The Iliad, The Odyssey, Beowulf...and Melee/Wizard?!

That's three of my all time favorite books!  Look at that art from the new signet classics releases, I had to buy all 3 (again to my wife's dismay) JUST because the art is THAT COOL.  Especially the cover of BEOWULF-if that does not say SWORD & SHIELD brother you aren't looking (or reading) closely enough!

...and back in '78 Glenn L. Williams converted some of their biggest scenes into Melee/Wizard scenarios!  Below is the article from Space Gamer #16 so break out your hex maps and counters and let me tell you of the days of HIGH ADVENTURE!

CLASSICS SIMULATED

by Glenn L. Williams

Fantasy has always been an important part of man's culture and literature - from Homer's epics, through the British scops, to our contemporary sword and sorcery authors. These great fantasies almost always have as a central theme some form of personal combat, whether physical, magical or both. With the microgames MELEE and WIZARD, these battles of literary fantasy can be recreated. I have chosen three epics: BEOWULF, with its three battles; the ILIAD's final duel between Achilles and Hector; and the ODYSSEY, in a solotaire version of the cave fight between Odysseus and the cyclops, Polyphemos.

I. THE TRIALS OF BEOWULF (OR BEAT THE GEAT) 

BEOWULF, the earliest English epic, concerns the career of a singular, boastful Geat warrior who becomes a king. His career was marked by three great personal battles, recreated below. There was little magic or divine intervention in these battles , which, although they have an aura of the supernatural, were solely on a physical level. 

The first battle (with the giant monster Grendel) took place at night in a mead hall in Denmark. Grendel's nightly raids had devastated the kingdom for twelve years, and Beowulf, an outsider from southern Sweden, vowed to destroy the monster. The action took place between Grendel and Beowulf at night amid the corpses of the hero's slaughtered friends. The Melee board serves well as the mead hall, Herot. The entrance hexes are the doorways. Select twelve warrior counters, one will be Beowulf, the rest his friends. Randomly place them face down around the edge of the Melee board Al l figures are lying down, all are unarmed and unarmored, and all but Beowulf are asleep. The ST and DX of the warriors are 12, IQ 8. Beowulf is ST 14, DX 14, and IQ 12. For Grendel use the WIZARD giant counter (not the cyclops, we'll use him later). For our purposes Grendel is simply an unarmed giant with the characteristics from WIZARD: ST 30, DX 9, IQ 8, and MA 10. 

Grendel enters through any doorway hex. He may attack one sleeping Geat per turn, doing triple damage (remember, all hexes are rear hexes, so his adjDX is 13). On each turn beginning with the first, roll a six-sided die. On a one, the Geats awaken. On the second turn, roll again, the Geats awaken on a one or two, and so on until the fifth turn when they will automatically awaken. When the Geats are awakened, roll against IQ for each. Failure to make the roll means the individual warrior panics and flees through the nearest door. Since Beowulf is not asleep, he does not panic. A warrior who has fled will not return. 

When Grendel attacks Beowulf, he automatically misses and the hero automatically strikes at triple damage. Essentially this scenario is an ambush, and the monster was not expecting the sudden twist his wrist took when the hero grabbed him. From that point, combat is hand to hand, and on all ensuing turns the monster fights at DX 7 as he is literally scared of dying. For each time Beowulf inflicts four or more points damage, roll a six-sided die: on a one or two the hero has ripped the monster's good right arm from its socket and the poor beastie is a permanent southpaw. Once Grendel has lost his arm, he must attempt to disengage and flee every turn. The monster is extraordinarily strong against an unarmed, unarmored opponent, therefore, Beowulf needs the advantages given. After playing this scenario a few times see how calmly you go to sleep. Think back to your childhood, maybe there was a good reason to be afraid of the dark! 

Beowulf's other two battles are treated similarly. The second battle took place in a hall sunken below the surface of a lake. Use the Melee board. The fight was the day after the first battle against Grendel's vengeful mother, the hag (ST 13, DX 13, MA 10). She has a stone flesh spell for the duration of the game. Her hands are claws and are the equivalent of daggers. Beowulf has the same characteristics as before, but is armed with a broadsword and equipped with chainmail. The first hit on the hag with an ordinary weapon shatters it, and reduces the damage inflicted by half. On one side of the hall, near the center, are three swords hanging on the wall. Two are ordinary, one is magical and completely nullifies the stone flesh and shatter-weapon protection spells of the hag. Beowulf may not attempt to get a new weapon until his old weapon breaks. The two combatants begin in an entrance hex in hand to hand combat I If you have an unnatural desire to kill heroes, the hag had some attendant monsters who help drag Beowulf into the hall. Add two small monsters (from the MELEE countermix): ST 6, DX 12, MA 6, hands do ½ die damage in hand-to-hand combat only. In this case begin as before, except that Beowulf is engaged by the two monsters. Place the hag in the center of the board. Since these are monsters with sharp claws, treat Beowulf's chainmail as if it were a creature with its own ST of 15. Each hit the armor absorbs reduces its ST by 1, thus the little fellows can't get at Beowulf, but they can rip his bright mail to shreds. The hag cannot engage Beowulf until the monsters have disengaged him or have died (their battle rage is such that they cannot distinguish friend from foe). 

The final battle was between Beowulf as an aged king and a small dragon which had infested his kingdom. Beowulf's ST and DX are reduced to 13, and he is equipped with chainmail, a large shield, a broadsword and dagger. He sought the dragon in the company of twelve of his warriors, all of whom save one, deserted immediately. The one warrior who stood by his ring-giving lord was a kinsman, Wiglaf, whose characteristics and equipment are the same as Beowulf's. In the epic, he vacillated before joining the battle, so he may only enter on a roll of one or two. If Beowulf is killed, Wiglaf will attempt to avenge his death and attack that turn. Use the WIZARD board. The dragon and the warriors enter from opposing sides (the battle was fought at the base of the dragon 's tower, so his entrance hexes represent the doorway). The object is to slay the dragon, even if all the warriors die or flee. In the epic, the dragon was defending his treasure hoard and will not attempt to fly. If you still have some maudlin regard for the old hero, allow him to enter in the company of Wiglaf and his other warriors. The eleven are ordinary warriors, ST 12, DX 12, IQ 8, and equipped exactly as the king. Each turn they must roll against IQ to see if they panic and flee. The dragon will probably kill Beowulf and all who oppose him, so play this scenario from both sides and compare results.

II. ARISTEIA, HOMERIC CHALLENGE-COMBAT

The concept of gaining personal glory through personal combat (aristeia) was certainly present in BEOWULF, but it is more explicit in Homer's epic, the ILIAD. If you have not read this fantasy classic, it opens in the last years of the seige of Troy with a quarrel between the Greek's leader, Agamemnon, and their superlative warrior, Achilles. The hero withdrew to his tent to sulk, knowing that without his strength and the terror he inspired, the Greeks would panic and be slaughtered when they faced the Trojan's greatest warrior, Hector. Only when Hector killed Achilles ' best friend , Patroklos (who was impersonating the sulking Achilles), did the great warrior re-enter the battle. Unfortunately, Hector had stripped Achilles' armor from Patroklos' corpse as battle spoils, leaving Achilles without armor. His divine mother convinced Hephastos, the gods' smithy, to forge brilliant and glorious new armor in which Achilles strode forth to meet the towering Trojan hero. The duel ended surprisingly quickly once the two came face to face, and the Greek killed the Trojan. Hector's death left the Trojans without a mighty warrior to lead and inspired them, and the disspirited city eventually fell. The end of the city and the wooden horse are not part of this epic. This is the framework within which the duel can be staged, with some modifications for balance. 

