More Musings On Preferences

Earlier, I discussed what I like and dislike about D&D and closely related games. I offered some possible solutions, largely drawing on Fantasy Wargaming, to the problems that I have with the game, which is almost by definition the designing of a fantasy heartbreaker. This time, I will consider one of the first divergent variants of D&D, RuneQuest (I am not considering Tunnels & Trolls in the main because I have almost zero experience with that game, it being one of the very few early adventure games that I have not played much at all).

RuneQuest began, in part, as the Perrin Conventions for D&D combat (should that link go away, the Conventions are also available as part of All The World's Monsters Vol. 2 and as a .doc file here). This was a rules variant which provided a little less abstraction to combat, introducing ideas that would also be modified and incorporated into AD&D (segments, for instance, seem to develop from the "Melee Time" tracking system of the Perrin Conventions) as well as the rudiments of the RuneQuest combat system. RQ also attempted to alleviate the reliance on character classes, providing a new system, "skills", to allow one character to be mechanically differentiated from another. Skills in RQ were defined by their function and their skill level. Uniquely, RQ skills were rated by their percent chance of success (though in the first two editions, they might as well have been rated on a d20-scale, as all skill ratings were in 5% increments; as the basic game system has grown over time, some versions have indeed chosen to use d20s directly, such as Pendragon) rather than by an abstract level. RQ also introduced a magic system that was closely tied into the default game world presented in the rules, which allowed any character to learn some magic, but reserved the most powerful sorts of magic for characters who wanted to spend a lot of time and character resources on that pursuit. The combat system was further modified, as I said, to reduce the abstraction by introducing hit locations and limiting hit points severely, removing many of the functions of hit points in D&D to skills such as Parry and Dodge. Armor was changed so that it no longer provided an abstract protective value, but actually reduced the amount of damage that a successful, undefended strike would do to the character. Finally, the experience and improvement system for characters was tied to the use of skills in the adventure, so that a player would choose the direction of character advancement by the choices made in play, rather than by selecting a character class.

Those are some significant changes, but like D&D they are pretty straightforward and based in play at the table. Later games (GURPS, I am looking at you) would start more strictly with design, rather than being largely developed in play, and there are benefits and drawbacks to that approach. I will note that RQ does begin with such design considerations, but they seem to be developed from systems that were applied at the table and then refined.

Whatever, the point is that RQ offers a set of solutions to perceived problems in D&D, making it in many ways a fantasy heartbreaker in the classic mold. I like many of the solutions that RQ makes to D&D questions, but I dislike others. Skills, while a wonderful concept in theory, become, in practice, a bit unwieldy. They slow down character creation by forcing too many choices, extending the process of equipment buying (always the slowest part of character creation - which, by the way, is something that needs to be solved) to the character's abilities and, worse, doing so at a stage when the character should probably be just sketched out anyway. This may be less of a problem for generic NPCs, as their skills may be given default values based on the type of encounter, but that does require many more (or much longer) entries in the "monster book" portion of the game, as creatures vary by a lot more than just hit dice. I've already discussed other solutions to the problem of character abilities in my earlier discussion of D&D, so I'll leave that off now.

Combat, on the other hand… wow. What a revelation the RQ system was back when I first saw it. Even more because when I was younger I never really understood hit points and the abstractions of D&D-style combat. RQ's combat has the disadvantage over standard D&D style combat in that it is more involved and takes more time (what can be resolved in two rolls in D&D takes at least a full four in RQ, and there are more decisions for players to make which also add time). That said, I think that those tradeoffs are very much worth what they add to the game. Interestingly, the writers of Fantasy Wargaming seem to have looked at RQ at least in passing, as they apparently try to address the problem of multiplying dice rolls by combining the "to hit" and "hit location" rolls into one. Unfortunately, FW's method of calculating the column to use on their tables works against this. Speaking generally, I think that my ideal fantasy heartbreaker would draw its combat system from the Perrin Conventions and RQ to some degree or another.

Magic and religion in RuneQuest was similarly a revelation. It is one of a very few magic systems that I feel approaches the feel of what real-world people think that they are doing with magic and spirituality, to some extent. By giving most people access to minor magical abilities (increasing the damage their weapon does by a point or two, improving other characteristics by a point or two, minor healing, and the like), giving the option for more expansive magical abilities to specialists (a lightning strike or a burning ray of light from the heavens! breathing underwater! flight! and so forth), and tying access to these magical abilities to the religious sects to which the character can belong (which provide guidelines for behavior through emulation of the sect's ideals - a far better choice than the abstract "alignments" of D&D), RQ solves several D&D problems nicely. That said, there are other solutions to the magic and religion questions that I am interested in - again, I point to Fantasy Wargaming, which gives some excellent solutions to the matter of polytheistic religion that are not well covered by RQ's method, and which may be better than RQ at handling monotheistic religion as well. The other major magic/religion system that I want to consider (and will do so in more detail in due course) is the one currently called, clumsily, "Path/Book Magic" for GURPS 4E, which was previously called "Spirit Magic" in GURPS 3E and was introduced in C.J. Carella's GURPS Voodoo: The Shadow War. Finally, I've been researching the claims of medieval and renaissance magicians to see what sort of abilities would be best to include in a fantasy game (not specifically for this project, but the information is definitely of value here). There's a surprisingly wide variety of effects to consider, many of which are valuable for an adventure game.

So, to summarize, there's a lot to love about RuneQuest, but the breadth and ubiquity of the skill list is too fiddly for a really robust game of the sort that I might find to be ideal. I'd previously suggested a middle ground that might work better, which retains levels for players who are not interested in messing with skills, and skill specialties for those who are.

