Arduin over at Jeff's Gameblog has me thinking about another set of old-school, gonzo, D&D-compatible rulebooks : The World Of Delos.

Ben & Mary Ezzell wrote The World Of Delos game supplements in the 1980's, and dedicated their "Planes of the Afterlife" section of The Delian Book of the Dead to Arduin's author, Dave Hargrave.

The cover art of The Delian Book Of The Dead ("the Dead") is by Roland Brown, who also provided the cover and interior art for Arduin's The Lost Grimoire IV. The cover of the Dead shows a deceased Amazon, heavily armored, lying upon a funeral bier, attended to by the Grim Reaper, as her spirit slowly rises from her body.

The 145 pages of the Dead cover a lot of novel role-playing territory, as does the entire World Of Delos book series. The Dead provides rules for a new class, the Archaeologist (intended to emulate Indiana Jones, Rick O'Connell and other egyptologist-type characters from film and literature), a long section of helpful tips and adventure locations for prospective tomb-robbers, six pages of magical doors, windows and mirrors to delight, confuse and confound your players, 10 pages of gems, including a description of the possible magical uses for each, several pages on unique magic arms and armour whose benefits and drawbacks go beyond mere combat adjustments, potions and poisons of uncommon use and effect, a long chapter on the variety and ecology of Delian spiders, a section on the acquisition, care and feeding of strange pets, and an adventure that takes you through several "Planes of the Afterlife" in search of an artifact that may lead the adventurers to a most singular conclusion.

In addition, the Dead provides a new character class: Phantoms. Phantoms are former player characters, whose deaths came violently, suddenly, or prior to the completion of some important quest, and are thus unable to leave the prime material plane until their unfinished business is concluded.

I must admit, the idea of player characters as Phantoms has a certain allure. I am reminded of the old 1978 film, Heaven Can Wait, if in title only. In that film, the incomparable Warren Beatty plays a narcissistic and reckless football quarterback, whose guardian angel transports him to heaven before his time. Due to the mix-up, Beatty's spirit is sent back to Earth. Unlike the Phantom class, where he would exist as spirit, he is placed in the body of a wealthy, recently-murdered industrialist, until St. Peter can find a suitable replacement body for Beatty, with hilarious and sexy results.

The allure of the Phantom class is that it allows players to continue playing a favorite character, but at the same time honoring the old-school tradition that, once you're dead, you're dead.

The mechanics are relatively straight-forward. If a character dies, the player may choose to roll to see if there is sufficient purpose keeping her from ascending into the afterlife. She combines her Int, Wis, Level and prime Attribute, which is her base percentage chance to remain on the material plane. That score is modified by other variables, for example, whether the character was on an important quest before her passing, whether her belief system included an afterlife, whether her death was violent or sudden, and so on. If the player rolls percentile dice and the result is lower than the final number, her character can come back as a Phantom.

Phantoms lose all of their prior class abilities, and start as 1st level Phantoms, with their own experience table, and additional hit-points and special abilities gained at each subsequent level. Phantoms are invulnerable to normal attacks, although they are susceptible to magical weapon and spell attacks, and are doubly vulnerable to attacks from the undead. At first level, they are unable to impinge upon the prime material plane, other than being visible in darkness, and can only communicate telepathically. They recover hit points normally, but if the Phantom should ever be reduced to 0 hit points, the character immediately and unavoidably ascends to the afterlife. Some of the special abilities that are gained by higher level Phantoms include the power to become material, cause fright, telekenesis, teleaudience, detect poison, project cold, and control flames.

Part of the limitations of the class is that the Phantom must never stray from the purpose for which she remains on the material plane. For example, if the party was on an important quest when she died, the Phantom must continue towards that goal. If the party abandons the quest, the Phantom must continue on. As another example, perhaps the purpose of the Phantom is to protect her friends, Then if the friends die, she would ascend to the afterlife. Another purpose of the Phantom might be to avenge her own death. In that case, once her killer died, her purpose would be fulfilled and she would leave this world.

The chapter on Phantoms concludes with some suggested reading for playing and refereeing with this class: Blithe Spirit, by Noel Coward; Hamlet and MacBeth, by Shakespeare; Immortality Inc., by Robert Sheckly; Brief Candles and Happy Returns by Manning Coles; and Topper by Thorne Smith.