Obviously, these god·favored warriors were not ordinary men, but had special characteristics which elevated them above the mass of opposing spearmen. Hector, although stronger and braver than almost all the Greeks, was not so brave nor so strong as Achilles. Their personal characteristics are given below:

	Achilles	Hector
ST	16	14
DX	13	12
IQ	13	13
MA	10	12

The armor of Achilles was special due to its divine origin, while that of Hector, although well made, was ordinary. The skill and experience of Hector compensated for the encumbrance of the breastplate and greaves. Therefore, Hector's armor is the equivalent of chainmail, with no penalties. Achilles' armor is the equivalent of plate, with no penalties. Each of the heroes carries a normal large, round shield, each may carry two spears and wear a dagger. The extra is carried in the shield hand and must be readied before used. A spear cast is ½ normal DX adjustment, that is -1 DX for every 2 hexes the target is distant (round fractions down).

If you desire to add other warriors to either side, their ST and DX would be 12. their IQ 8. Armor is chainmail equivalent, their equipment: a large shield, spear and dagger. They may serve as either the hero's immediate companions, or as the mass of battling warriors through whom the heroes must wade to get at each other. Both functions are illustrated in the epic. These other warriors may also have a spoiling function, getting in the way of cast spears or trying to get the enemy hero with a lucky thrust of their own. Back-stabbing is a legitimate tactic.

The battles of the ILIAD, whether the mass actions or the individual duels, were played against the larger scheme of Zeus' divine plan. The various gods and goddesses backed first one faction then another, much as gamblers back different horses. Some stayed relatively loyal to their chosen favorites, Athena to Achilles, Apollo to Hector. Divine assistance provided to these men resembled the spells in WIZARD. To receive divine aid, the heroes must generally roll against IQ.

Achilles has three of these divine "spells" plus one of his own:

1. A normal aid spell as Athena guides his hand . Roll after movement and apply the effects immediately. It may be attempted only once.
2. Athena's breath may blow aside the first cast weapon which actually strikes Achilles. This is rolled for after the weapon strikes but before damage is rolled. It takes effect retroactively, that is, the weapon is considered to have been a miss and the hit is completely negated. This aid is also available only once, and failure to make the roll means the spell is lost.
3. Athena retrieves the first spear cast by Achilles which misses its target. Once again, roll on the miss. The weapon is immediately available on the next turn and does not require a ready weapon action. If Athena does not retrieve the spear, she will not do so again.
4. Achilles has his own "spell" : his mighty war cry which chilled the Trojan's blood. He may shout it once, and its effects are:

1. each opponent has his DX reduced by 3 for that turn
2. each opponent must make a saving throw against IQ or he may neither move, nor attack that turn, only defend
3. for the duration of the turn, each opponent is treated as if he has received 3 hits that turn which count toward the 5 needed for a DX adjustment on the next turn. At the beginning of the next turn, these points are restored. Saving throw is against IQ. For all of these effects, roll once per opponent, and a failure to make the roll imposes all three effects.

The "spells" available to Hector are three:

1. Apollo's shadow, a normal seven mega hex shadow. It may be invoked twice per game at any time during the turn sequence, rolling against IQ. It is automatically invoked whenever Hector takes 5 or more hits in one turn. No matter how it takes effect, the spell is never available more than twice. Failure to make the necessary roll does not affect its later availability. The spell has a two turn duration.
2. Apollo may grant one aid spell, exactly as that available to Achilles by his protectress.
3. Hector also had a terrible war cry which was not so horrible as Achilles'. The reductions are 2 rather than 3. It may be shouted once, otherwise it is the same.

Use the WIZARD board. The heroes begin on opposing sides in the entrance hexes. Neither may leave the field until his opponent is killed. It does not matter who kills the hero so long as he expires. Ordinary warriors may be forced to retreat off the board if they are against the edge when they take five or more hits: if they do so, they are gone for good. They may also panic (instead of being frozen by the war cry). Panic is random movement off the board To better simulate the fearsomeness of the heroes in battle, you might also require an ordinary warrior to roll against IQ when attacked by either Achilles or Hector, failure meaning the poor fellow turns tail and runs off the board.

With these modifications to MELEE and WIZARD, you are ready to take up spear and shield and stand before the towering walls of Ilion. As Achilles, you have an opportunity to wipe the stain from the honor of Helen's husband Menelaos, as Hector to save you r city from pillage. Helen's face may have launched a thousand ships, but Hector's valor may sink them! May Apollo or Athena be at your side.

III. ODYSSEUS IN THE CYCLOPS' CAVE (OR NOBODY KILLS SOMEBODY) 

Homer's second epic, the ODYSSEY is the story of one of the Greek heroes' return home. The hero, Odysseus, had angered Poseidon, and the god placed many obstacles in the sailor's way, delaying his homecoming for ten years. One of these obstacles was the cyclops Polyphemos. Odysseus and some of his crew were trapped in the cyclops cave when the giant one-eyed monster rolled a massive stone across the entrance. In the epic, the Greeks fashioned a spear and blinded the brute, then escaped from the cave by clinging to the bottom of his sheep. Odysseus, before blinding the cyclops, had told him his name was Nobody. Thus, when the giant roared in pain and his fellows came to aid him, in answer to their question who had injured him, the unfortunate replied, "Nobody." The other cyclops had better things to do than listen to such drivel and left.

This scenario is solitaire and played on the MELEE board which represents the cave. One set of entrance hexes is the blocked cave mouth. Odysseus has four crewmen with him. Their ST and DX are 12, the hero's ST 12, DX 14, and an IQ of 14. The Greeks have neither arms nor armor, only one spear which they must share. Odysseus has two "spells" which simulate his reputation for clever, quick words: a confusion spell with a presumed ST of one, and a limited control person. The latter has only one purpose: if the cyclops has been blinded, and stumbles against the entrance, Odysseus may try this spell. If he succeeds, the cyclops will roll away the stone and flee into the outer world. If he fails, either the cyclops will eat the Greeks, or they will have to get used to the smell of rotting cyclops while they starve in the dark cave. The scenario assumes that unlike the epic, the Greeks botched their first strike, and the cyclops is armed with his club and very angry. Any time the Greeks get a hit with the spear, roll against the spear carrier's adjDX -2 to see if the cyclops is blinded. The Greeks are huddling together, and therefore must occupy adjacent hexes.

The cyclops' move is always a charge attack if not engaged, a shift attack if engaged, and an attack in hand-to-hand combat. The characteristics of the cyclops are those of the WIZARD giant. When he moves to attack, he will always attack the center of the group. Once he is blinded, his options are the same, but his movement changes. Roll one six-sided die for direction. Roll a second for dis lance in hexes. Even if he rolls a six for distance, he still charge attacks. If he runs into a wall. he takes one ST point in damage. The WIZARD countermix includes a beautiful cyclops.

In this scenario, if you can lie, cheat and steal, you might make it home. One hint, though: don't kill the poor guy before he opens the door, even Odysseus couldn't lie to a rock and get it to roll away.