Goth of the Week - Independence Day Edition

The ever-awesome Carl McCoy of Fields of the Nephilim (the best band you've probably forgotten or never heard of*).

Happy Independence Day to those of you from the US!


*OK, that's probably an exaggeration. Still, I have a lot of love for this band, and most people seem to not really know of them.

The New Edition Of D&D: First Impressions

Had to edit to change to this picture,
which I like better.

Like pretty much the rest of the gaming world, I downloaded the free pdf laying out the basic rules of the new edition of Dungeons & Dragons. It's surprisingly large, clocking in at 110 pages with no art. Unfortunately, there are no layers, so the stupid background color is stuck to the thing if you want to try and print it out. Still, did I mention that it's free?

The game includes some things that I have come to expect from WotC editions, such as a single experience point chart that applies to all classes, a boosting of hit points over the original editions, a fixed-score option for character creation, and so on. It also has the things that I was told to expect by the playtesters, such as the advantage/disadvantage mechanic (which, I have to say, is a pretty good idea).

I haven't read it deeply yet, just skimmed it, but there are a couple of things I noticed. First, experience points are extremely reduced. 300 xp to reach 2nd level? Less than a half-million for 20th? I don't know yet how I feel about that. Stat bonuses are expanded, so that bonuses start kicking in at 12 (and 9, for the maluses), leading up to a +/-4 at the extremes. There is a slight benefit to taking the rolls for characteristics, as the average of the selection system comes out slightly lower than 4d6s3 (which is now the official way of rolling up characters). However, taking the fixed hit point increases at each level is better than taking the dice, as the average for each die is rounded up (6 for a d10, 5 for a d8, and 4 for a d6). Speaking of hit dice, Thieves (or Rogues, whatever) get d8 hit dice, and Magic-Users (or whatever they call them) get d6. Again, not sure how I feel about that.

The neatest color rule, in my opinion, is the "arcane focus". This is a minor item, like a wand, a crystal ball, or a staff, which a Magic-User can use in place of most material components (and the focus doesn't disappear when used in this way). Therefore, when casting spells, the M-U can either pick up a ball of bat guano or else wave around a magic wand in order to cast Fireball. Material components that have a listed cost ("a 5000gp flawless emerald" or whatever) cannot be replaced by this item. I don't know that I'd import the idea, but I do like it. Gives the game a bit of a "Harry Potter" feel.

(Is this the first time I've made two posts in one day? Probably not, but it doesn't happen often here.)

Obscure Games: Supergame

After nearly a year away, I am returning to the Obscure Games series of reviews with a very odd entry.

In 1980, Jay and Aimee Hartlove published the first edition of their superhero game, Supergame, and followed it up in 1982 with a revised and expanded edition. I only have the second edition, so that is what I will comment on here.

Supergame is based on the idea that a superhero game should be able to handle nearly any character from any genre. In the introduction, they talk about a party of player-characters consisting of an alien from outer space, an African witch-doctor, a knight in shining armor, and a gunslinger from the Old West. To this end, they introduced a point-buy system (which, I believe, was the second to see print, the first being found in Superhero: 2044). Characters in the game are assigned 250 points to divide between characteristics, skills, powers, and so forth.

The characteristics are pretty straightforward, consisting of Strength, Dexterity, Physical (basic hit points), Agony (hit points for nonlethal attacks), Intelligence, Ego, Psychic Power, and Charisma. Various tables and formulas are used to determine the number of physical and mental actions allowed to the character in a combat turn, ground movement rate, leaping distance, hand to hand damage potential, healing rates, and so forth. Different powers cost varying numbers of points (“Breathe water as well as air” costs 10 points, “See in all directions at once” costs 20). So far, so good, but nothing groundbreaking until we remember that this was in 1980/1982, the first edition coming out a year before Champions hit the shelves.

Armor is divided into four different categories, covering blunt trauma, other physical attacks, energy attacks, and “exposure” (heat, cold, and so on). Armor costs half as much as an equivalent attack (the attack costs 1 point per point of damage, while armor costs 5 points for 10 points of protection). After that, shields and other equipment are dealt with.

Combat includes several different systems. The first, for hand to hand combat, requires a calculator, since the chance of hitting is the attacker’s value divided by the sum of the attacker’s and defender’s values, expressed as a percentage to roll on d100. There are various modifiers that apply to each party’s total value, making it necessary to recalculate the chance nearly every round of combat. There is, fortunately, a chart that covers the main range of values (0 to 100 in 5-point increments), so it can be just looked up most of the time. Worse than that, though, is the fact that, when a hit is scored, the exact amount of damage done is figured by taking the damage potential and multiplying by a percentage determined by the roll of d100.

Fire combat, naturally, uses an entirely different system. First, the player and Referee total up the modifiers, then the shooter rolls first 1d6, modifying it by the modifiers, and then a second d6. If the second d6 comes up greater than the modified value of the first d6, it is a hit. Fire combat doesn’t use the d100 method of determining damage, either. Instead, a hit location is rolled, which determines whether the injury is Heavy, Medium, or Light. These represent the full amount, two-thirds, or one-third of the missile weapon’s damage potential.

There are additional, and different, systems for determining the success of conical attacks, magical attacks, and mental attacks. Further, there is a system for “Charisma attacks”, which are basically attempts at persuasion.

Supergame is a beautifully incoherent game, with some strange design choices that I can’t say I understand at all. Still, I like its quirky nature, even if I will probably never run it (I ran it once when I was younger, but that game was a bust in part because I really didn’t know what I wanted from it, and in part because I was in a power-gaming phase, which is no good for a Referee). As far as I know, there were two supplements released for it (Reactor, which I own, and Heroes of Poseidonis, which I do not; I'd like to get the latter, but no way would I pay the $100+ that people online are asking for it, even if I had the money to spare), and one issue of Different Worlds magazine included an article in which Jay and Aimee Hartlove provided stats for a number of comic book characters. As far as I know, that is all the support the game ever received.

