As noisms and various others did years ago, I have described my new campaign setting in 25 words or less. It helps to focus during the design process and these are the elements I consider absolutely essential:
Alien Elf Invaders; Magic eddies in the land; Gods from Outer Space; warbands; vileness, corruption, exaltation, redemption; puzzle dungeons; Underworld - Overworld; souls; random hex generation.
25 words
maandag 22 oktober 2018
vrijdag 19 oktober 2018
I Seek to Create
... a new campaign setting.
It is the curse of the Dungeon Master, the ruin of referees. Sooner or later, gamer ADD comes for us all.
I have a very enjoyable and engaging 5E game going on in my homebrew setting, the Sunset Realm. At some point there will be posts about the Sunset Realm, I promise.
But I have always been jealous of world-builders like Keith Baker (Eberron), or the guys from Paizo (Golarion). The Known World from the BECMI-line of D&D was a huge kitchen sink of a fantasy setting. The expanded Forgotten Realms are as well. My own homebrew Sunset Realm with its two dominant human cultures and geography bounded by a circumferential ice wall seems bland by comparison.
In short, I seek to create a WORLD, not just a setting. A living canvas upon which my players can paint future campaigns in any edition they choose. A game based on the following things:
It is the curse of the Dungeon Master, the ruin of referees. Sooner or later, gamer ADD comes for us all.
I have a very enjoyable and engaging 5E game going on in my homebrew setting, the Sunset Realm. At some point there will be posts about the Sunset Realm, I promise.
But I have always been jealous of world-builders like Keith Baker (Eberron), or the guys from Paizo (Golarion). The Known World from the BECMI-line of D&D was a huge kitchen sink of a fantasy setting. The expanded Forgotten Realms are as well. My own homebrew Sunset Realm with its two dominant human cultures and geography bounded by a circumferential ice wall seems bland by comparison.
In short, I seek to create a WORLD, not just a setting. A living canvas upon which my players can paint future campaigns in any edition they choose. A game based on the following things:
- My Appendix N or at least a destillation of the tropes contained therein;
- Space Elves, the last remnant of their starfaring culture, addicted to magic with a hidden agenda;
- Greyhawk's Grease and Blood wedded to the weirdness and philosophy of Planescape and the uniqueness of worlds as Dark Sun;
- Public Domain villains: Orcus, Cthulhu, Asmodeus;
- Random tables to determine hex/location contents, as established by Yoon-Suin and Hubris;
- 3d6-in-order PCs. Sure you can play whatever you want but your Fighter will be stuck with that Str 9 if it is your first roll. This is roleplaying gold.
- A Tentpole Dungeon
- A grounded tone - a sort of Fantasy MCU.
This is a large wishlist and I must say I don't think I can pull it all off. But I'm gonna try.
woensdag 17 oktober 2018
Grease and Blood
...or "Why I love Greyhawk".
As Erik Mona, formerly of Dragon Magazine, now of Paizo, has put it once before: "Greyhawk is my favourite setting, because grease and blood are better than high fantasy and high magic". I happen to agree.
Greyhawk was the first TSR setting for Dungeons & Dragons. And while many falsely assume it is a high fantasy setting reminiscent of Middle Earth or even the Forgotten Realms (gasp!), nothing could be further from the truth.
When you look up Gygax's Appendix N in the back of the 1st Edition DMG, there is only a handful of high fantasy literature on there. The majority of the list is made up of pulp fantasy: Robert E. Howard's Conan, Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, Moorcock. Fritz Leiber's Nehwon stories. All examples of sword & sorcery pulp adventure.
What is more, the early Greyhawk modules such as the Village of Hommlet, the Temple of Elemental Evil, the Giants/Drow series, the Slavers-series, all are examples of small-scale sword & sorcery fantasy - not the epics and high magics that define high fantasy!
Greyhawk's tone is dark. There is an evil demigod that rules an empire to the north. The main city of the setting is steeped in greed and corruption and ruled by a kleptocracy of thieves. The fading empire is mired in diabolism and decadence. The Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes and Halflings of the setting are isolated enclaves beset by savage humanoids. And the good nations of the world are internally divided and occupied with their defense. This is not a setting of shining knights and epic magic, this is a setting where the might of small adventuring bands make small gains against the encroaching dark gods, slaving racists and decadent nobles.