In each of these scenarios, surviving is not easy. The heroes won their battles not merely by skill but by luck, the roll of the die. I have meant it to be hard to recreate the hero's feats in personal battle. The same techniques may be applied to other fantasy battles. For example, David (a small hobbit-like figure with a sling) can meet Goliath of Gath (a Hector-like hero), or Horatio can defend a narrow bridge. May your fantasies be pleasant!

Strange Fascination 2: Wizard (TFT/Melee) Designer notes

Straight from the 1978 pen of Steve Jackson are the following designer notes he wrote in Space Gamer #15 regarding Wizard.  I could pontificate on why I think it is important, but like any good historical document, YOU should read and interpret it for yourself.  So fellow TFT/ Melee/ Wizard fans..enjoy the gnosis:

A designer’s introduction

STEVE JACKSON

WIZARD is the biggest, the most complex, and the generally hairiest game I’ve designed to date. When the big sections of THE FANTASY TRIP come out, of course, they'll dwarf WIZARD (since at least one of them will incorporate some of WIZARD) and probably be ready for a rest home. I’d rather not think about it now.

Part of the difficulty (and size) stemmed from the fact that this is part of an evolving game system. All kinds of things that don’t happen in WIZARD had to be taken into account, keeping later games from becoming illogical. For instance: If you can create an illusion and see through its eyes, what keeps you (when exploring a labyrinth) from simply creating an illusion on the other side of a door and having it report back? Nothing. So ... we had to say (and it seems logical, anyway), a wizard cannot create an image or illusion except in his line of sight. And so on, and on.

The difficulty of abstracting a MicroGame from a large system, when the large system exists only in the form of a steadily growing pile of notes and one ongoing campaign, should not be underestimated. It’s kind of like trying to do macrame with worms.

There were three basic steps in WIZARD’s design. The first, during the construction of MELEE, was when it seemed so simple that we thought MELEE might include magic. The second. after that idiotic euphoria wore off, was when we kept coming up with more and more ideas - and more possible interactions. (Well, suppose you cast a fire into the shadow so it can’t be seen, and an invisible figure walks into it, what happens?) I didn't think it would ever get straight unless we threw out a lot. The third phase was when it all suddenly shook down, until it was just a matter of playtesting and very careful proofreading to make sure that everything was written down the way it was supposed to be. That was when I was very glad that l do all my own typing - it may be time-consuming, but it means I have more opportunities to find a glitch.

But it’s out. Finally.

GENERAL PHILOSOPHY

The general idea behind WIZARD, of course, was to design a fantasy-roll-playing magic system superior to D&D, T&T, et cetera.  The first requirement was a method by which the effects of each spell could be clearly and succinctly stated. This notably lacking in a number of D&D spells, but since the gamemaster can make his own interpretation and enforce it on the players, the lack of clarity in the books can be tolerated  However, WIZARD is meant to be a non-refereed game. Therefore, to avoid arguments, each of the spells has got to be absolutely clear. Otherwise, (as often happens in other fantasy games) the players will spend more time arguing than playing.

Clarity was achieved by making all spells tie in with the established attributes of the game figures. MELEE introduced two basic attributes: ST and DX. Figures in MELEE also have an MA (movement allowance)and can withstand a given  number of hits per turn, depending on their armor. WIZARD uses these, plus a third basic attribute (IQ) as factors on which spells act. All spells affect one or more of these attributes, or directly affect a figure's status in terms of the options it can choose. The spell may affect the target's DX (Aid, Clumsiness) the DX of anyone striking at its target (Blur, Invisibility, Flight), the DX of anyone in the room (Dazzle) ... ad infinitum, almost. ST may be affected by a spell which directly puts hits on its victim. Even IQ can be cut, by a Confusion spell. The more complicated the spell, the more things it is likely to simultaneously do to its subject or his foes in order to achieve its effect.

Spells putting such effects on their target are either Missile Spells (direct wizardly attacks. putting hits on their foes) or Thrown Spells (more subtle, shorter-range spells, some friendly and some unfriendly). There are also Special Spells (weird ones which could not be conveniently classified, such as Teleport, Dazzle, and a few others).

 The other classification of spells, and (I feel) the job WIZARD does best compared to other systems, is Creation. Using a Creation spell. a wizard can put a new counter on the board - fire, wall, shadow, human (including his own duplicate), animal, giant, gargoyle, dragon ... anything. Furthermore, the new counter can be one of three types: real (limited as to type of “summoned” being, but totally solid and real), illusory (acting as a real counter until something successfully “'disbelieves”' it), and image (totally unreal and harmless).

 The illusions work especially well, 1 think. In contrast to D&D, WIZARD strictly defines how an ''illusion'' is disbelieved. A character must pick the specific option of disbelieving (which means doing nothing else that turn), and attempts his IQ roll on 3 dice. The Player has to really think a figure isn't real -- or at least risk the chance -- and the FIGURE has to be intelligent enough to make the roll. Once this happens, the illusion goes away but until then,  it does real damage.  No more of this -- “We said we disbelieved it!” “'Hah. If you disbelieved it, why did you shoot at it?'' -- sort of thing

SAVING ROLLS

Another thing I’m rather proud of is the saving roll system. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t want saving rolls in THE FANTASY TRIP at all. My thought was, “If it happens, it happens; you don’t get another roll to try to get out of it.” However, I soon realized there were situations where you needed to roll for a bad event -- but the roll should be modified to take into account the person that the bad event was about to happen to. Therefore, saving roll was needed. But I detest the D&D system, with complex matrices and tables of saving rolls for all kinds of characters in all kinds of situations, and multiple adds and subtracts scattered through the books. T&T is a little clearer, but not much.

Therefore, the TFT system for saving rolls works like this:

1. The basic statement when something bad happens/is happening is “It happens.” You don’t start with a 50% chance of the trap springing, the illusion appearing, etc. -- you assume it always happens UNLESS
2. the figure in question makes his appropriate saving roll. Therefore, you have the determination down to one die roll -- nice and simple. But you have to take into account the figure making the roll AND the type of danger, so
3. each saving roll is defined by two things: NUMBER OF DICE and ATTRIBUTE rolled against. For instance, to make in illusion vanish, you need a 3-die saving roll against IQ -- that is, if you roll your IQ or LESS on 3 dice (ALWAYS six-sided dice in this system and NEVER poly hedra) you disbelieved the illusion. To avoid falling down when crowded by a giant or dragon, you make a 3-die saving roll against DX. IN THE LABYRINTH will require much harder saving rolls -- for instance, a 4-die roll against DX to duck a cloud of sleeping potion or arrow, a 5-die (!) roll against ST to knock a door open, or an 8-die roll against COMBINED ST and DX to keep from being squashed by the old moving-wall room trick. And so on.

That way, you don’t need a table. All you need is your own character sheet. And, of course luck with the dice.

CHOOSING ATTRIBUTES

The first thing you have to do, when sitting down to play WIZARD, is create your figure(s). To do so, you have not only the ST and DX from MELEE, but also a third attribute -- IQ. The higher IQ you have, the more spells you can learn and the bigger a list you have to choose from. The higher-IQ a spell, the more spectacular it is.