Things I Know About The Middle Sea World - Part 4

The map of the Middle Sea world
continues to grow. At the bottom
of this post, there is a copy of a
map of the campaign starting area.

In the lands of the sorcerer-kings, it is illegal for any magician not specially licensed (and monitored) by the sorcerer-kings to know spells of 3rd level or above. There are special police called "Inquisitors" who look for evidence of such knowledge and capture or kill such violators of the public trust. Regardless of their actual abilities, elves are generally regarded with distrust due to their association with magic. Matters may be treated differently in particular city-states, but this is the general situation.

Continual Light spells are not actually of permanent duration in the Middle Sea world, but instead last for 10 hours per level of the caster.

The Davrai nomadic people of the grasslands beyond the mountains herd horses and cattle. Their warriors spend most of their lives on horseback, or in the case of their elite Bullrider warrior society on bull-back or even aurochs-back. The majority of their people walk, including the minotaurs (which they call "davramanai") who live and work among them. Polytheists with an interest in many local spirits, they especially revere the great Sky Bull, who leads the world-herd, and his holy heifers, the Bright Cows of the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth.

In the northern parts of the grasslands, where winters grow bitter cold, live the centaur herds. There are eight tribes of centaurs, which call themselves Uighiz, Kaijit, Tagatai, Kamrat, Burkit, Dakka, Hartak, Kiyut, and Mughur. They herd sheep, which along with grass is their primary food source, and some cattle. They wear long woolen tunics and fur-trimmed hats. They organize themselves into patrilineal clans called "obok", which include as members the servants and slaves of the blood family that leads the obok. There is a web of vassalage which leads up through the noyat "princes" (singular noyan), who lead the obok, to the great Khan himself, lord of the plains. For shelter, they set up large wool-felt tents called yurts.

Centaur warriors organize themselves into decimal units. The arban ("ten") consists of ten centaur warriors, obviously, the jegun ("hundred") is ten arban (100 centaurs), the mingan ("thousand") ten jegun (1000 centaurs), and the tuman ("ten thousand" or "horde") consists of ten mingan (10,000 centaur warriors). The commander of an arban is called a beki arban ("leader of ten"), of a jegun is called a beki jegun, of a mingan is known as a noyan mingan ("prince of a thousand"), and of a great tuman is called simply a noyan ("prince", as noted above, and drawn exclusively from that stratum of society). The Khan has a special tuman called the keshik, which acts as an elite force and bodyguard of the khan. Each of the eight tribes, additionally, has a tuman, so that there are about nine tumans of warriors among the centaurs, two of which are under the direct control of the Khan. Their primary weapons are the short composite bow and the scimitar, and about 25% of a force will additionally carry small shields (for AC4) and medium lances. Only about 5% of the force are armed with firearms (usually calivers) instead of bows, and none of those carry shields.

I think that there are some rare, expensive airships, but I am not yet sure if they are lighter than air because of helium or because of magic. I'm leaning toward the latter, with propulsion via either turncrank-driven aerial screws or aerial sail arrangements.

The city-states of the sorcerer-kings are known as the Seven Cities. The largest is Hexspire, with a population of nearly 50,000. The second largest is Payn, around 40,000 people strong, which is the location of the original sorcerer-king and gives the people their name of Paynim. The smallest of the Seven Cities is Morda, a city of approximately 8500 citizens, which is ruled by a magic-user who specializes in necromancy. He has created a large workforce of zombies to aid his citizens, and plans to one day become a lich so that he can continue to provide for his people. In addition to the Seven Cities, there are more than sixty smaller towns ruled by lesser sorcerers. The rulers of the cities are all at least 14th level magic-users (the greatest being the archmage who rules in Payn), while the lords in charge of the towns range from 10th to 14th level.

The only population center that can be called a city in the Wild Coast is Libertana, with a population of around 9500 people. In addition, there are seven smaller towns, ranging from Port Tigwa (pop. 6500) to the smallest, Jomaca, with a population of around 1100 citizens. All of these towns and Libertana are scattered along the seacoast. There are around 675 villages in addition, many housing fishing communities (who frequently provide a haven for pirates in hiding) along the coast, but the majority are in the interior of the peninsula.

There are three faerie courts, two near the Kurai and one said to lie in the frozen wastes of the far northern reaches of the world. The two courts nearby are the Seelie and Unseelie (which are words that mean "peaceful" and "unpeaceful" respectively), while the one in the north is simply known as the Northern Elves. The three elven Kings are all said to be generous to those they favor, but merciless to those who transgress their laws. The Seelie King is Oberion. The Unseelie King is Finvarra. The King of the Northern Elves is Niklaas, often called Old Nick. Each has a Queen (Titania, Oona, and Marta, respectively) and a Knight who acts as a second-in-command.

The campaign starting area, from the pirate city of
Libertana on an island in the northwestern corner to the
sorcerer-king city-state of Marja in the east. The players will
start in Hexspire, just 15 miles or so away from
Stonehell Dungeon.

The Timelord

Why not an anime image for them? Found this
by searching for "chronos" on Google Image
Search. Anime haters can bite me.

Another class designed for AD&D 1st edition or compatible games.

The Timelord

A timelord character is a member of an elite order found among a particular human nation. The inhabitants of that nation have lost any magical and psionic abilities (though not the ability to connect with the gods or perform illusion-type magic) in the Middle Sea world.