When I was younger and just discovering D&D, I did not grasp this subtlety. Greyhawk City, Furyondy, the Empire of Iuz, the Great Kingdom - they were all backdrops for our World Tour Adventure, a sandbox of six 14-year olds cavorting through the setting and meeting as many named NPCs as possible.
But in the years since, I have come to admire the exquisite craftsmanship of this setting and the way in which it truly stands apart from Forgotten Realms' high fantasy and Dragonlance's epic fantasy. In a way, it is small fantasy. Not low fantasy, as powerful spells and magic items are still common. But Greyhawk is not about powerful NPC's sweeping in to save the day from marauding gods. Nor is it about an epic war agains evil dragons. Greyhawk is about the very human possibility to make a small change for the better in the world. And you can give me that any day.
As Erik Mona, formerly of Dragon Magazine, now of Paizo, has put it once before: "Greyhawk is my favourite setting, because grease and blood are better than high fantasy and high magic". I happen to agree.
Greyhawk was the first TSR setting for Dungeons & Dragons. And while many falsely assume it is a high fantasy setting reminiscent of Middle Earth or even the Forgotten Realms (gasp!), nothing could be further from the truth.
When you look up Gygax's Appendix N in the back of the 1st Edition DMG, there is only a handful of high fantasy literature on there. The majority of the list is made up of pulp fantasy: Robert E. Howard's Conan, Clark Ashton Smith, H.P. Lovecraft, Moorcock. Fritz Leiber's Nehwon stories. All examples of sword & sorcery pulp adventure.
What is more, the early Greyhawk modules such as the Village of Hommlet, the Temple of Elemental Evil, the Giants/Drow series, the Slavers-series, all are examples of small-scale sword & sorcery fantasy - not the epics and high magics that define high fantasy!
Greyhawk's tone is dark. There is an evil demigod that rules an empire to the north. The main city of the setting is steeped in greed and corruption and ruled by a kleptocracy of thieves. The fading empire is mired in diabolism and decadence. The Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes and Halflings of the setting are isolated enclaves beset by savage humanoids. And the good nations of the world are internally divided and occupied with their defense. This is not a setting of shining knights and epic magic, this is a setting where the might of small adventuring bands make small gains against the encroaching dark gods, slaving racists and decadent nobles.
When I was younger and just discovering D&D, I did not grasp this subtlety. Greyhawk City, Furyondy, the Empire of Iuz, the Great Kingdom - they were all backdrops for our World Tour Adventure, a sandbox of six 14-year olds cavorting through the setting and meeting as many named NPCs as possible.
But in the years since, I have come to admire the exquisite craftsmanship of this setting and the way in which it truly stands apart from Forgotten Realms' high fantasy and Dragonlance's epic fantasy. In a way, it is small fantasy. Not low fantasy, as powerful spells and magic items are still common. But Greyhawk is not about powerful NPC's sweeping in to save the day from marauding gods. Nor is it about an epic war agains evil dragons. Greyhawk is about the very human possibility to make a small change for the better in the world. And you can give me that any day.
zondag 14 oktober 2018
They came from Outer Space
I have always disliked the common fantasy stereotype of Elves. You know them, the immortal, high-magic, wise and nature-loving Tolkien-guys. In literature, they come off as boring, all-powerful Dei Ex Machinae. Why bother with the struggles of Aragorn and Frodo if Legolas and Elrond and Galadriel can lift their pinky and accomplish more. Yes I know, Tolkien's Elves are a fading race and they can't use their magic because Sauron will devour their souls or whatever. But seriously, look at this guy:
Anyway, the originally Nordic Elves-as-spirits-of-light by way of Tolkien's immortal warrior-wizards were ported onto early D&D and since then fantasy has been stuck with them. But I don't buy them. As a roleplaying race, they are impossible to play. Many Elf characters I have met during my time behind the screen were simply older, more magical and pointy-eared humans. That goes for Greyhawk Elves or Faerun Elves or Dragonlance Elves. The DARK SUN campaign setting managed to reconceptualize Elves as shorter-lived, tall, lanky, impossibly fast thieves. But these were EINO - Elves In Name Only. They might as well have been called Flumkin; the racial name was the only recognizable aspect of Dark Sun's Elves.
That said, there are a few fantasy settings that have taken the Nordic/Tolkienish/Gygaxian concept of D&D Elves and taken them in new directions.