However, IQ is (in my opinion) the least important of the attributes. If you are setting up a “beginning”' figure (8 in each attribute plus 8 more, or a total of 32 for the 3 attributes), you  shouldn't give more than 9 or 10 to IQ unless you are building a team of wizards -- in which case it's okay to have one smart, but weak one.

The reason is simple, You HAVE to have dexterity. A wizard with DX of less than 10 or 11 has no business being where people will try to kill him  He'll act slowly, miss a lot of spells, and waste his strength when he misses. And you HAVE to have strength to power your own spells and to take the hits enemy spells will put on you. A strong, dextrous wizard with a few spells can totally destroy a smart one who is too slow off the mark and too weak to cast all the spells he knows, The trick is to find the right balance. And the right balance for a 32-point (beginning) wizard is nothing like the right balance for a fairly  advanced  (40-point)  one.  Experiment... create wizards with different point totals and see how they work out, And remember, teams are much more interesting than single combats.

SPELLS AND STRATEGY

There are so many spells in WIZARD that I doubt anyone will ever come up with a list of “best” ones. On the other hand, some are more useful than others. You get more mileage out of a cheap spell like TRIP than an expensive one like SUMMON GARGOYLE.  But sometimes you need that gargoyle. You never can tell what will come in handy.

For those of you who are already playing WIZARD, or think you might like to, a few suggestions on tactics with the various spells:

MISSILE SPELLS

By all means, take at least one missile spell the strongest one your IQ will allow. Lightning is deadly,  and Fireball is pretty good - but even Magic Fist can get you out of a tight spot, if you roll well.

The missile spells are very useful for putting hits on an enemy a long ways away. However, they put a terrific drain on your strength (especially with the Magic Fist), and it is possible to hurt yourself worse than your foe. Therefore, you shouldn't use a missile spell unless you think it'll end the fight (giving you a chance to rest) or unless you have to knock out one specific enemy to save your own skin.

Taking a very-high-DX wizard and immediately throwing a missile spell is a cute way to end a battle in one round. However, if you do this too many times, your opponent will either insist on the Courtesy Rule (giving ham a chance to put Reverse Missiles on himself and hoist you with your own petard), or take a wizard with (for instance)IQ/8, ST/14, and DX/10. If (for instance) an IQ/8, ST/8, DX/16 wizard throws a 6-die Magic Fist (the best he can do without falling over), he can expect to do an average of 9 hits damage -- leaving you with plenty of strength to get him, with your staff (if you have enough ST left to withstand HIS blow) or with a Magic Fist of your own.

CREATION SPELLS

One of the most unnerving things a wizard can do is start throwing creatures of various kinds at his opponent. Images, illusions and summoned (real) creatures are all useful, in different ways.

IMAGES are cheap (1 ST). However, they do no harm and disappear when anything (even another image) touches them or vice versa. Use Images to distract your opponent and to draw his fire (especially when  you're getting weak). An image has to act aggressively (or it won't be convincing), but should try to unobtrusively avoid combat -- for when it hits or is hit, it disappears.

ILLUSIONS are the best all-purpose creation. They cost only 2 ST and can do real damage until one of your enemy's figures disbelieves. If your foes are stupid for don't think you would cast an illusion, this will take a long time  However, if your foes are smart (one of the few great benefits of high IQ), your illusions will be disbelieved easily, and your effort will be wasted.

SUMMONED creatures cost a lot of  strength -- and keep costing it every turn. However, they cannot be eliminated except by their death or yours. Against a high-IQ foe, they're very useful -- especially if he thinks they're illusions and wastes a turn or two trying to disbelieve. Since YOU make the roll for his attempt to disbelieve, he may not catch on right away. (Similarly, you may trick him into trying to disbelieve an Image which won't go away until HIT.) If your foe uses a lot of creations against you, be flexible. Use images of your own (especially wolves, which move quickly) to engage them and hold them away. If the enemy figures are images, a hit will dispel them; if they're real, every turn you keep them busy costs your foe vital strength. Use images or illusions of YOURSELF to confuse him as to which target to attack. Cast fire around you that will stop real animals and images, and put hits on illusions, Or sometimes best of all ignore the creations, and use a missile spell to clobber their creator.

OBSTACLES

The other creation-type spells are the obstacles -- fire, wall and shadow. Walls are purely defensive. Shadow, however, is useful as an offensive weapon -- cast on a foe, it blinds him and messes up his DX, though it also protects him from your attacks. Cast in front of yourself, shadow is a nice defense -- and can conceal fire, wall, or even an illusionary or summoned creature. Fire is best as an offensive weapon, though it provides a last-ditch defense when cast in a ring around you.

ANTI-FIGHTER TACTICS

In a one-on-one fight, a fighter can usually kill a wizard if the two have equal point totals ... and if the fighters have missile weapons, the wizards generally die very quickly (unless they have a high enough IQ to use Reverse Missiles at the right time)  However, in a 4-on-4 fight, three fighters and a wizard can generally demolish four fighters.

The wizard's tactic is to stay right behind his lighter friends - as close to the action as he can get without being engaged by a foe. He should have a staff ready, so he can defend if something gets to him. His function is not to attack directly, but to foul up the enemy fighters so his own friends can hit them. The Clumsiness, Drop Weapon and Trip spells are especially useful here; Stop, Slow Movement, and Break   Weapon can also come in handy. He may want to Blur himself, especially If the enemy has bows -- better to lose 1 ST on a blur than 3 or 4 to an arrow.

When this tactic works, the foe will spend so much time picking up dropped weapons, standing up after being tripped, and trying to hit with DX lowered by several points that they will be butchered by the fighters. As a last resort, of course, the martial wizard can throw missile spells or strike with his staff. However, he's usually better off acting as a nuisance and saboteur, letting his fighters do the actual hitting.

RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!

Several spells are more useful on an actual adventure, than in single (or team) combat -- they let you get out of a bad situation. All of them can be useful, even in a duel. These include Dazzle (which messes up the DX of everyone in the room but yourself), Speed Movement, Flight, and Teleport (which can put you behind a foe, get you out of the  locked  room, or bury you in a wall, forever).

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

In general, don't let yourself get in a rut with play style. If you do, you'll have less fun, and be easier to beat. Remember: Although WIZARD looks like a board game, it's really as much role-playing as anything on the market. If you treat it like a role-playing game, and put yourself in the place of your figure instead of just pushing him around on the board, you'll enjoy it more -- and you'll be a better player

PS:  As I write this, the publication schedule for DEATH TEST has been changed. Originally, DEATH TEST was to come out at the same time as the second programmed adventure (which is still being prepared). However, DEATH TEST is now scheduled for publication about the same time as OLYMPICA -- which means It may be on sale even as you read this. DEATH TEST cannot be played without the MELEE rules. If you have MELEE, you can send fighters through - and if you have both MELEE and WIZARD, you can send fighters and/or wizards through. Warning: The Death Test labyrinth eats beginning characters. Give your figures a little experience before they go in -- or they’ll never come out.

More Magic: Dragon Magazine #62

I wrote a bit about the importance of Dragon #62 to me.  I need to make a correction though, while #62 was the first one I personally bought and owned, Dragon #59 is the first one I remember reading.  Well really my younger brother Jon bought and owned it, but he did let me read it, and it stands out for being Traveler specific to me with giant glowing bees on the cover.