Playing Dead Characters: Delian Book Of The Dead

All this talk of Arduin over at Jeff's Gameblog has me thinking about another set of old-school, gonzo, D&D-compatible rulebooks : The World Of Delos.

Ben & Mary Ezzell wrote The World Of Delos game supplements in the 1980's, and dedicated their "Planes of the Afterlife" section of The Delian Book of the Dead to Arduin's author, Dave Hargrave.

The cover art of The Delian Book Of The Dead ("the Dead") is by Roland Brown, who also provided the cover and interior art for Arduin's The Lost Grimoire IV. The cover of the Dead shows a deceased Amazon, heavily armored, lying upon a funeral bier, attended to by the Grim Reaper, as her spirit slowly rises from her body.

The 145 pages of the Dead cover a lot of novel role-playing territory, as does the entire World Of Delos book series. The Dead provides rules for a new class, the Archaeologist (intended to emulate Indiana Jones, Rick O'Connell and other egyptologist-type characters from film and literature), a long section of helpful tips and adventure locations for prospective tomb-robbers, six pages of magical doors, windows and mirrors to delight, confuse and confound your players, 10 pages of gems, including a description of the possible magical uses for each, several pages on unique magic arms and armour whose benefits and drawbacks go beyond mere combat adjustments, potions and poisons of uncommon use and effect, a long chapter on the variety and ecology of Delian spiders, a section on the acquisition, care and feeding of strange pets, and an adventure that takes you through several "Planes of the Afterlife" in search of an artifact that may lead the adventurers to a most singular conclusion.

In addition, the Dead provides a new character class: Phantoms. Phantoms are former player characters, whose deaths came violently, suddenly, or prior to the completion of some important quest, and are thus unable to leave the prime material plane until their unfinished business is concluded.

I must admit, the idea of player characters as Phantoms has a certain allure. I am reminded of the old 1978 film, Heaven Can Wait, if in title only. In that film, the incomparable Warren Beatty plays a narcissistic and reckless football quarterback, whose guardian angel transports him to heaven before his time. Due to the mix-up, Beatty's spirit is sent back to Earth. Unlike the Phantom class, where he would exist as spirit, he is placed in the body of a wealthy, recently-murdered industrialist, until St. Peter can find a suitable replacement body for Beatty, with hilarious and sexy results.

The allure of the Phantom class is that it allows players to continue playing a favorite character, but at the same time honoring the old-school tradition that, once you're dead, you're dead.

The mechanics are relatively straight-forward. If a character dies, the player may choose to roll to see if there is sufficient purpose keeping her from ascending into the afterlife. She combines her Int, Wis, Level and prime Attribute, which is her base percentage chance to remain on the material plane. That score is modified by other variables, for example, whether the character was on an important quest before her passing, whether her belief system included an afterlife, whether her death was violent or sudden, and so on. If the player rolls percentile dice and the result is lower than the final number, her character can come back as a Phantom.

Phantoms lose all of their prior class abilities, and start as 1st level Phantoms, with their own experience table, and additional hit-points and special abilities gained at each subsequent level. Phantoms are invulnerable to normal attacks, although they are susceptible to magical weapon and spell attacks, and are doubly vulnerable to attacks from the undead. At first level, they are unable to impinge upon the prime material plane, other than being visible in darkness, and can only communicate telepathically. They recover hit points normally, but if the Phantom should ever be reduced to 0 hit points, the character immediately and unavoidably ascends to the afterlife. Some of the special abilities that are gained by higher level Phantoms include the power to become material, cause fright, telekenesis, teleaudience, detect poison, project cold, and control flames.

Part of the limitations of the class is that the Phantom must never stray from the purpose for which she remains on the material plane. For example, if the party was on an important quest when she died, the Phantom must continue towards that goal. If the party abandons the quest, the Phantom must continue on. As another example, perhaps the purpose of the Phantom is to protect her friends, Then if the friends die, she would ascend to the afterlife. Another purpose of the Phantom might be to avenge her own death. In that case, once her killer died, her purpose would be fulfilled and she would leave this world.

The chapter on Phantoms concludes with some suggested reading for playing and refereeing with this class: Blithe Spirit, by Noel Coward; Hamlet and MacBeth, by Shakespeare; Immortality Inc., by Robert Sheckly; Brief Candles and Happy Returns by Manning Coles; and Topper by Thorne Smith.