Warhammer
By far the oldest of the settings beside Greyhawk, the Warhammer World (may it rest in peace, in Games Workshop's new Age of Sigmar gameline this setting has been destroyed) was actually a twist on the old and tried fantasy concepts. Dwarves were miners and smiths but also mohawked rage-fighters. Orcs were savage warriors but also possessed by a magical energy that manifested itself through combat (WAAAGH!).
The Elves of the Warhammer World at first glance are similar to Tolkienish/Gygaxian stereotypes. But when you take a look beneath the surface, remarkable complexity is revealed. Yes they are a dwindling race of Chosen People. Yes they are Arrogant Bastards who know what is best for humanity. Yes they are the original practitioners of magic.
But they also are the setting's Atlantis expy, have a vaguely feudal Japan-vibe, and trapped in medieval stasis.
The grimdark space-fantasy equivalents, the Eldar of Warhammer 40K, are even more twisted. Their race is dying because an entire demonic Chaos God was born from the Eldar's collective sins. Since then, they seek to escape death and become immortal for fear of their souls being devoured by said Chaos God.
Birthright
This underrated, unappreciated late-2nd Edition era D&D setting actually presents standard fantasy Elves as fairly creepy and scary. Elves were the original inhabitants of the main continent, Cerillia. Over centuries of human colonization, the Elves were driven to the edges of the continent and deep into its wildernesses. As a result, Elves hate humans. One of the main Big Bads of the setting, Rhuobe Manslayer, is an Elf who regularly organizes Wild Hunts to harry mankind.
Interestingly, in keeping with the stereotype, the Elves of Birthright were also the original practitioners of magic. In Birthright, arcane magic comes from the land and wild, undespoiled places. Human civilization weakens the flow of natural magic and as the land becomes more developed, magic diminishes. Not so in the domains of the Elves. Elven cities, like Feng Shui, are built in accordance with the flow of magic. As such, development of Elven realms never diminishes its magic rating. This is, in my opinion, a unique twist on the use of magic and why Elves are so good at it. By the way, there are no Elven Clerics in Birthright.
Eberron
The Eberron setting, developed for D&D 3.5, reconceptualized Elves as the familiar immortal wizard-fighters but, again, put a new spin on familiar tropes. Eberron's creator, Keith Baker, puts the Elves' relationship with death center-stage. Elves are split into a number of cultures. The Elves of Aerenal seek to transcend death, bonding with positive energy to live and counsel into eternity. They are creatures of dedication, infinite time to learn, and tradition. The Elves of the Tairnadal seek to emulate the great deeds of their ancestors, seeking to channel their ancestors through their actions. Other Elves turned to darker arts and invented the discipline of necromancy.
What I find interesting that Baker takes established tropes - such as the high-magic skill and immortality - and twists them around. Yes, the Elves are long-lived but they can only become immortal by bonding with deathless energy or emulating their ancestors. Yes, the Elves are high-magic but they learned their magic while rebelling against the Giants of ages past.
Space Elves
Ultimately, I want my Elves to be - you know - Elves! Not just long-lived humans. Not just pointy-eared expies of the players. Elves should be mysterious, alien even.
So what if, in my campaign, Elves are, in fact, alien? What if they came to the campaign world from some place in the Great Dark Beyond, fleeing some abhorrent menace that they themselves created? What if the Elves that settled on this world are, in fact, using its natural sources of magic for their own ends? What if these Elves are the last remnant of a dying race, even further pushed to the fringes of civilization by human conquerors? What if the more traditional among them have radicalized in the face of their hardships and developed a means to transcend mortality? What if the new generation - the PC's generation, the generation that has been born on this world - seeks completely different goals than their fathers who fled to this world?
That would be an interesting take on Elves I think.
 |
| Hit them with your best shot. |
That said, there are a few fantasy settings that have taken the Nordic/Tolkienish/Gygaxian concept of D&D Elves and taken them in new directions.
Warhammer
By far the oldest of the settings beside Greyhawk, the Warhammer World (may it rest in peace, in Games Workshop's new Age of Sigmar gameline this setting has been destroyed) was actually a twist on the old and tried fantasy concepts. Dwarves were miners and smiths but also mohawked rage-fighters. Orcs were savage warriors but also possessed by a magical energy that manifested itself through combat (WAAAGH!).