Okay in a fit of nostalgia I managed to score a number of old Dragon Magazines ranging from 57 through to 83 with a lot of gaps.  Fortunately the important ones to me were all in their such as 59, 62 and others I remember reading in the golden age.

So now there is a large stack of OLD Dragon magazines I am pouring through with all sort of flashbacks hidden on every page.  Maybe I am a secret Luddite, but there is something in paper physical form that electronic PDF's will never capture.  I am sure part of that reason is mental memory, but even more, modern PDF files mean little to me in comparison to owning a physical book. There is a difference in perceived value and frankly respect for material that the physical delivers that 11010101010101010111100011010101 fails to.  Okay I am climbing off my soap box.

So Issue 62 is important to me for a number of reasons:
1) I learned about Gang Busters, an RPG I would wish for and get Christmas 1982 because of the article in this magazine
2) I first learned about FGU's Aftermath! and Bushido (not V&V as I thought), two games I would covet because of ads in this magazine
3) WORST AD EVER: Task Force Games "Please sir may I have some more?" Oliver ad.  No games SHOWN, no fun, full page with nothing but a child holding an empty bowl asking for more.  Apparently he wants more fun, yet as is apparent by the ad, this child...and you...will starve!
4) I bought it (at Hood River Florist) along with TOP SECRET the RPG on our Spring Break trip to the beach.  Yes a Pacific NW beach. Which means, wind, rain, and grey skies, perfect RPG weather.  P.S. don;t let your youngest brother eat Better Cheddar's on any trip...heinous breath, orange fingers, nightmares still...

Side note, I think I made it to the H.R. florist maybe twice in my D&D glory days and I remember walking right past tons of flowers and glass refrigerated cases to find an old book/magazine rack filled with TSR goodness.  yes a florist shop...

So as I go through Dragon #62 I am discovering a number of things that from a historical perspective are very interesting, telling, and remain true to some extent I think.

First in DRAGON RUMBLES-Jake Jaquet goes over the 7,000 (so far!) returned paper questionnaire responses from a December 1981 Dragon Magazine.  '81-'82 is really the period when the D&D rocket took off into a full blown fad.  Ads in Dragon #62 highlight the Moldvay/Cook basic and expert boxed sets.  Not a single ad for anything Advanced D&D which is odd as most articles are centered on the AD&D game.  I think it reinforces the internal bi-polar problem of the Basic/Advanced trends in D&D that plague the game and its direction even now IMHO. 

Back to the questionnaire, we find the following information:

1. 95% of Dragon respondent readers are male
2. average age 16 1/2.
3. 4 out 5 are students
4. Heroic Fantasy is most popular...but
5. 2/3 of respondents marked Sci-Fi as one of their favorite topics of which the editor made special note,

Question-did that data foreshadow or fire-up the creation of Star Frontiers?  Did it come out fast (no star ship rules) to take advantage of this interest?

6. The nature of rules: Boardgames 61% said they should be adhered to closely, 17% not so much
7. The nature of rules RPG: 42% adhere to rules closely--37% not so much
8. Nature of rules player: 35% said their DM followed the rules closely, 34% said the DM did not.

Question-clearly the role of rules is debated, but interestingly back in'82, there was still a frontier experience simply not as prevalent in today's codexed and cross referenced rule tomes.   I wouldn't say the war was lost as the OSR rebellion continues...

9.The most requested items is MORE INFO on D&D and AD&D by questionnaire returners.
10. 29.82% of people wanted more NPC's as well.  To me that's just odd...

Okay now we flip over to the first question in Out on a Limb, the question and answer section.  In a nutshell, Hugh Weiler, of Worthington Ohio, loves the NPC classes in Best of Dragon II.  Hugh has tried in the past to play an Archer/Ranger or a bounty hunter character that have turned out to be just like a fighter or cleric in execution.  Hugh would like to know is there any chance of turning NPC classes into PC classes and publishing an additional Players Handbook, and DMG, to handle these options.

The response from Kim Mohan is, a simple "no. "


Okay Kim writes more than that...but really its justification:  NPC's are NPC's for a reason (Anti-Paladin, Berserker) they are their for character's to interact with.  In addition they (those of The Dragon) do not presume to alter the fabric of D&D.  To quote Kim specifically, "Classes for player characters are specifically defined and "limited" (though there is still an abundance of choices) in order to make the game system as a whole work properly."

I understand that The Dragon is not official canon, but they produce, discuss, and answer so much that in a sense a gamer reading it would take it as canon.  Sort of like the Pope talking about the Bible, he didn't write it, but he is the official interpreter of it for some. 

In addition I am mystified that Mr. Weiler's ideas of a ranger/archer class or a bounty hunter class may (would?) somehow break the game system in Mr. Mohan's estimation.  I know Kim was speaking in generalities, and it may be simply a defensive corporate posture, even so it makes AD&D sound as brittle as glass.

And that's really (Dragon Rumbles and one Out on a limb question) less than one page of issue #62!  What other treasures, if any, remain hidden?

FGU Dragon Magazine Ad Inspiration: Villains & Vigilantes...and Aftermath!

It's odd the things that stick with you.  The smell of burning leaves in 5th grade, the biggest line I ever saw waiting to see Star Wars, the first Star Wars figure I ever bought (Ben Kenobi), and your first Dragon Magazine.  Mine was issue #62, June 1982.  Yup an Elmore cover that I loved then and still love now-it was D&D for me.   I wonder where I can get this painting...

Anyway, there are not very many Dragon magazines, nor articles that I can recall very well.  They just never stuck with me with through the years.  What did stick with me were the wonderful ads in Dragon magazine.  The old Dragon Bone electronic dice roller, Ral Partha Miniatures, and my own favorite-the game ads from Fantasy Games Unlimited.  Growing up my RPG collection had a vast (in my mind) collection of FGU games.  Bushido, Villains & Vigilantes, and Aftermath! 

Each one of these games, I became excited enough by the small ads in Dragon magazine to go find them in Endgames at Clackamas Town Center in Portland, Oregon.  The first one that really intrigued me was the ad for V&V.  I thought it was so cool to not only see art and pricing, but to see an actual character laid out!  Going over the stats and description were fun and left me a feeling with what else might be in this game?  Below is the first ad I remember seeing and the one that stands out the most.

I am going to guess it was about a year of looking at the ads before I finally got the V&V boxed set, it was my first super hero RPG and the standard by which I judged Champions, Marvel, and DC Heroes.  All fell flat in comparison.

Next was the holy grail of games...Aftermath!  I watched Road Warrior a lot as a kid, combine that future vision with Red Dawn, Planet of the Apes and GAMMA WORLD, and I was already deeply smitten with P.A. stuff.  I know GAMMA WORLD has its adherents and there is stuff I like as well-but it always seemed like D&D with mutant plants and laser guns.  The Metamorphosis Alpha strain is deep within that game, and just does not appeal to me.  I think because I never saw a show or movie, nor read a book that backed the GAMMA WORLD assumptions...and still haven't.  Aftermath! on the other-hand I have a laundry list of movies, shows, and books that sounded like that!