LotFP Weird Fantasy RPG: Rules Review

In my estimation, Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Role-Playing is yet more proof that there is still life in the original Dungeons & Dragons ruleset. Within Weird RPG's 48 page rulebook, James Raggi has married the OD&D ruleset with weird tropes and his own particular brand of lunacy, to create a game that feels like OD&D, yet is also vaguely unsettling and unfamiliar.

Right off the bat, Weird RPG re-arranges our familiar six prime abilities and places them in alpha order (Charisma, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Strength and Wisdom), making us re-think our assumptions about the relative importance of each ability. Abilities are generated with six 3d6 throws, in ability-order, and Weird RPG employs the traditional B/X ability modifiers, ranging from -3 to +3. Weird RPG considers your character unsuitable for play if the sum of your ability modifiers is less than 0.

Another somewhat unconventional choice: no experience-bonuses for high prime requisites. In fact, no prime requisites at all. While you have the standard four classes (Fighter, Magic User, Cleric and Thief/Specialist) and demi-humans (Dwarf, Elf and Halfling), none appear to need any minimum ability score to be playable. So a Fighter or Dwarf with 8 Strength is possible.

The Fighter (and I presume Dwarf and Elf, though it is not explicitly stated) are the only characters who can improve in combat ability. This is a marked departure from OD&D where all classes improve in combat, albeit at different rates, but one that I do not strongly disagree with, since Fighters in Weird RPG no longer possess the ability to inflict multiple attacks on multiple low-level monsters. This rule change certainly encourages the Clerics and Magic Users to focus on their strength, spell-casting.

The re-imagined Thief, named the Specialist in Weird RPG, uses a novel mechanic to resolve the traditional thief skills. A d6 system has been instituted, with each specialist skill converted to a certain chance in 6 of succeeding at a task, whether it be picking locks, finding traps or climbing walls. As the character advances in level, the players spread an additional 2 pips between all of the specialist skills, gradually increasing them over time.

Weird RPG uses a three alignment system (Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic) but assumes that most characters (other than Magic Users and Elves who both tend towards Chaos) will fall in the Neutral camp.

The Starting Equipment section occasionally slips into Gygaxian excess. For those who want to get on with playing, the Weapons section is mercifully short: most weapons are smartly grouped into four classes, of minor, small, medium and great weapons, with each weapon within the class priced the same and inflicting the same damage. No more min-maxing based on cost and the best damage within a given class! And nine specific weapons possess additional characteristics, with each profiled in its own paragraph. Sadly, the much-maligned d12 is once again left out in the cold, as weapons do anywhere from a d3 to d10 damage.

On the other end of the Gygaxian-excess scale, there are nearly 70 miscellaneous equipment items, 17 unique ship types, 14 food items, and four sizes of tents. Since I am a fan of Gygaxian excess, I felt like Scrooge McDuck rolling around in his vault of treasure when I looked at those item lists. The relative pricing of items is always a tricky business, and depending on how you approach your game economics, you may want to fiddle with Raggi's prices. In Weird RPG, livestock is priced at 50 gp a head, while a riding horse is 15 times that, at 750 gp. A warhorse comes in at 7,500 gp.

Weird RPG has nine pages of adventuring rules, such as opening doors, foraging and hunting, the effects of disease and falling, light and vision, the passage of time, and so on. Some interesting insights and approaches can be found in these pages. Of particular interest to me was Raggi's approach to encumbrance. Rather than tracking weight, you simply track number of items, with each 5 items moving you up to the next level of encumbrance. While i'm not sure that I am completely satisfied with this approach, it is a novel and simple way to handle the issue.

Considering that Weird RPG includes 17 unique ship types, it is only fitting that it should also have its own set of Maritime adventure rules. Finding a way to boilerplate subsystems like maritime adventures and combat to a role-playing game has always been a challenge for RPG designers. Weird RPG provides its own travel, water-bourne chases, combat, damage and boarding rules. I'd be tempted, instead, to find a board or hex-and-chit game and simulate ship-to-ship combats and chases that way, but the maritime rules provided in Wierd RPG will certainly fit the bill.