Selection for membership in the Order of Timelords occurs by a competition undertaken by interested 15 year old youths of that nation. In the selection process, all youths of intelligence less than 15 are weeded out. Due to the high prerequisite, timelords do not gain bonuses to experience points. Upon selection, the youths begin an intensive program of training, diet, and exercise designed to unlock the hidden chronal powers found only among humans of that nation.

When attacking or making saves, timelords use the thief tables. Weapon proficiencies and nonproficiency penalties are also as thieves, but timelords may select from any weapon as fighters may. Because it interferes with their chronal powers, timelords do not wear metal armor or use metal shields (weapons do not interfere with those powers because of their size and shape, though the DM should feel free to disallow any weapons that create a wide mass of metal over a portion of the timelord's body, such as sword-gloves, cestuses, or the like). Timelords may use any magic item usable by all classes, plus any item which affects time, such as a staff of withering or a phylactery of long years. A timelord will start play at an age of 18 plus 1d4 years. Timelords start play with 3d6x10 gold pieces.

In addition to hit points and other normal benefits, at each new level a timelord gains chronal energy, which is what allows them to use their powers. At each level, a timelord gains a number of chronal energy points equal to the new level. Thus, a timelord has 1 chronal energy at level 1, 3 at level 2, 6 at level 3, and so on. This is summarized on the experience point chart:

Experience Points	Level	Hit Dice (d6)	Level Title	Chronal Energy
0-2,000	1	1	Initiate	1
2,001-4,000	2	2	Soldier	3
4,001-8,000	3	3	Chief	6
8,001-16,000	4	4	Commander	10
16,001-32,000	5	5	Warden	15
32,001-50,000	6	6	Magister	21
50,001-100,000	7	7	Philosopher	28
100,001-250,000	8	8	Chronos	36
250,001-400,000	9	9	Timelord	45
400,001-550,000	10	10	Timelord (10th level)	55
550,001-700,000	11	10+1	Timelord (11th level)	66

300,000 experience points per level for each additional level beyond the 11th. Timelords gain 1 hit point per level after the 10th.

As timelords gain in levels, they gain new abilities. Each ability is usable upon reaching the level equal to the ability’s level, and costs a number of chronal energy points equal to the level of the ability. Chronal energy recovers at a rate of a number of points per 12 hours equal to the timelord’s level, but can only regenerate chronal energy when not using any of the time powers. If the target of a timelord’s powers is unwilling, they are allowed a saving throw vs. wands to avoid the effects. The manipulations of time are not magical effects, and so are not affected by anti-magical measures, though the bonus to saves of, e.g., a ring of protection or similar protective item or ability does apply.

The chronal powers are as follows:

Level One

Hasten Individual – Range 6” (may affect self), duration 1d20+10 melee rounds. Recipient, who must be of size S or M, moves 50% faster, gaining three attacks per two rounds if a better ability is not already possessed. This effect does not age the recipient.

Slow Individual – Range 6”, duration three turns. One creature of size S or M may be affected. Target moves at half speed and attacks only every other melee round.

Move Self Forward In Time – The timelord disappears, then reappears some number of rounds later in the same place. The timelord may use other powers while in transit through time, change weapons, or other reasonably quick actions, but must reappear in the same place. Whatever the timelord is carrying, even another person, travels along. When the power is activated, the timelord specifies how many rounds forward to move, with a maximum of two rounds per level of the timelord.

Move Object Forward In Time – Range 6”, maximum duration 1 turn per level of the timelord. A non-living object not in very close contact with a living being (for example, a person’s armor may not be affected, though an object they are carrying might – if the object could be easily dropped, it might be affected) moves forward in time. Note that magic items are treated as “living” for this purpose. There is a maximum volume of one cubic foot per level of the timelord.

See Past Of A Place – The timelord can see the events occurring at some point in the past, as if the events were occurring. The timelord will be able to see anything as if present in the location at the time, and must move around to change viewpoints. The timelord may see events that occurred as much as five days per level ago, and may view up to 12 hours per level per use. The timelord may choose to accelerate the events viewed up to 24 times normal speed (so that 12 hours pass by in a half-hour of viewing time), but the DM may rule that some details pass by too quickly to notice when accelerated. If the viewed time catches up to actual time, the vision ends immediately.

See Past Of A Person – Similar to See Past Of A Place, the timelord may witness events that occurred to a person in the past. This requires touching the person for the entire duration of the vision, but the person need not be alive at the time.

Suspend Animation – This allows timelords to suspend their life functions as the psionic discipline of the same name, up to a week per experience level.

Level Three

Hasten Group – This is similar to the Hasten Individual ability, but may affect up to 2-16 creatures of size S or M within 1” of the timelord.

Speed Individual – Range 6” (may affect the timelord), duration 1d20+10 melee rounds. Recipient of size S or M may move 100% faster, including the gain of two attacks per round if that ability is not already possessed. When the duration expires, the recipient is exhausted for an equal length of time, but is not aged.

Slow Monster – Similar to Slow Individual, but may affect a creature of any size.

Slow Group – Similar to Slow Individual, but may affect 2-12 creatures of size S or M within 6” of the timelord.

Move Own Group Forward In Time – Up to one creature of size S or M within 1” of the timelord moves forward in time, up to two rounds per level of the timelord. Only willing creatures may so travel.

See Possible Future Of A Place – The timelord may see a possible future that will occur in the place they occupy, as if present at that time. The maximum distance into the future is a number of days equal to the timelord’s level minus two, and the maximum duration is one-twelfth of that distance (or two hours per day ahead that could be seen). The vision may be accelerated as with See Past Of A Place. The DM will describe the most likely scene, but events could easily change it. The future is very much in flux for timelords.