The Elves of the Warhammer World at first glance are similar to Tolkienish/Gygaxian stereotypes. But when you take a look beneath the surface, remarkable complexity is revealed. Yes they are a dwindling race of Chosen People. Yes they are Arrogant Bastards who know what is best for humanity. Yes they are the original practitioners of magic.
But they also are the setting's Atlantis expy, have a vaguely feudal Japan-vibe, and trapped in medieval stasis.
The grimdark space-fantasy equivalents, the Eldar of Warhammer 40K, are even more twisted. Their race is dying because an entire demonic Chaos God was born from the Eldar's collective sins. Since then, they seek to escape death and become immortal for fear of their souls being devoured by said Chaos God.
Birthright
This underrated, unappreciated late-2nd Edition era D&D setting actually presents standard fantasy Elves as fairly creepy and scary. Elves were the original inhabitants of the main continent, Cerillia. Over centuries of human colonization, the Elves were driven to the edges of the continent and deep into its wildernesses. As a result, Elves hate humans. One of the main Big Bads of the setting, Rhuobe Manslayer, is an Elf who regularly organizes Wild Hunts to harry mankind.
Interestingly, in keeping with the stereotype, the Elves of Birthright were also the original practitioners of magic. In Birthright, arcane magic comes from the land and wild, undespoiled places. Human civilization weakens the flow of natural magic and as the land becomes more developed, magic diminishes. Not so in the domains of the Elves. Elven cities, like Feng Shui, are built in accordance with the flow of magic. As such, development of Elven realms never diminishes its magic rating. This is, in my opinion, a unique twist on the use of magic and why Elves are so good at it. By the way, there are no Elven Clerics in Birthright.
Eberron
The Eberron setting, developed for D&D 3.5, reconceptualized Elves as the familiar immortal wizard-fighters but, again, put a new spin on familiar tropes. Eberron's creator, Keith Baker, puts the Elves' relationship with death center-stage. Elves are split into a number of cultures. The Elves of Aerenal seek to transcend death, bonding with positive energy to live and counsel into eternity. They are creatures of dedication, infinite time to learn, and tradition. The Elves of the Tairnadal seek to emulate the great deeds of their ancestors, seeking to channel their ancestors through their actions. Other Elves turned to darker arts and invented the discipline of necromancy.
What I find interesting that Baker takes established tropes - such as the high-magic skill and immortality - and twists them around. Yes, the Elves are long-lived but they can only become immortal by bonding with deathless energy or emulating their ancestors. Yes, the Elves are high-magic but they learned their magic while rebelling against the Giants of ages past.
Space Elves
Ultimately, I want my Elves to be - you know - Elves! Not just long-lived humans. Not just pointy-eared expies of the players. Elves should be mysterious, alien even.
So what if, in my campaign, Elves are, in fact, alien? What if they came to the campaign world from some place in the Great Dark Beyond, fleeing some abhorrent menace that they themselves created? What if the Elves that settled on this world are, in fact, using its natural sources of magic for their own ends? What if these Elves are the last remnant of a dying race, even further pushed to the fringes of civilization by human conquerors? What if the more traditional among them have radicalized in the face of their hardships and developed a means to transcend mortality? What if the new generation - the PC's generation, the generation that has been born on this world - seeks completely different goals than their fathers who fled to this world?
That would be an interesting take on Elves I think.
woensdag 10 oktober 2018
Appendix N
In the back of the 1st Edition Dungeon Master's Guide, Appendix N gave aspiring referees a reading list of inspirational books for fantasy campaigns. On that list were book series such as Robert E. Howard's Conan stories, or H.P. Lovecraft's Mythos stories.
The term "Appendix N" has since then come to mean: a list of inspirational media for the author's settings, rules or stories.
On this blog, in the months and maybe years to come, I will detail and review the inspirational media that constitute my Appendix N. A non-limitative list:
The term "Appendix N" has since then come to mean: a list of inspirational media for the author's settings, rules or stories.