What better way to pay homage to OD&D, than to include a comprehensive and detailed section on retainers? You will find four pages of rules and information on hiring and using retainers. This is one of my favorite sections of the book, if only because it revels in more Gygaxian excess, with 24 different types of retainers, along with rules for determining their upkeep, maintenance and loyalty.

Weird RPG also includes rules for purchasing and maintaining property and investments. The mechanics are relatively straight-forward, because, let's face it, its more interesting to go adventuring than paying attention to how well your estate is doing.

Finally, we reach the section on Combat. Weird RPG has a very rules-light combat system, but gives you several interesting options, such as pressing (a vigorous attack that costs you AC to employ), holding (waiting to see what the other side does before intervening) and parrying (where you gain an AC bonus but lose any chance of hitting your opponent). I presume your Strength modifier can be used for both a bonus to your chance to hit and added to the damage you inflict on your opponent, but I had difficulty finding the reference to same.

The last page of the Weird RPG rulesbook provides you with instructions on how to complete your character sheet. The instructions are useful, even to old-hands like me, and I marvel at how effectively the character sheet was laid out.

Overall, I am very impressed with the Weird RPG ruleset. I did not find any rules that seemed particularly jarring or out of place: they all seemed to fit together rather well. And the art is in keeping with the weird theme of the game.

LotFP Weird Fantasy RPG: Rules Review

In my estimation, Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Role-Playing is yet more proof that there is still life in the original Dungeons & Dragons ruleset. Within Weird RPG's 48 page rulebook, James Raggi has married the OD&D ruleset with weird tropes and his own particular brand of lunacy, to create a game that feels like OD&D, yet is also vaguely unsettling and unfamiliar.

Right off the bat, Weird RPG re-arranges our familiar six prime abilities and places them in alpha order (Charisma, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Strength and Wisdom), making us re-think our assumptions about the relative importance of each ability. Abilities are generated with six 3d6 throws, in ability-order, and Weird RPG employs the traditional B/X ability modifiers, ranging from -3 to +3. Weird RPG considers your character unsuitable for play if the sum of your ability modifiers is less than 0.

Another somewhat unconventional choice: no experience-bonuses for high prime requisites. In fact, no prime requisites at all. While you have the standard four classes (Fighter, Magic User, Cleric and Thief/Specialist) and demi-humans (Dwarf, Elf and Halfling), none appear to need any minimum ability score to be playable. So a Fighter or Dwarf with 8 Strength is possible.

The Fighter (and I presume Dwarf and Elf, though it is not explicitly stated) are the only characters who can improve in combat ability. This is a marked departure from OD&D where all classes improve in combat, albeit at different rates, but one that I do not strongly disagree with, since Fighters in Weird RPG no longer possess the ability to inflict multiple attacks on multiple low-level monsters. This rule change certainly encourages the Clerics and Magic Users to focus on their strength, spell-casting.

The re-imagined Thief, named the Specialist in Weird RPG, uses a novel mechanic to resolve the traditional thief skills. A d6 system has been instituted, with each specialist skill converted to a certain chance in 6 of succeeding at a task, whether it be picking locks, finding traps or climbing walls. As the character advances in level, the players spread an additional 2 pips between all of the specialist skills, gradually increasing them over time.

Weird RPG uses a three alignment system (Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic) but assumes that most characters (other than Magic Users and Elves who both tend towards Chaos) will fall in the Neutral camp.

The Starting Equipment section occasionally slips into Gygaxian excess. For those who want to get on with playing, the Weapons section is mercifully short: most weapons are smartly grouped into four classes, of minor, small, medium and great weapons, with each weapon within the class priced the same and inflicting the same damage. No more min-maxing based on cost and the best damage within a given class! And nine specific weapons possess additional characteristics, with each profiled in its own paragraph. Sadly, the much-maligned d12 is once again left out in the cold, as weapons do anywhere from a d3 to d10 damage.

On the other end of the Gygaxian-excess scale, there are nearly 70 miscellaneous equipment items, 17 unique ship types, 14 food items, and four sizes of tents. Since I am a fan of Gygaxian excess, I felt like Scrooge McDuck rolling around in his vault of treasure when I looked at those item lists. The relative pricing of items is always a tricky business, and depending on how you approach your game economics, you may want to fiddle with Raggi's prices. In Weird RPG, livestock is priced at 50 gp a head, while a riding horse is 15 times that, at 750 gp. A warhorse comes in at 7,500 gp.