I saved forever to get that $20 boxed set and it was fantastically filled with everything I hoped and more!  One problem, for me it was far too complex and unplayable.  Worse for me it was filled with gun-porn. Detailing out all the possible modifiers and possible ramification of firing a gun, any gun, using all sorts of ammo types...and then determining where on 30 different body locations it may have hit.  Sigh...I know there are gamers who want all of this detail AND MORE, but sadly that isn't me at all.  A game should be fun, not a PhD course on ballistics.  Anyway we played in our own fashion and I managed to get nearly all the modules and supplements to use as resource material..because it is great for that.  It inspired me to create my own COLLAPSE RPG, so I certainly owe FGU and Aftermath a tip of the cap for that.

Clearly the ad genius(es) at FGU knew how to reach me, and maybe some other gamers as well.  They left a heck of mark on me (in a good way) and inspired me to try something similar for my Roguish Fantasy RPG.  Below are the results of that inspiration for you to enjoy.  I may even use them as adds in Fight On! or Knockspell. Back to the salt mines tomorrow so my blogging creativity will return to its normal random state, in the meantime enjoy your trip down Amnesia Lane...

Fighting Fantasy, The Introductory Role Playing Game (RPG) and the Riddling Reaver

I have been on a pilgrimage to complete my Fighting Fantasy RPG collection.  I somewhat distantly remember playing and owning a few of the books growing up.  I was already into D&D so the books were a "just okay" solo endeavor if I could think of nothing else gaming related to do.  Clearly they did not rank high on my to do list, which probably explains my having 3 books total growing up.  Additionally I have no particular fond remembrances of the series, yet I do own the GW Warlock of Firetop Mountain game so???

Even so, I never realized a full RPG had been created on the back of this system.  I found out about it and my pilgrimage began.  I recently came upon the final 3 books I was missing, the final book, and oddly the first in the series, greeting me (after my wife of course) when I came back from my trip.  Life is funny like that, and I think it is no coincidence.

I've studied FF and AFF as I have worked on my Roguish RPG.  This series of books became quite a phenomena.  Certainly the story, random events, varied settings, and stream of new material drove players on, but the back bone of the game caused them to play time and time again.  So let's look at the basics of playing Fighting Fantasy.

Your character has three stats Skill, Stamina, and Luck.  I like that already.  Skill, roll 1d6 and add 6.  Stamina, roll 2d6 and add 12. Luck roll 1d6 and add 6.   That my friend is quick and easy character generation!

Skill is how well you do stuff.  You test by rolling 2d6 and try to roll under your skill total, OR in a fight roll 2d6 and add your skill score, highest total wins.  Targeted and contested rolls.

Stamina-its you Hit Points. When Stamina reaches zero, you becomes a bleeding, dead zero.

Luck-this is the random catch all stat.  The adventure can require you test it, the GameMaster can require you test it, or you may declare you want to test it to see if something goes your way or not.  Test it by rolling 2d6 and trying to be equal to or under your luck skill.  Each time you test, reduce your luck score by one.  Neat mechanic, the more you test your luck, the harder it is to be lucky!

Do you see what happened there? In a about 70 words you now know how to roll up a character and the basics to play Fighting Fantasy.  GENIUS!

No wonder this became SO popular.  Even the slowest simpleton could get this, and the most erudite could enjoy it.  The mechanics did not get in your way, they added dimension to reading and exploring a story.

So why did the FF RPG bomb?  Well the basic RPG (pictured above) really was basic. The essential parts of being an RPG like equipment lists and spells are simply non existent.   The "rules" themselves are sort of an expansion upon the FF game books themselves.  Many additional pages are added to help the young GameMaster, but the bulk of the book is a mapped adventure of GM use.  Is that bad?  Not in the least, but as a full RPG (at least as I understand and enjoy it) it does not work.

What I do like are the included simple sections on how to do stuff like  bribery, searching, spotting, stealth, doors, etc.  The kind of stuff characters will want to do and how to do it in a few sentences which both can reference.  Sometimes those basic things are completely overlooked in a RPG rules set, or worse, hidden amongst pages of rules.  FF calls it out clearly and it is easily referenced.

I have the Riddling Reaver to thumb through next. It is an expansion to the Fighting Fantasy Intro RPG with "Four thrilling adventures" and some additional rules.  My issues with FF RPG were resolved with The Riddling Reaver...somewhat.

In roughly 9 paper back pages RR adds magic, weapons, and adds Unconscious player rules.  Yes all of that in 9 pages and obviously the majority (6)of that is magic and spell descriptions.  So let's look at these in a tiny bit more depth.

Unconsciousness-this mystifies me.  In the books zero stamina equals death, yet the now add rules for negative stamina so that PC's can go unconscious and not die. Call me a simpleton but why is it okay to be dead in the books but not when Young James is GameMastering?  I am sure it's because the books are tested to make death a rarity and Young James the Kill Joy GM may not have the same issue with PC deaths.  Even so I think this is weak.  I did not like it in D&D and do not here.

Weapons-While FF treated every weapon the same, RR adds a random damage chart.  To use the chart find your weapon, roll d6, and you opponent loses the stamina listed.  Some weapons lower your skill score by one or 2 points, but in exchange do more damage when you hit.  While I like weapons now having a mechanical impact on the game, the chart leaves me cold and is not something I'd like to thumb back and forth through a book finding.

Magic-Ah yes, the glaring missing thing from Fighting Fantasy.  In this Intro RPG only ONE character can be a wizard.  Yes, it is italicized in the book.  The wizard only add +4 to his Skill score roll, BUT now gets a whole new Magic stat. To that the wizard adds +6 to the roll of 1d6.  To cast roll 2d6.  If the roll is equal or under, the spell works, if not something bad happens!  (HA! I wrote the same thing, except using 3d6, ages ago for my Roguish RPG!  There is nothing new under the sun indeed!)  A total of 12 spells are available to the prospective wizard.

Overall Magic is definitely tacked on and if I remember correctly changes later in the evolution of FF into AFF.  In short Riddling Reaver adds to and expands the FF intro RPG into a more fleshed out game, but still has numerous issues to resolve. 

I like that the whole system is maybe 24 pages complete after removing the adventures. I like targeted and contested roles, I like the simplicity of 4 stats-although not how they set them up.  I don't think I would play the system frankly, but as a springboard I have seen far, far worse.

So my pilgrimage continues...

PS- I know it is being re-released (okay correctly Advanced Fighting Fantasy is being re-released) and like an idiot I will be re-purchasing.  My wisdom score is an 8 I believe.

Influences

find out more here

The Jacksonian Conundrum or Why Munchkin and not GURPS

I was going to start out by listing my history with SJG but let's be honest, it won't matter.  If you hate what a write, convincing you because I grew up playing them that it matters, frankly won't.

So Evil Stevie was at the game show I was at today.  Yup saw the new Ogre, and a boatload of stuff that was part toy and part game.  Then there were the truck loads of Munchkin stuff.  For those not playing, in essence Munchkin consists of leveling up your character to 10th level to win.  You play good cards on your self, and everyone plays crap cards on you to stop you.  Now pick a theme, rinse and repeat.  Unlike the more erudite of the OSR, I do not despise munchkin and its ilk.  SJG has hit on a theme and game design that appeals broadly.  If they don;t have your theme, wait a few months its coming...including Axe Cop.  Yup That is not a mis-print, look it up.  Don;t be surprised if Munchkin Conan does not show up (or some riff on it) as well...