Age Non-Living Matter – Any matter or substance which is not currently alive may be aged through the application of this power. The timelord must be within 1” of the item to be affected. Material of up to 10 lbs per level of the timelord may be aged by up to 10 years per level of the timelord. This will ruin most food, cloth items, and so on, and even metal will be corroded somewhat.

Move Enemy Forward In Time – Range 1”. The timelord may transport a single enemy target up to one round per level of the timelord forward in time. The target reappears at the appointed time completely unaware that any time has passed.

Level Five

Speed Group – This ability is similar to Speed Individual, but the timelord may move affect up to 2-16 beings of size S or M within 1”.

Slow Group Of Monsters – This is similar to Slow Monster, but a group of targets up to 2-12 of any size may be affected.

Move Enemy Group Forward In Time – An ability that is similar to Move Enemy Forward In Time, but a number of targets up to the timelord’s level may be affected. All targets must be within 1” of the target point, which must be within 1” of the timelord. Thus, targets up to 2” from the timelord may potentially be affected. Note that all of the targets are allowed saving throws.

See Possible Future Of A Person – This ability is similar to See Possible Future Of A Place, but the timelord must touch the person (who must be alive), and can see up to the timelord’s level minus four days into the future for a duration of two hours times the timelord’s level minus four.

Age Non-Human Living Matter – Range 1”. The timelord can age any creature which is not vulnerable to the Charm Person spell, by a maximum of 2½ years per level of the timelord. The target will be aged physcially but not mentally by this power.

Level Seven

Move Spell Forward In Time – Range 1”. The timelord may move a spell with a physical manifestation (such as a Wall or a Fireball) forward in time. Fast-acting spells like Fireball or Magic Missile must be spells that the timelord has seen before. The spell gets a saving throw as though it were a magic-user of the level of the spell’s caster. The maximum interval that the spell may be sent forward is equal to the timelord’s level divided by the level of the spell (rounded down).

Partial Time Stop – This acts as the ninth level magic-user spell Time Stop, but only one creature is affected and that creature is allowed a saving throw.

Age Humanoid – Range 1”. This is similar to Age Non-Human Living Matter, but may affect any living creature.

Alter Past – Range 2”. The timelord is able to attempt to alter some action which occurred in the immediately preceding round. This usually allows the re-roll of one roll, such as a saving throw, attack roll, damage die, or the like. When a foe might be affected negatively by this power, the foe is allowed a saving throw.

Temporal Stasis – Range 1”. This has the same effect as the ninth level magic-user spell of the same name.

Level Eight

Time Stop – This is similar to the ninth level magic-user spell of the same name, but a saving throw is allowed for targets in the affected area.

Superage – Range 1”. By aging the target at a tremendously accelerated rate, this ability has the same effect as a Disintegrate spell. However, the effect can be reversed by another timelord using the reversed form of this same ability.

Level Ten

Time Stop Group – This has the effect of the magic-user spell Time Stop, but the timelord may select what targets are to be affected. The ability may affect up to one target per level of the timelord, and all affected creatures must be within a range of 1”. Affected targets are allowed a saving throw.

Reversible Powers – The four aging powers, Age Non-Living Matter, Age Non-Human Living Matter, Age Humanoid, and Superage, have reversed forms which allow a timelord to undo aging done by a timelord (only). The reversed abilities cannot reverse natural aging or aging caused by a ghost or a staff of withering, for example.

(Based on the NPC class in Dragon #65 by Lew Pulsipher, with some changes to make it more compatible with the Middle Sea world, along with some general editing and minor ability changes and clarifications.)

Musing On Preferences

I do this on occasion, get all navel-gazy. You should feel free to pass it by if you aren't interested in other people's thoughts about what they like and want out of gaming.

In part, I do this because I really want to figure out what would be the perfect game for me at the gaming table. It's not going to be easy, since I have conflicting gaming desires. I like GURPS, for example, due to its flexibility and ability to model events with precision and detail. I like RuneQuest because of its clean, simple systems and feel of gritty heroic fantasy. I like D&D (in all of its variants, from AD&D to the Arcanum, Palladium RPG 1st edition, Swords & Wizardry, Adventures Dark and Deep, and so on for hours) because of the ease of preparation compared to most other games, its particular feel of heroic, fantastic action, and its placement as a sort of "common language" of gaming. I like Traveller because of its relative simplicity and mundane feel (which is a boon, as it helps to highlight the more unusual material in a way that heightens the effect). I could go on, listing the things I like about Flashing Blades, Villains & Vigilantes, Top Secret, and so on, but I think that the idea is illustrated. The thing is, the detail and precision of GURPS is not a good fit with the clean simplicity of RuneQuest and neither fits well with the quick ease of D&D prepwork, the mundanity of Traveller does not compare well with the heroic fantasy of D&D, and so on.

So, I need to filter everything down. I can't have the world, so I need to figure out what part of it is most important to me. Right now, I'll think specifically about what I like and dislike about D&D.

As I said, I love the quick prep. To create a character, it's a simple matter of roll 6 stats, select a class, roll hit points, roll money, select equipment, and go. Magic-using classes take a touch longer because they require spell selection, and some versions of D&D require a bit more involvement what with selecting skills/feats/kits/whatever, but it's all still faster than choosing where to spend point (GURPS), figuring out skills (RQ), or generating a full career-to-date (Traveller). So, I love that. I don't like that characters are then limited to actions defined by their character class, so that (by most versions of the rules) a Paladin can't climb up a cliffside or even learn to do so, a Thief can't pray to the gods, a Cleric can't experiment with summoning demons, a Magic-User can't learn how to swing a sword well, a Druid doesn't know how to track animals and can't learn how, and so on. Obviously, individual Referees (and some versions of D&D) have their own way of handling those cases, but here I'm talking about the main structure of a rules system.