On this blog, in the months and maybe years to come, I will detail and review the inspirational media that constitute my Appendix N. A non-limitative list:
Campaign Settings
Eberron
Greyhawk
Birthright
Dark Sun
Dragonlance
Warhammer
Midgard
Pathfinder Inner Sea
Mutants
& Masterminds: Freedom City (3rd Edition)
Warhammer
40.000
Literature
Fool Wolf:
The Hounds of Ash and Other Stories
A Song of
Ice and Fire series
Silmarillion
God Emperor
of Dune
Movies
Thor:
Ragnarok
Pan’s
Labyrinth
Snow White
and the Huntsman
TV / Anime
Avatar: The
Last Airbender
Game of Thrones
The Last
Kingdom
YouTube
Runehammer
Comics
Pathfinder:
Worldscape
Marvel's original Infinity trilogy (Infinity Gauntlet, War, Crusade)
Music
Queen –
It’s a kind of magic
Video Games
The Legend
of Zelda (I)
Zelda:
Majora’s Mask
Zelda:
Twilight Princess
Heroes of
Might and Magic III
Final
Fantasy VI
Warcraft
III / Warcraft III Frozen Throne
Planescape:
Torment
Illusion of
Gaia
Alpha
Centauri
maandag 8 oktober 2018
The Compendium Hack
...or "How I Play 2nd Edition AD&D".
1. 3d6 assign ability scores
2. PHB 6 standard races + Tieflings (Planescape) + Half-Orcs (Greyhawk)
3. Classes: standard PHB + Barbarian (Warrior group) + Sorcerer (Wizard group, 3E tables) + Monk (Priest group, Scarlet Brotherhood) + Assassin (Rogue group, Scarlet Brotherhood).
4. Favored classes: Unlimited advancement in the following classes:
- Dwarf: Fighter
- Elf: Mage
- Gnome: Illusionist
- Halfling: Thief
- Half-Orc: Barbarian
- Half-Elf / Human: ALL
5. Humans are the only race that can dual-class and always gain +10% XP bonus
6. Cantrips and Orisons: 0-level spells for Priests and Wizards (3E tables)
7. Advantage / Disadvantage and Inspiration (5E) instead of penalties and bonuses
8. Simple Encumbrance (LotFP)
9. Wizards HD is changed to d6; Rogue HD is changed to d8.
10. Weapon proficiencies by Weapon Groups:
-Blades: All swords, daggers, knives
1. 3d6 assign ability scores
2. PHB 6 standard races + Tieflings (Planescape) + Half-Orcs (Greyhawk)
3. Classes: standard PHB + Barbarian (Warrior group) + Sorcerer (Wizard group, 3E tables) + Monk (Priest group, Scarlet Brotherhood) + Assassin (Rogue group, Scarlet Brotherhood).
4. Favored classes: Unlimited advancement in the following classes:
- Dwarf: Fighter
- Elf: Mage
- Gnome: Illusionist
- Halfling: Thief
- Half-Orc: Barbarian
- Half-Elf / Human: ALL
5. Humans are the only race that can dual-class and always gain +10% XP bonus
6. Cantrips and Orisons: 0-level spells for Priests and Wizards (3E tables)
7. Advantage / Disadvantage and Inspiration (5E) instead of penalties and bonuses
8. Simple Encumbrance (LotFP)
9. Wizards HD is changed to d6; Rogue HD is changed to d8.
10. Weapon proficiencies by Weapon Groups:
-Blades: All swords, daggers, knives
-Bows: longbows and shortbows
-Crossbows: all crossbows and
firearms
-Cleaving and Crushing: axes, maces, mauls,
hammers
-Flails: Chains, flails, whips
-Polearms: Glaives, halbers, spears, staffs
-Throwing Weapons: Darts,
shurikens, throwing axes
-Unarmed
11. Extra group XP: 1XP per 1gp of treasure recovered
vrijdag 5 oktober 2018
On the Feel of (A)D&D
...or "Why I Miss Second Edition".
This is a pretty pretentious title for a post - Why I miss 2nd Edition AD&D. In OSR circles, AD&D 2E is pretty much the most reviled, despised and shunned set of D&D rules in the 40-year history of the game. Still, it is the edition that holds the most value for me not only because of nostalgic reasons but for gameplay reasons as well.
Memory lane
Let's get the obvious out of the way. I began playing roleplaying games in the spring of 1997. My brother lent me a mysterious boxed set with a griffonrider and a faux-stonework logo on the cover. This was my entrance to the City of Greyhawk and years of adventures exploring that metropolis and meeting its denizens.
Soon after, I received the Revised Player's Handbook (black border) and a set of polyhedral dice and every saturday my friends and I were exploring this fantastic continent of Oerik.