Weird RPG has nine pages of adventuring rules, such as opening doors, foraging and hunting, the effects of disease and falling, light and vision, the passage of time, and so on. Some interesting insights and approaches can be found in these pages. Of particular interest to me was Raggi's approach to encumbrance. Rather than tracking weight, you simply track number of items, with each 5 items moving you up to the next level of encumbrance. While i'm not sure that I am completely satisfied with this approach, it is a novel and simple way to handle the issue.

Considering that Weird RPG includes 17 unique ship types, it is only fitting that it should also have its own set of Maritime adventure rules. Finding a way to boilerplate subsystems like maritime adventures and combat to a role-playing game has always been a challenge for RPG designers. Weird RPG provides its own travel, water-bourne chases, combat, damage and boarding rules. I'd be tempted, instead, to find a board or hex-and-chit game and simulate ship-to-ship combats and chases that way, but the maritime rules provided in Wierd RPG will certainly fit the bill.

What better way to pay homage to OD&D, than to include a comprehensive and detailed section on retainers? You will find four pages of rules and information on hiring and using retainers. This is one of my favorite sections of the book, if only because it revels in more Gygaxian excess, with 24 different types of retainers, along with rules for determining their upkeep, maintenance and loyalty.

Weird RPG also includes rules for purchasing and maintaining property and investments. The mechanics are relatively straight-forward, because, let's face it, its more interesting to go adventuring than paying attention to how well your estate is doing.

Finally, we reach the section on Combat. Weird RPG has a very rules-light combat system, but gives you several interesting options, such as pressing (a vigorous attack that costs you AC to employ), holding (waiting to see what the other side does before intervening) and parrying (where you gain an AC bonus but lose any chance of hitting your opponent). I presume your Strength modifier can be used for both a bonus to your chance to hit and added to the damage you inflict on your opponent, but I had difficulty finding the reference to same.

The last page of the Weird RPG rulesbook provides you with instructions on how to complete your character sheet. The instructions are useful, even to old-hands like me, and I marvel at how effectively the character sheet was laid out.

Overall, I am very impressed with the Weird RPG ruleset. I did not find any rules that seemed particularly jarring or out of place: they all seemed to fit together rather well. And the art is in keeping with the weird theme of the game.

Everyone Is A Thief

Will Mistretta, over at It's Okay; Gary Sent Us was asking several days ago why there is such a bias in the OSR against the Thief class. I'm not sure that the bias is universal: some OSR types are quite content to include the Thief class in the game, although they all have their preferred fix for what ails the D&D implementation.

My thinking, recently, is to consider every character a Thief. In fact, I might be go a step further and eliminate all of the other classes, and use a Thief class exclusively.

Extreme measures, you say? Absolutely. But what that would do is focus the spotlight, like a laserbeam, on the swords & sorcery heritage of fantasy role-playing, and impose upon the game a far darker and more gritty feel.

WTF you say? How can that possibly work, or be enjoyable, for those that want to play a fighter, cleric, magic-user, or any other non-thief class?

Of course, I don't want to preclude the excitement of swords flashing, spells flying and undead disintegrating. But what I think would be interesting if those abilities were added organically, as players discovered their place in the adventuring party, rather than each having a pre-defined role at the start of the campaign. One character might find religion and obtain clerical powers. Another might find she has an aptitude for reading magic scrolls and casting the magic therefrom. Yet another might find she has the swiftest blade and the greatest tactical mind.

I'm not really advocating a skill system here. My thinking is more along the lines that everyone begins as a Thief, and then some discover their true class at 2nd or 3rd levels. Alternatively, everyone stays a Thief, and the thiefly abilities to read languages, magic and scrolls are applied at earlier levels, allowing the players to cast spells (from scrolls) as Thieves.

Just a thought. It would certainly make magic scrolls more valuable, and would make discovering magic far more mysterious and exciting.

Everyone Is A Thief

Will Mistretta, over at It's Okay; Gary Sent Us was asking several days ago why there is such a bias in the OSR against the Thief class. I'm not sure that the bias is universal: some OSR types are quite content to include the Thief class in the game, although they all have their preferred fix for what ails the D&D implementation.

My thinking, recently, is to consider every character a Thief. In fact, I might be go a step further and eliminate all of the other classes, and use a Thief class exclusively.