So, what is a character class? It seems to be a package of abilities that cluster around each other, so that a Fighter knows how to use more different weapon types than any other class, learns how to fight at the best available ability, has the best available hit points (representing the ability to defend in combat, endurance, and so on, like the long swordfights in old swashbuckler films), gets the best category of extra attacks, and all of the other things that are directly involved in combat in D&D rules. But that isn't quite right, because the Cleric isn't really centered on worshiping the gods, instead having those abilities, plus the second-best category of fighting skills. Still, D&D character classes cluster around four different archetypes: divine miracles, combat, magic spells, and skilled abilities. There are some classes that cross over between those categories (the Ranger has combat, magic spells, a bit of divine miracles, and skilled abilities, for example, or the Monk includes combat, skilled abilities, and something like focused magic spells that are not entirely unlike divine miracles), but they seem to me to simply prove the point.

So, the main distinction of abilities is along those four lines. Dividing skills any further seems like splitting hairs, for the most part. Perhaps we could consider that the "skilled abilities" category should be directed at specialties, so that one skilled person is a burglar, while another is a wilderness scout, and a third is a sailor. But why should a character have abilities only from one category? As we noted, a number of subclasses in D&D cross over between these main categories. One of my favorite games (deliberately not mentioned above) is Fantasy Wargaming, at least in concept. It handled the matter by simply giving every character a level in each of the categories (though it compressed the "combat" and "skill" categories into one "Combat/Adventuring" level), effectively meaning that there were only four "skills" in the game. It also gave six areas of special talent, to cover specific adventuring focuses such as climbing, stealing, or tracking, which follows my musing on specialties.

I really like the way that specialties of that sort are handled in Lamentations of the Flame Princess. In that game, a character of the appropriate class starts with all of the specialties at default values, which are appropriate to use with characters not of the class as well, and then adds a number of points to them, giving a result that shows how many chances in six the character will succeed with using that specialty. Similarly, it is only with Fighter levels in that game that a character becomes better at fighting. Those ideas would be easy to incorporate into a game that otherwise structures character abilities on the Fantasy Wargaming model.

This sketch so far keeps the game within my goal of quick and easy prep. A character can be rolled up in roughly the same amount of time that it takes to roll up any other D&D version's characters. The steps are actually easier at start, since every character will start out with the same "character class" selections, having a level (or 0-level, which is what Fantasy Wargaming does) in each of the main ability areas. As a result, there's no need to divide up ability points for the skilled ability specialties, no need to pick spells (since every character will have some facility with spells, albeit very weakly - those who wish to specialize will quickly pick up spell mastery and such). Or, we could alternately say that each character chooses one category to give one level, with the others starting at level 0. That would require a slight bit more work, with fighters choosing a fighting style (other characters would be allowed to wait until they finally achieve 1st level combat ability), magicians choosing initial spell mastery and perhaps a magical style (again, other characters would wait until they reach 1st level magic use), and so on.

The most difficult part, so far, is figuring out how a character divides up experience between the four levels. Presumably, combat ability would go up by defeating foes in combat, skill ability might rise by the acquisition of treasure, magic ability increase by various magic-related goals, and miraculous ability by pious actions.

To determine how the abilities will work in detail, I need to figure out specifically what sort of tone I want. Wuxia/chanbara/effects-laden heroics? Gritty low fantasy? High fantasy? Manapunk? Something else? To do that, probably the easiest way to go is to create an Appendix N of sorts for such a heartbreaker project (I guess that it's a project now). I want my Appendix N to include both books and movies, since we have a wide enough range of fantasy film now to make that effort worthwhile. I'll do that in a different post, though. For now, I'll just pick two items to give a quick idea of the feel I want: Robert E. Howard's Conan stories and the movie Dragonslayer. That seems to indicate that I want a gritty low fantasy default setting, with magic that is mostly in a ritual mode and powerful, or quickly used and on a par with physical action.

I actually want the magic to more closely resemble a slightly fantasy version of what real-world magicians have claimed to be able to do, but not reaching into the stratosphere of the more outlandish, mythic magic of some of the wilder epics (like the Kalevala, say). The magic should look more like magic in the Lord of the Rings books with a perhaps more medieval tone, and less like the Dungeons & Dragons movie. Maybe I want to include the exotic rites found in Howard's Conan stories too, but you can actually find similar things in the grimoires of the medieval era into the 19th century (and even some of the more outré 20th and 21st century grimoires like the Voudon Gnostic Workbook and its related texts; not that I know yet if I'm going to directly draw on those late sources).

A not-unrelated question is what level of abstraction to choose for combat. Should it be the D&D-like abstraction of vast quantities of hit points being worn away until someone scores a telling blow? Or should it be the detail of GURPS, where every blow is described in detail by rules parameters and resolved? Or (more likely) somewhere in between those two extremes? That needs thought.

How should religion work? I think that I would most like it if the system could handle monotheist, polytheist, and abstract mysticism equally well. While the system in Fantasy Wargaming works reasonably well, it requires a lot of fiddly tracking of fluctuating numbers. I want to handle that with less constant attention and Referee fiat. I'm still not sure of the best way to go about that, so I will have to think about it for a while. I suspect that treating piety as the experience system for the religious level is the best way to go, with sins (or spiritual pollution or blasphemy, for those religions without a general concept of "sin") throwing a block in the way of appealing to God or the gods for favor and assistance. Further, there could be a system of mysticism related to this, in which a character gains spiritual insight instead of piety and learns to perform amazing feats (which would be something like the Monks of D&D). I'll have to think about matters like conversion from one religious type to another, practicing more than one religion, and so on. I'll also need to think about the differences between devotional action, theurgy, mysticism, belief, and other approaches to religious/spiritual power.