I am listening to Steve pitch his stuff and I come up with 3 things:
1) Steve is Smart
2) He listens and produces what his customers support
3) He isn't afraid to try things-PROVIDED they make him $

Look at the bulk of SJG's projects and they are a lot of one off's with potential.  Let's take Cthulhu dice.  He made the game sure...now he has a Cthulhu dice bag that looks like Cthulhu...and he is coming out with a giant foam die version with Cthulhu silly bands as markers.  Clearly this is making him $. If an when any of these bomb-Steve moves on.

He showed a giant plush tentacle, maybe 2 feet long-no purpose, no game tie, just a tentacle.  If enough attendees could convince him they could sell it-SJG gets in the foam tentacle business.  If it sells maybe you get foam eyes on stalks next, if that sells, maybe wings.  Steve stops when a sales threshold is not met and then moves on.

So why not GURPS?  Unlike the last edition which filled shelves with splat books, this edition really does not have anything to show for itself.  In fact I don;t remember seeing any GURPS at his rather large booth.  What does that tell me? It is not selling. In fact it is selling so poorly, it isn't worth talking about or showing to prospective retailers.  Brother that is bad...remember the foam tentacle? He was willing to talk about that...but not GURPS...yeeech

Okay so Munchkin sells by the goat-load, and GURPS is Texas sized roadkill.  What's my point?  Should be obvious-PEOPLE WANT AND WILL BUY EASY TO PLAY AND UNDERSTAND GAMES.  Munchkin-easy, GURPS-hard.  Solution?  Already made (but need updating) Melee and Wizard.

Don;t believe me? Okay let's talk about WotC!  Yup after they had zippo at GAMA, they had 40 feet of gaming goodness at this show!

Board games 25 feet
Magic 10 feet
D&D 5 feet

That isn't a mistake either and D&D was spread out to cover the 5 feet and almost no one was looking at it.  WotC was showing what people were buying. (FYI-they have Shogun/Samurai swords reprint coming-looks sweet!)

 To be clear I am not some gilded age wanna be, back to the future, everything was better when TSR had a cartoon, my kingdom for a wood grain box devotee.  What I am is mystified by the blind devotion to encyclopedic gaming production in an age of on demand consumer. Is that a problem?  If you think it is, you need to ask yourself what the problem is?  Is it the chicken laying the egg or the egg that is getting produced? Or do we need a different bird altogether now?

Discuss...

OSR is a pilgrimage, not a destination

Hello from the road. One of the good thing about being trapped in a metal tube 35,000 ft above the planet is the luxury of time to read and think  uninterrupted. Note that only applies provided you have a window seat.

I can't say my site is OSR (Old School Renaissance) compliant particularly if by OSR you mean only D&D.  In fact its clear using that yardstick, this site is not even measurable.  For me (and yes I own and love the old stuff, D&D and beyond) I see the idea of OSR as one not about recreating D&D in some idealized form, I see the OSR movement as one of a pilgrimage.  I define a pilgrimage as a search to find deep moral or spiritual significance.  So I read, write, study and play the old school games trying to find that spark of significance that still matters to me and inspires me all these decades later.

Also note I am referring to myself, although I don't think I am the only OSR Pilgrim.  Between my starting in the RPG hobby in 80-81 and to where RPG games are now, something to my mind has been buried and lost.  Well at least to me its been lost.  The fun and joy I had in playing RPG's which numbered 64 or fewer pages became buried in tomes of rules.  The free form, figure it out style of play where every DM did something different became homogenized, ruled, and dis-spirited.  Somewhere along the line, "it's not in the book" ceased to be an opportunity, and instead became a problem.  In the end the more advanced and detailed rules have become, the less free and enjoyable I have found gaming.  In fact it is to the point where I simply gave up playing driven away by encyclopedias of rules, their vocal adherents, and attendant rules lawyers.

Then I realized if what I enjoyed were the more free form, more flexible, less layered rule sets-they were still available.  Sure not in a store, but in my garage and in my closet.  I began my journey by reading and re-discovering what thrilled in the past, and how little enforced structure was actually there.  That lead me to the net to see if any other journeyers were on the road as well.  Sure enough the road is packed with travelers.  There are the outbreaks and cries of truth and heretic, but I keep right on walking.

In the end D&D is not a bible, Gygax and Arneson are not saints, and Tekumel is no temple.  Even so they all have something to say to the traveler on an OSR pilgrimage who stops to read, ponder, and look for enlightenment-not an answer. I hope to see you on the OSR road, and I know that whenever I stop, others will keep going on their own pilgrimage, and that is as it should be.

In the immortal salutation of Marc Miller of Traveler fame, "Bon Voyage!"

Happy Easter!

Creatures in Roguish

The "name that game" poll on this site and on the Roguish RPG site turned out about as mixed as I was on the title.  Even so, Roguish did get the most votes, so it stays as the game title.  For those who took time to respond thanks!

Here is another brief look into Roguish with creatures and stat blocks.  As with everything Roguish I try to skin it down to what's most important, at least as I see it.  You may see some things missing that you feel are important, and if so let me know what and why.  Is treasure important? Number appearing? Habitat? I did not think these critical and they could actually be limiting, but you still have chance to tell me I'm wrong and explain why.

Animals and Monsters

Fantasy worlds of legend and literature are filled with all sorts of dangerous creatures. Herein you will find all sorts of challenging foes for your characters to overcome. In Roguish, animals and monsters are represented by seven Categories:

Type (TY): This broadly defines the category of creature in Roguish.  Some spells or special abilities may only affect certain creature types.

Animals-this includes insects, dinosaurs, dogs, bears, oozes, slimes, and other similar creatures.

Enchanted-this broadly covers magical beasts like dragons, demons, and living statues.

Humanoid-creatures which have a human like appearance and traits from goblins to giants.

Undead-creatures which have returned from beyond deaths pale veil like Zombies, vampires, and ghosts.

Skill level (SL): This represents its ability to make physical and magical attacks whether with claws, swords, bows, fangs or spells.  The SL is added to all attacks or spells cast of any kind made by the creature.

 Second the SL can serve as a guide for the Referee.  It can be used to help determine if the creature is strong enough or too strong for the characters to face.  As a guideline a monster’s SL is roughly equivalent to a player character’s level.

Defense Value (DV): This bonus represents how well protected or how much armor the creature wears.  Add the creatures DV to its die rolls to defend from physical attacks. If using targeted combat rules the number in parenthesis is the target number you need to exceed to hit the creature.

Movement (MV): This represents the number of spaces a creature can move on the ground in one 5 second turn.  Multiply the score by 5 to get the number of feet that represents. If you see a slash the number after the slash is the creature’s speed flying.

Damage (DM): The letter after shows how much damage a creature does when it makes a successful attack.  This will be L, M, V, X, or Z.  If you see a + and a number (#) after the letter, it means you should add that number to the total damage rolled.   An Asterisk means they creature has a special attack like fiery breath or magical spells!  See that creature’s description for more information.

Hit Point (HP): This is the amount of damage the creature can take before it dies.

Behavior (BE): This will give you an idea of how and why the creature acts. Below is a brief list of possible behaviors, feel free to add your own.