Extreme measures, you say? Absolutely. But what that would do is focus the spotlight, like a laserbeam, on the swords & sorcery heritage of fantasy role-playing, and impose upon the game a far darker and more gritty feel.

WTF you say? How can that possibly work, or be enjoyable, for those that want to play a fighter, cleric, magic-user, or any other non-thief class?

Of course, I don't want to preclude the excitement of swords flashing, spells flying and undead disintegrating. But what I think would be interesting if those abilities were added organically, as players discovered their place in the adventuring party, rather than each having a pre-defined role at the start of the campaign. One character might find religion and obtain clerical powers. Another might find she has an aptitude for reading magic scrolls and casting the magic therefrom. Yet another might find she has the swiftest blade and the greatest tactical mind.

I'm not really advocating a skill system here. My thinking is more along the lines that everyone begins as a Thief, and then some discover their true class at 2nd or 3rd levels. Alternatively, everyone stays a Thief, and the thiefly abilities to read languages, magic and scrolls are applied at earlier levels, allowing the players to cast spells (from scrolls) as Thieves.

Just a thought. It would certainly make magic scrolls more valuable, and would make discovering magic far more mysterious and exciting.

Dungeons and Dragons: Colors Of Magic

Some time ago, Akrasia posted his swords & sorcery house rules for Dungeons and Dragons. One of the things I like about those house rules is the classification of spells into three different magic colors (white, gray and black) to simulate a swords & sorcery magic system.

Have I previously mentioned my fondness for Avalon Hill’s Magic Realm? In that game, all magic is separated into five colors: White (boons granted from on high), Gray (manipulation of natural laws), Gold (elvish magic), Purple (command of raw elemental energies) and Black (powers bestowed by infernal agents). I have been giving some thought to applying those “Magic Realm” colors to the D&D spell lists. Here is my take on how the first level D&D spell-lists might look, using the Magic Realm color classification system.

White Magic

Protection From Evil
Bless
Command
Create Water
Cure Light Wounds
Purify Food & Drink
Remove Fear
Resist Cold
Sanctuary

Gray Magic

Comprehend Languages
Enlarge
Feather Fall
Friends
Hold Portal
Identify
Jump
Mending
Message
Push
Ventriloquism
Wall of Fog

Gold Magic

Charm Person
Dancing Lights
Magic Aura
Sleep
Animal Friendship
Entangle
Fairie Fire
Pass Without Trace
Predict Weather
Purify Water
Shillelagh
Speak With Animals

Purple Magic

Affect Normal Fires
Burning Hands
Light
Color Spray
Shocking Grasp
Shield
Audible Glamer

Black Magic

Curse
Find Familiar
Magic Missile
Cause Wounds
Cause Fear
Change Self
Darkness
Hypnotism

In Magic Realm, there are 10 magic-using characters: Druid, Elf, Magician, Pilgrim, Sorcerer, White Knight, Witch, Warlock, Wizard and Woodsgirl. None of the characters has access to all five colors of magic (some have access to two or three colors, and the Magician has access to four, but his control over any of those colors is tenuous). I like the idea of restricting characters to certain colors of magic, as the choice of magic-user class then affects what spells they can access. That is the reason I liked the 2E Specialist Mages approach.

The above re-classification of spells (into colors) puts the typical first level “combat spells” into the following categories:

White – Command
Grey – Friends
Gold – Charm Person, Sleep
Purple – Burning Hands, Shocking Grasp
Black – Cause Fear, Cause Wounds, Magic Missile

Playing with Magic Realm colors (and characters) would certainly change the way first level combat spells were selected.

Dungeons and Dragons: Colors Of Magic

Some time ago, Akrasia posted his swords & sorcery house rules for Dungeons and Dragons. One of the things I like about those house rules is the classification of spells into three different magic colors (white, gray and black) to simulate a swords & sorcery magic system.

Have I previously mentioned my fondness for Avalon Hill’s Magic Realm? In that game, all magic is separated into five colors: White (boons granted from on high), Gray (manipulation of natural laws), Gold (elvish magic), Purple (command of raw elemental energies) and Black (powers bestowed by infernal agents). I have been giving some thought to applying those “Magic Realm” colors to the D&D spell lists. Here is my take on how the first level D&D spell-lists might look, using the Magic Realm color classification system.