This took a turn from my original intention, wandering through the practical matter of design where I had originally just wanted to think about the nature of my preferences in a more abstract sense. Ah, well. It seems good enough.

Goth of the Week

I haven't been able to track down any information about this lovely lady, except that the photo is pinned on Pinterest as an example of "green hair". Judging by the file name attached to the photo on some sites, it seems like it is probably a private photo that made the jump to public reposting.

Edit to add: Hamel™ is a better investigator than I am, and seems to have found her. It seems to be Desiree Stinho, who has many more lovely photos as well.

AD&D Demographic Data Part II

Serves me right for wanting to get something out there before I really let it settle. While watching the World Cup matches, I figured out a reasonably quick and easy way to properly adjust the percentage chances for each of the ID# categories in the last post. So, here is the adjusted data (after the cut). All that needs to be done now is to divide each ID#'s percentage among the classes included in that group. This could be done in various ways, which is why I am leaving it as the raw data. One could simply divide the percentage evenly among the classes, or one could weight the classes and divide the percentage according to that weight. One could even make a priority list and give the full percentage to whichever class comes highest in priority. The details will vary by setting.

Note that when that division of percentages is finished, there should be a bit left over. That covers the "hopeless characters", who don't qualify for any class.

Without further ado, here's the corrected data, now just listed as ID#, classes, raw stat minimums of the category, and then the odds of that category occurring (multiply by 100 to get actual % chance):

AD&D Demographic Data

I like simulation. I like it when the game rules imply things about the setting, or vice versa. One of the D&D assumptions is that random people are "rolled up" by the 3d6 in order method. PCs might be different, but that doesn't mean that the setting as a whole is.

When working on figuring out what the rules imply about the setting, one thing I noticed is that there isn't a good, reliable accounting of how many people in a given setting are members of which character classes. Gary Gygax seems to have just made something up for his table in the DMG, and no one has bothered to improve much on that intuitive method.

But we know some things. According to the DMG, 1 person in 100 has a chance of having a character class. Of those 1%, though, there will be different numbers of randomly-rolled characters who qualify for each of the various classes.

Now, sure, we can just make something up and deal with that. That works, and is fine. But if we had a better way available… why not use it?

All of the numbers involved have a mathematical probability. It just takes a lot of effort to work out if done manually (trust me, that's how I started to approach this). A computer program, though, can work through all of the possibilities in just minutes or seconds. So I wrote one. Here's the raw data regarding the basic AD&D 1E classes (excepting the Bard, which is more a matter of choice; suffice it to say that Bards are extraordinarily rare in AD&D 1E). This set of data does not include the UA classes at all, though if someone requests it I could probably put that together. It also doesn't include anything about demihumans. I haven't consolidated that information yet, and there are some characteristic maximums to deal with that I would have to write into the program, not to mention the characteristic modifiers that change probabilities around.

The data is in the following format: an ID#, the name of the classes that qualify under that ID#'s set of characteristics, and the characteristics themselves, then on the next line it gives the probability of a random roll of 3d6 in order qualifying for that set of statistics, and finally on the last lines a list of the ID#s that qualify for the ID#, but include one or more stats that are higher (all of the probabilities of those ID#s are included in the probability listed, so they have to be subtracted out). My purpose for all of this is to work out what classes a given set of stats can qualify for, subtracting the probabilities of the higher sets from that of the lower sets that they also qualify for. Then, the probability of each set of stats will be divided among the set of classes. I'm also thinking about ways to modify the software to do that work for me, but I don't know if I'll be able to do that with my level of programming skill.

I don't plan to do this myself for the raw AD&D classes (unless I can work out how best to code it), so I'm giving that data out for someone who might be interested in doing so. There are only 76 sets that qualify for different groups of classes in AD&D, so it probably wouldn't take all that long to work through them. The data I'm working with includes over 500 distinct ID#s, divided into three main groups to cover the three main culture groups so far in the Middle Sea world, so I have my work cut out for me. It's nowhere near as imposing as it was before I wrote this program, though.

Data after the cut. Remember that it is the raw data as described above. I am also willing to take any set of classes and stat requirements and do the same for others, since the software is easily modified for just about anything. It won't easily handle very complex things, though, like requirements that one of several stats be above a value, but the other stats of that set only need to be of a lower value (like the Psionicist, which requires a 10 in Int, Wis, and Cha, but at least one must be 16, which particular case I did work out for my own use, but requires more modification of the basic program than just plugging in a set of classes). Drop me a line if you want this kind of data.

The Dragonlord

An optional character class for AD&D 1st edition and compatible games.

The Dragonlord

Dragonlords are a subclass of fighter found only among the Daling people of the Middle Sea world. A dragonlord must have a strength of at least 12, an intelligence and wisdom of at least 15 each, and constitution and charisma scores of no less than 10 each. Dragonlords do not gain bonus experience due to high prerequisites. Since alignment is handled quite differently in the Middle Sea world, alignment is meaningless, but in other games dragonlords could be of any alignment, usually coming to match that of their bonded dragon. Prospective dragonlords apply for training during the midsummer festival of their sixteenth year, undergoing difficult tests of skill, knowledge, wisdom, strength, and character, and only about one in 250 or less is finally selected for training.