In the fall of the same year, a Friendly Local Game (and Comics) Shop opened in my hometown and with the money I saved from my allowance and my job delivering flyers I purchased a campaign setting of my own - the Planescape Campaign Setting.
In the years between that purchase and the release of 3E in august 2000, we played the heck out of Planescape and Greyhawk, frequently crossing over between them. Other favorites of that time when we could spend whole saturdays on gaming were Dark Sun, Spelljammer and Ravenloft. Our group never cared much for the Forgotten Realms, seeing it as a more vanilla incarnation of the more evocative Greyhawk setting.
Al these campaigns were created using AD&D 2nd Edition-rules and we played the shit out of them.
In short: 2nd Edition was the edition on which me and my friends cut our theeth roleplaying. It allowed us to imagine these grand and fantastic worlds, spiralling away into infinity.
The Last Real Edition of D&D
We embraced Third Edition when it launched in 2000. We were 14- or 15-year-olds and immediately grasped the more streamlined and focused design of the d20 system. For the lifetime of that edition, it was our go-to ruleset. I ran my first homebrew campaign in 3E and my most memorable characters were created using the 3E ruleset. And it felt great - the d20 resolution mechanic, the more powerful races and classes, the ability modifiers - everything was streamlined and computated and balanced and intuitive. It was only later, when 3E grew into the abomination that was 4E and then reconstituted itself in 5E that I realized - the editions of D&D published by Wizards of the Coast didn't feel like D&D anymore.
When you're fifteen years old, you immediately see the opportunities in min/maxing your character, finding the optimal distribution of ability scores, feats and skills, and all the other moving parts of 3E. We were overwhelmed with possibilities and options. And yes, ascending AC was awesome and easy. But as I look back, the game we played from 2000-onwards wasn't D&D.
Where were the ability score requirements, the different rates of advancement for various classes, the rules for strongholds and followers? But most of all, I missed the relevance of the six ability scores. Sure, with the derivated modifiers the abilities were more central to the game than before, but increasingly in 4th and 5th Edition, the game became about the modifiers. Why hold on to scores of 3-18, when the actual math revolves around the -4 to +5 modifier?
The old school Roll-mechanic for ability scores made perfect sense to me. A fighter with a 14 Strength? Your Strength check succeeds on a 14 or lower. A mage with a 17 Intelligence? Your Intelligence check fails on an 18+.
Third, Fourth and Fifth Editions are great roleplaying games with some amazing concepts, expansions, settings and adventures. They just aren't D&D to my taste.
Sheer Volume
Lastly, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition is my favourite edition by sheer volume. The 2E-era saw the release of a new Forgotten Realms, Spelljammer, the Ravenloft setting, a new Greyhawk, Dark Sun, Al'Qadim, the Historical Reference series, the Complete Player's Handbook series, the Dungeon Master supplements, an updated Dragonlance, Planescape and Birthright. It was the most prolific of editions and many themes and memes of newer editions harken back to AD&D 2E.
In Closing
I started roleplaying games with AD&D, 2nd Edition. I cut my teeth on Greyhawk, Dark Sun and Planescape. I still seek to roll under my Strength score to succeed at a Strength check and I see ability score requirements as blessings rather than penalties. I miss Second Edition AD&D.
This is a pretty pretentious title for a post - Why I miss 2nd Edition AD&D. In OSR circles, AD&D 2E is pretty much the most reviled, despised and shunned set of D&D rules in the 40-year history of the game. Still, it is the edition that holds the most value for me not only because of nostalgic reasons but for gameplay reasons as well.
Memory lane
Let's get the obvious out of the way. I began playing roleplaying games in the spring of 1997. My brother lent me a mysterious boxed set with a griffonrider and a faux-stonework logo on the cover. This was my entrance to the City of Greyhawk and years of adventures exploring that metropolis and meeting its denizens.
Soon after, I received the Revised Player's Handbook (black border) and a set of polyhedral dice and every saturday my friends and I were exploring this fantastic continent of Oerik.
In the fall of the same year, a Friendly Local Game (and Comics) Shop opened in my hometown and with the money I saved from my allowance and my job delivering flyers I purchased a campaign setting of my own - the Planescape Campaign Setting.
In the years between that purchase and the release of 3E in august 2000, we played the heck out of Planescape and Greyhawk, frequently crossing over between them. Other favorites of that time when we could spend whole saturdays on gaming were Dark Sun, Spelljammer and Ravenloft. Our group never cared much for the Forgotten Realms, seeing it as a more vanilla incarnation of the more evocative Greyhawk setting.