Cowardly-attacks with surprise or in groups, flees if things go badly

Territorial-fights if attacked or to defend territory or property it claims as its own

Aggressive: Will fight and pursue those who retreat

Creature Example

Goblin

TY: Humanoid SL:1 DV:1(11) MV:7 DM:L* HP:6 BE: Cowardly

These small 3 foot tall pale green or gray skinned creatures are thin wiry and not too smart. They breed like rabbits and are notorious thieves with a hideous love of humanoid flesh.  Dwarfs have tired for eons to destroy them, but like rats they simply scurry away.  Usually they are armed with knives, short bow, javelins, and small shields.  For every 30 goblins, one will be a shaman knowing how to cast 1-3 different spells.

Playtest Character sheets for Roguish

Well, sort of a character sheet...except they are bookmarks!  As I work on my Roguish RPG I thought I'd share with you the play test character sheet.  A bookmark may not be the hardiest of character sheets to use long term, but it is definitely a familiar, friendly, and simple way to get people started playing.  It does not intimidate a new player, it has a little picture to help fire the imagination, and it is not covered in big gaping blank areas to be filled in, nor lots of little boxes and stats to be filled out.  The other cool thing is it is a neat takeaway that can be used as a bookmark after the adventure, and might keep a play tester thinking about the game.

Not sure if the final character sheet will remain in bookmark form, or if I'll have a bit more detailed option ...but getting 5 character sheets from one piece of paper is pretty sweet!

TFT Basic Set that was and wasn't: Dragons of Underearth

A while ago I wrote a rambling missive on my strange fascination with TFT and it's status as the biggest "just miss" in role playing for me.  Late in the life of Metagaming Inc., a new boxed set was released call Dragons of Underearth.  This was a basic and trimmed down FRPG based on Melee, Wizard, and TFT.  Strangely, Dragons of Underearth was apparently tied back to another Micro Game Lords of Underearth.  Lords of Underearth is a fantasy war game that has some ties to TFT, but it's definitely not a FRPG.  You control companies of fighters and battle using a CRT. More odd? Apparently the never published follow up to Dragons, Conquers of Underearth, served to expand and tie Dragons of Underearth and Lords of Underearth together into a "company based" FRPG solitaire play war game.  What would THAT Frankenstein monster of a game have looked like?

The Lords of Underearth is a unique and fun war game, and I suppose if your gaming style consisted of parties of adventures battling hordes of goblins, orcs, or other beasts in company sized units then a mash up with a FRPG is certainly a lost treasure.  Perhaps this sort of thing could have been invaluable to say an avid Birthright player or to the players who wanted to run their own kingdoms and have their party of characters involved in mass combats.  I never understood that need myself, but I'd never turn down another tool in the old gaming toolbox.

Back to Dragons of Underearth, while it is a basic FRPG based on TFT, its' pretty clear it's goal was to serve as a bridge to the Conquerors of Underearth product.  This again seems like yet another Metagaming mistake.  Where TFT became too complex and rules/ exceptions heavy, Dragons scaled back (too far mind you) to the core basics of the system presenting a simplified (and unfinished) core FRPG system.  Yet it's apparent goal was only to set up the basics needed to get into playing Conquerors.  I make this assumption based on two sources: The Dragons of Underearth rules which mention Conquerors multiple times for reference and rules expansion.  Second, from the designer himself commenting on it.

What a waste.  As Thompson did not like the direction Jackson took TFT, and Dragons seemed like the potential product Howard originally envisioned TFT to become, it's sad to think of Dragons as a bastard "son of TFT" meant only as a bridge to some other game. I created my own version of what a basic game might have looked like with Heroes & Other Worlds.

Below posted are the Dragons of Underearth designers notes from Interplay #8. 

Pocket Full of Peril #8: Ruins of Rhee-Suh-Uhs

Rhe-Suh-Uhs' tentacles of power once stretched over the land.  Slowly he lost power as others arose to challenge his rule.  In the end he fled into the southern ruins and caves of Mount Lepos with his family and retainers.  Rumors abound of fabulous wealth stashed in his tomb but its been hundreds of years surely there is nothing left to loot...or is there?

Tip of the cap to Tim Ballew over at Risus Monkey for the geomporphs edited and used to create this Pocket full of Peril.

Download the PDF version in the PfoP repository on the right side of the page!

Pocket Full of Peril #7: Lair of the Lunartics

 

People in the small  villages around Mount Lepos have an ongoing problem, their folk are disappearing during nights of a full moon.  Worse, occasionally they come back with a misshapen neck and back, gaunt, stumbling and feeding on the flesh of any they find.  Mount Lepos is a notorious site filled with caves, ancient mines, hives of goblins, and strange creatures no man can name.  What is abducting the villagers and can it be stopped before the next full moon?

I ran this using my Roguish RPG system and its become something of a "Hive Crawl" at this point.  For now I'll post this first level PFoP version.  All the wicked cool hive geomorphs were made by Stonewerks and you can find them by clicking the link.

The Lunartics
The Lunartics in my game are an alien species that have been stranded for ages inside of Mount Lepos slowly growing in numbers.  They are now venturing out and using hive leaches to create zombie workers to dig new areas, or food for this brood.  The lunartics themselves look like pale gray/white upright walking ticks.  Huge bloated abdomens that are inches above the ground. The top short arms are used for feeding and grasping things up close to their poor vision eyes. The longer middle arms are used to hold tool or weapons, and two large power full legs propel their bodies uprightly like a humanoid.  The lunartics feel vibrations in the air via antennae,  through their feet, and through millions of small spiny hairs more than they actually see things.  So things like invisibility or hiding in shadows serve no purpose if the person doing these things is also moving.

There are lunartic workers who use a bite or claw to defend themselves.  Their carapace is equal to hardened leather or scale armor. The lunartic warriors use spine throwers which are sort of a shotgun firing d6 darts. These are fueled by a strange spiney larva.  In addition they use spore "grenades" which are a fungal growth that when broken does one of 3 things: Fails, creates a choking gas cloud, or creates a poison gas cloud.  This is determined by the age and moisture richness of the spore. They fall back on using dual wielded sharp dagger like knife hooks which grow from their claws and mark them as warrior caste at birth.  Their armor is also harder, like chain mail when young and plate mail when veteran.

Hive Leaches
The hive leaches are slow moving centipede like creatures which glow faintly in the dimness.  They range from a 12 to 18 inches in length.  They bred as food by the lunartics and secrete a mind altering fluid that effects humanoids by turning them into zombies.  A hive leach when attached to a humanoid well first paralyze, and the slowly feed off the victims spinal fluid until the back breaks and the victim is crippled.  This usually takes a few months.  In the meantime the victim is kept alive an nourished by the hive leach producing a protein based saliva that keeps the subject alive and also "zombifies" the victim.  The lunartics turn these victims into simple miners.  When threatened the hive leach secrets an adrenaline into the victim causing the fight or flight reaction in the host.

Spore Flies
In the hive players can also come across spore flies. These look like bat-winged grub insects with glowing abdomens. They bite and leach onto victims drain 1 hp per turn they are attached.

Mushmoons
These are strange yellowish mushrooms that glow in dark and give off a candles worth of light for up to 30 days even after being picked.  When eaten by humanoids it can create various effects depending upon the age of the mushroom.  Dried mushrooms can be eaten like an iron ration and fill like a full meal.  Young ones are deadly poisonous, and full grown ones can induce madness.

What lies lower in the lair?  Time will tell...

Download Pocket Full of Peril #7 PDF  in the PFoP Repository link to the right. 


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