Upon selection, the dragonlord aspirant is placed in a specially prepared cave with several dragon eggs, all ready to hatch, with several other new aspirants. As the eggs hatch, the newborn dragons imprint on the young men and women and the new dragonlords become squires (1st level dragonlords). To find out which type of dragon imprints on the new squire, roll 1d10: 1 – black, 2 – blue, 3 – brass, 4 – bronze, 5 – copper, 6 – gold, 7 – green, 8 – red, 9 – silver, 10 – white. The size of the newborn dragon should be determined as normal, and they will age as normal for dragons. All such bonded dragons are capable of speech (and, therefore, spellcasting when appropriate). Because of this bonding ritual, no one may change class and become a dragonlord later in life.

To determine starting age, roll 1d4 and add it to 16. The bonded dragon will be of an age equal to the d4 roll.

Weapon proficiencies for dragonlords are exactly as rangers. That is, choose three weapons at first level and an additional weapon every third level thereafter (3, 6, 9, etc). The dragonlord nonproficiency penalty is -2, as with other fighter classes. Note that dragonlords concentrate on missile weapons and cavalry weapons like lances, but will sometimes learn shorter melee weapons as a backup. However, dragonlords may choose any weapons and armor, just as other fighters, except that dragonlords may not take proficiency in any gunpowder weapons.

The primary benefit of a dragonlord is the presence of the bonded dragon. Dragons, however, do not spend all their time with their riders, preferring to go off and visit their draconic family, spend time alone, and so on. This is especially the case while the dragon is young and the dragonlord inexperienced. The base chance of a dragon being with the dragonlord is rolled at the beginning of each week, and varies by season as follows:

Spring 45%

Summer 50%

Autumn 30%

Winter 10%

In addition, dragons will always leave their riders during the weeks of the four high holidays of the dragons, the solstices and equinoxes.

There are several modifiers to the base chance of the presence of the dragon. These are given below:

Negative factors

Dragonlord is level 1 -30%

Dragonlord is level 2 -20%

Dragonlord is level 3 -10%

Bad weather (storms, etc) -10%

Dragon wounded (at least 50% of hit points remaining) -20%

Dragon wounded severely (less than 50% of hit points) -50%

Birth or death in draconic family -10%

Dragon ill (disease, etc) -40%

Dragon not present previous week -10%

Positive factors

Rider finds 1000gp+ or magic item +20%

Birth or death in rider’s family +05%

Rider wounded or ill +15%

Dragon present previous week +05%

Experience Points	Level	Hit Dice (d10)	Level Title
0-2,250	1	1	Squire
2,251-4,500	2	2	Barbman
4,501-9,000	3	3	Javeliner
9,001-19,000	4	4	Lancer
19,001-36,000	5	5	Companion
36,001-75,000	6	6	Wingman
75,001-130,000	7	7	Wingleader
130,001-225,000	8	8	Flightleader
225,001-325,000	9	9	Dragonrider
325,001-550,000	10	9+3	Dragonlord
550,001-850,000	11	9+6	Dragonleader
850,001-1,250,000	12	9+9	Dragon (Rider’s Surname)

300,000 experience points per level for each additional level beyond the 12th. Dragonlords gain 3 hit points per level after the 9th.

A dragonlord’s multiple attacks follow the standard fighter progression. They get 1/1 from levels 1-6, 3/2 from levels 7-12, and 2/1 at levels 13+ with any thrusting or striking weapon. In addition, as with other fighter types, dragonlords may make a number of attacks equal to their level in a round of combat in which they are fighting monsters of 1 hit die or less or non-exceptional (0-level) humans.

As they increase in level, dragonlords are given more responsibility for command. At level 5, a dragonlord can lead a two-dragon Company. At level 7, a dragonlord is allowed to command a four-dragon Wing. At level 8, the dragonlord may be placed in command of a twelve-dragon Flight (consisting of three Wings). At level 10, the dragonlord is in command of one of the largest dragon units, the Division, consisting of five Flights, or 60 dragons and their riders. The DM can work out the details of these followers, but keep in mind that the higher the level of command the dragonlord can exercise, the more responsibility the dragonlord has to the Daling military command.

If the bonded dragon dies, a dragonlord may search out and petition a dragon that once had a bond with a dragonlord but whose dragonlord has died and attempt to form a new bond. The bond can never be as strong as the original, however, and the dragon will subtract 10% from all checks for presence. The details of this quest are up to the DM.

Special Note: In the Middle Sea campaign, "wounds" are not represented by hit point damage, so the details of a dragon being wounded or severely wounded will be slightly different, but I included the hit point values for the purposes of importing the class to other games (and because I haven't finalized the wounding rules for the Middle Sea campaign yet).

(This class was modeled closely on the class presented in the RoleAids supplement Dragons, by Cory Glaberson, but has been modified to better fit the Middle Sea world, and to suit my own tastes.)

On an unrelated matter, after much consideration and examination of Stonehell Dungeon, I have decided that players may choose nonhuman characters, but may only choose those nonhuman races listed in the Players Handbook, and level limits will be enforced. Whether I will use the strict limits in the PH or the slightly looser limits in Unearthed Arcana remains to be seen. Of the new classes (some of which I will be presenting over the next couple of weeks), dragonlords and timelords may only be human (and the latter may only be from a particular sub-branch of humanity), outdoorsmen may be human, half-orc, or half-elven, and psionicists may be half-elves. The witch class is still in flux, though I expect that I will write my own version, based on the class as presented in Dragon magazine and Timothy Brannan's The Witch. When I finish it, I will probably present it here. Other classes are taken directly from items that are currently in publication: specifically, bards and mountebanks are from Joseph Bloch's Adventures Dark and Deep (or from his supplement for AD&D, A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore). Those classes will have the racial limits given in those products.