White Magic

Protection From Evil
Bless
Command
Create Water
Cure Light Wounds
Purify Food & Drink
Remove Fear
Resist Cold
Sanctuary

Gray Magic

Comprehend Languages
Enlarge
Feather Fall
Friends
Hold Portal
Identify
Jump
Mending
Message
Push
Ventriloquism
Wall of Fog

Gold Magic

Charm Person
Dancing Lights
Magic Aura
Sleep
Animal Friendship
Entangle
Fairie Fire
Pass Without Trace
Predict Weather
Purify Water
Shillelagh
Speak With Animals

Purple Magic

Affect Normal Fires
Burning Hands
Light
Color Spray
Shocking Grasp
Shield
Audible Glamer

Black Magic

Curse
Find Familiar
Magic Missile
Cause Wounds
Cause Fear
Change Self
Darkness
Hypnotism

In Magic Realm, there are 10 magic-using characters: Druid, Elf, Magician, Pilgrim, Sorcerer, White Knight, Witch, Warlock, Wizard and Woodsgirl. None of the characters has access to all five colors of magic (some have access to two or three colors, and the Magician has access to four, but his control over any of those colors is tenuous). I like the idea of restricting characters to certain colors of magic, as the choice of magic-user class then affects what spells they can access. That is the reason I liked the 2E Specialist Mages approach.

The above re-classification of spells (into colors) puts the typical first level “combat spells” into the following categories:

White – Command
Grey – Friends
Gold – Charm Person, Sleep
Purple – Burning Hands, Shocking Grasp
Black – Cause Fear, Cause Wounds, Magic Missile

Playing with Magic Realm colors (and characters) would certainly change the way first level combat spells were selected.

Swords & Wizardry: Reference Sheets

The existence of Reference Sheets for Swords & Wizardry is relatively old news. Michael Shorten of Chogowz's Old Guy RPG Blog fame, edited and published this handy little reference.

I make mention of it, here, because it is part of my inspiration for working on the revised classes and archetypes.

I am thinking of putting a little 16-24 page booklet together, similar to the Chogowiz's S&W reference sheets and Quick Start, but customized for individual classes or archetype categories, complete with map of the town the players start at, a character sheet, a list of items for purchase (and where they can be purchased), an explanation of what the six attributes mean, and anything else that would be useful as a "take-away" resource for new players.

I am hoping it will be fairly straight-forward to create some standard pages, with a few customized pages for the individual classes.

I hope I haven't bit off more than I can chew.

Swords & Wizardry: Reference Sheets

The existence of Reference Sheets for Swords & Wizardry is relatively old news. Michael Shorten of Chogowz's Old Guy RPG Blog fame, edited and published this handy little reference.

I make mention of it, here, because it is part of my inspiration for working on the revised classes and archetypes.

I am thinking of putting a little 16-24 page booklet together, similar to the Chogowiz's S&W reference sheets and Quick Start, but customized for individual classes or archetype categories, complete with map of the town the players start at, a character sheet, a list of items for purchase (and where they can be purchased), an explanation of what the six attributes mean, and anything else that would be useful as a "take-away" resource for new players.

I am hoping it will be fairly straight-forward to create some standard pages, with a few customized pages for the individual classes.

I hope I haven't bit off more than I can chew.

D&D Attributes: Psycho-Social Matrix

Several days ago, I had promised to post my thoughts on the D&D attributes. I first needed to post some comments regarding the Myer-Briggs and Enneagram typologies, simply to provide some context.

I promise to post a more detailed description of how I view the three psycho-social attributes (Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma). In a nutshell, here is how I see them.

Intelligence: knowledge of things (the physical world)
Wisdom: knowledge of others (the emotional world).
Charisma: knowledge of self (the spiritual world).

This may help to inform my archetype classifications. A more detailed description of those three attributes will follow soon.

D&D Attributes: Psycho-Social Matrix

Several days ago, I had promised to post my thoughts on the D&D attributes. I first needed to post some comments regarding the Myer-Briggs and Enneagram typologies, simply to provide some context.

I promise to post a more detailed description of how I view the three psycho-social attributes (Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma). In a nutshell, here is how I see them.

Intelligence: knowledge of things (the physical world)
Wisdom: knowledge of others (the emotional world).
Charisma: knowledge of self (the spiritual world).