Al these campaigns were created using AD&D 2nd Edition-rules and we played the shit out of them.
In short: 2nd Edition was the edition on which me and my friends cut our theeth roleplaying. It allowed us to imagine these grand and fantastic worlds, spiralling away into infinity.
The Last Real Edition of D&D
We embraced Third Edition when it launched in 2000. We were 14- or 15-year-olds and immediately grasped the more streamlined and focused design of the d20 system. For the lifetime of that edition, it was our go-to ruleset. I ran my first homebrew campaign in 3E and my most memorable characters were created using the 3E ruleset. And it felt great - the d20 resolution mechanic, the more powerful races and classes, the ability modifiers - everything was streamlined and computated and balanced and intuitive. It was only later, when 3E grew into the abomination that was 4E and then reconstituted itself in 5E that I realized - the editions of D&D published by Wizards of the Coast didn't feel like D&D anymore.
When you're fifteen years old, you immediately see the opportunities in min/maxing your character, finding the optimal distribution of ability scores, feats and skills, and all the other moving parts of 3E. We were overwhelmed with possibilities and options. And yes, ascending AC was awesome and easy. But as I look back, the game we played from 2000-onwards wasn't D&D.
Where were the ability score requirements, the different rates of advancement for various classes, the rules for strongholds and followers? But most of all, I missed the relevance of the six ability scores. Sure, with the derivated modifiers the abilities were more central to the game than before, but increasingly in 4th and 5th Edition, the game became about the modifiers. Why hold on to scores of 3-18, when the actual math revolves around the -4 to +5 modifier?
The old school Roll-mechanic for ability scores made perfect sense to me. A fighter with a 14 Strength? Your Strength check succeeds on a 14 or lower. A mage with a 17 Intelligence? Your Intelligence check fails on an 18+.
Third, Fourth and Fifth Editions are great roleplaying games with some amazing concepts, expansions, settings and adventures. They just aren't D&D to my taste.
Sheer Volume
Lastly, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition is my favourite edition by sheer volume. The 2E-era saw the release of a new Forgotten Realms, Spelljammer, the Ravenloft setting, a new Greyhawk, Dark Sun, Al'Qadim, the Historical Reference series, the Complete Player's Handbook series, the Dungeon Master supplements, an updated Dragonlance, Planescape and Birthright. It was the most prolific of editions and many themes and memes of newer editions harken back to AD&D 2E.
In Closing
I started roleplaying games with AD&D, 2nd Edition. I cut my teeth on Greyhawk, Dark Sun and Planescape. I still seek to roll under my Strength score to succeed at a Strength check and I see ability score requirements as blessings rather than penalties. I miss Second Edition AD&D.
dinsdag 2 oktober 2018
Yet Another Traditional RPG Blog
...or "Why Am I Here?"
The answer to that question is far more difficult to give than you would expect.
Let me try to give part of an answer: For years I have lurked in the corners of the blogosphere/OSR-scene. I have played all editions of Dungeons & Dragons, ran campaigns in various homebrew worlds, Greyhawk, Planescape and Spelljammer. I have read dozens, nay hundreds, of articles about megadungeons and hexcrawls and wandering monsters and quantum ogres. I have absorbed, watched, and learned.
And now I want to give a small piece of all that accumulated wisdom back to you, the internet-gamers, the grognards, the OSR, the blogosphere.
This blog will be a repository of reviews, gameable content, essays and other random (roll 1d100) thoughts. Enjoy your stay, I'll be here a while.
The answer to that question is far more difficult to give than you would expect.
Let me try to give part of an answer: For years I have lurked in the corners of the blogosphere/OSR-scene. I have played all editions of Dungeons & Dragons, ran campaigns in various homebrew worlds, Greyhawk, Planescape and Spelljammer. I have read dozens, nay hundreds, of articles about megadungeons and hexcrawls and wandering monsters and quantum ogres. I have absorbed, watched, and learned.
And now I want to give a small piece of all that accumulated wisdom back to you, the internet-gamers, the grognards, the OSR, the blogosphere.
This blog will be a repository of reviews, gameable content, essays and other random (roll 1d100) thoughts. Enjoy your stay, I'll be here a while.
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