This may help to inform my archetype classifications. A more detailed description of those three attributes will follow soon.

Archetypes: Enneagram and Myers-Briggs Typologies

You can find game inspiration in many places. That's why it is often said that being "well-read" and having diverse interests is a boon to creativity.

One of those places to find inspiration is popular psychology. I must admit, I love hitting the bargain-basement bins at the bookstores, picking up pop psychology and "speculative non-fiction" books.

About a decade ago, I attended a party where about 30 of us took the Myers-Briggs test and shared the results. Having know most of those people previously, it was illuminating to discover new things about them, based on that personality test.

Years later, I took the Enneagram test. I prefer that typology to the one used in the Myers-Briggs System, as it seems more prescriptive that descriptive: the Enneagram promotes self-improvement, whereas the Myers-Briggs seems to merely pidgeonhole you.

Bringing this all back to D&D: there are many ways that players can classify their characters. The traditional approach is by character class, whether it be the Fighter, the Magic-User, or some other class. Another approach to character class could be based on Enneagram typologies. You could play the Thinker, the Loyalist, the Motivator, the Protector, and so on. Each in their own way, the classes, archetypes, typologies, or what have you, represent abstractions of reality, and different ways of seeing and interacting with the world. But just because I am a "reformer"in the enneagram typology does not mean I am the same as every other "reformer."

I don't know that I am promoting a switch to the Enneagram for D&D character creation. However, looking at role-playing from a pop psychology perspective would be interesting.

Archetypes: Enneagram and Myers-Briggs Typologies

You can find game inspiration in many places. That's why it is often said that being "well-read" and having diverse interests is a boon to creativity.

One of those places to find inspiration is popular psychology. I must admit, I love hitting the bargain-basement bins at the bookstores, picking up pop psychology and "speculative non-fiction" books.

About a decade ago, I attended a party where about 30 of us took the Myers-Briggs test and shared the results. Having know most of those people previously, it was illuminating to discover new things about them, based on that personality test.

Years later, I took the Enneagram test. I prefer that typology to the one used in the Myers-Briggs System, as it seems more prescriptive that descriptive: the Enneagram promotes self-improvement, whereas the Myers-Briggs seems to merely pidgeonhole you.

Bringing this all back to D&D: there are many ways that players can classify their characters. The traditional approach is by character class, whether it be the Fighter, the Magic-User, or some other class. Another approach to character class could be based on Enneagram typologies. You could play the Thinker, the Loyalist, the Motivator, the Protector, and so on. Each in their own way, the classes, archetypes, typologies, or what have you, represent abstractions of reality, and different ways of seeing and interacting with the world. But just because I am a "reformer"in the enneagram typology does not mean I am the same as every other "reformer."

I don't know that I am promoting a switch to the Enneagram for D&D character creation. However, looking at role-playing from a pop psychology perspective would be interesting.

Fantasy Character Archetypes: Updated

I have updated my fantasy character archetypes list. In comments to an earlier post, mention was made of a Fencer needing Strength, Dexterity and Intelligence. In the moment, it did not occur to me that the comment might be in reference to the "Fence" archetype. I have added Fencer to the list, but wanted to clarify that by Fence, I meant someone who deals in stolen or illicit goods. They would have some ability to circulate with people from different social circles, and would know who was interested in buying what, in addition to knowing what things were worth and being adept at negotiating.

Perhaps I have the wrong word, what would you call those sorts of people?

Any other categories of character archetypes I have missed?

EDIT: I have updated the list, incorporating several suggestions, including Diplomat, Inquisitor, Squire, Jester, Champion, and several others.

Fantasy Character Archetypes: Updated

I have updated my fantasy character archetypes list. In comments to an earlier post, mention was made of a Fencer needing Strength, Dexterity and Intelligence. In the moment, it did not occur to me that the comment might be in reference to the "Fence" archetype. I have added Fencer to the list, but wanted to clarify that by Fence, I meant someone who deals in stolen or illicit goods. They would have some ability to circulate with people from different social circles, and would know who was interested in buying what, in addition to knowing what things were worth and being adept at negotiating.

Perhaps I have the wrong word, what would you call those sorts of people?

Any other categories of character archetypes I have missed?

EDIT: I have updated the list, incorporating several suggestions, including Diplomat, Inquisitor, Squire, Jester, Champion, and several others.