I do it all because I'm evil,
and I do it all for free,
your tears are all the pay I'll ever need.

— Voltaire, "When You're Evil"

Fantasy literature has had its great share of villains. So too have fantasy role playing games, although there's an important difference: villains from fiction tend to be more memorable, more believable. Rarely do we, as players of the game, lament the death of a great villain. Why is this so?

In my experience, the villains encountered in our games are often killed off too quickly or their motives are less-than believable. How many Mad Wizards bent on destroying the kingdom have we seen? How many rapacious Bandits have we captured? If you look at the archetype villains through the history of D&D - very few are memorable and quite a few are just downright forgettable.

There are several important things you can do to make the villains more memorable in your game:

• What kind of villain are they? Are they a Card-Carrying Evil villain (like the Mad Wizard above)? Or something else, such as Knight Templar or a somewhat more subtle Well Intentioned Extremist? Is the villain also the Big Bad of the story/campaign? Figure out what kind of villain they are ahead of time and decide on some guidelines about how they should be role played both in and out of combat (and 'off stage', behind the scenes).
• What is their motivation? The card-carrying types don't need a motivation - they just do evil for Evil's sake. Other villains, however, should have some legitimate goals. At a very minimum a villain should have an elevator pitches worth of description that outlines their motivation. When mooks or minions are captured and questioned - bits of their boss's motivation might be revealed. Clues left behind in dungeons, urban settings, or other adventuring areas also give some clues. Believable motivations lend credibility to the villain, and the PCs can act on their expectation of those motivations.
• Give them Managers. And their Managers Minions. Unless the villain is a solo "bad guy", they should have at least one layer of mid-level managers. Those mid-level managers in turn should have a whole collection of minions and mooks. These are the guys that do all the villains boring grunt work. You know... things like burning villages, plundering tombs, capturing slaves, etc. Establish the motivation of the mooks and their managers too. Are they serving out of loyalty? Are they being paid? The managers (tribal chiefs, elites, etc) might have one set of motivations and the minions another. Regardless, setting up and defining these motivations can help shape the PCs perception of who this super villain is, and what they are up to.
  
• Don't Kill Them. Not Yet. Memorable villains show up more than once throughout the campaign either in spirit ("Dr. Madevil was just here!") or in the flesh ("Dr. Madevil, you won't escape us this time!"). Change up the ways in which the PCs face the villain or encounter their minions. Avoid making it expected that the villain is going to escape. You can also really keep the players on their toes by having several layers of villains; minor villains don't escape (cRPG equivalents of 'mini-bosses'). It's a bit of balancing act - one method I employ is to have the villains show up when the players are lowbies (somehow they escape or survive), again when they are mid level, and then have a big face off battle once they are 9th or 10th level. Spread it out over a few levels and the effect is amazing. That last battle, when the PCs finally defeat or capture the villain, is a gaming moment sometimes on par with the best that fantasy literature has to offer. I also like to use the Boss in Mook's Clothing Trope.

You no doubt have noticed I've included tons of links here to the TV Tropes Wiki. Phil, over at Chatty DM, turned me on to this website as a great resource for adventure and campaign design. One thing I've figured out along the way is that players have expectations and often like to be part of a known tropism. It plays on their expectations, builds anticipation, and gives the DM the opportunity to mix things up.

One of the best Big Bad villains of all time: Dr. Doom.

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What to read more? For more villains and how to play them - head over to At-Will's post "The Vicious Virtues of Villany".

Reputation is everything in D&D. Even 1st level characters have a reputation. It may only be a reputation for being eager to prove themselves, but it’s enough to get them noticed. What the PCs do today will have a direct impact on the opportunities afforded them tomorrow. Every adventure will add to their reputation and will impact how NPCs view them. It’s up to the DM to use reputation to enhance the overall game.

This is the first of three articles examining reputation. Part 1 is aimed at the DM and provides direction for using reputation to its fullest potential. Parts 2 and 3 are aimed at the players and provides insight on how the PCs can shape their own reputation and gain the most benefit from doing so. Look for Reputation part 2 and Reputation part 3 at Dungeon’s Master in the days to come.

Many DMs and players overlook or underestimate the importance of reputation in D&D. The DM should use the past deeds of the PCs to shape new storylines. The PCs are supposed to be the best of the best. What they do and how they do it will be closely observed. People will want to hear what kind of creatures they’ve fought, what kind of treasures they’ve accumulated and what they plan to do next. In essence, the PCs are celebrities and should be treated as such.

Reputation – The DMs Perspective

When the PCs visit new villages, towns and cities, there should be a chance that someone there has heard of them. If the PCs are just starting out, the likelihood of being recognized is minimal. As the PCs earn XP and gain levels, news of their heroics will spread and people will start talking. The PCs are recognized more and more often. This can be helpful in some scenarios and detrimental in others. As nice as it is to be famous, there will be times when the PCs just want their privacy. As the reputation of the PCs grows, the DM should apply suitable modifiers as conditions demand.

Positive Reputation

The PCs are heroes and everyone knows it. Their accomplishments are the subject of bard song and legend. Their vast wealth and power are key reasons for their positive reputation. Everyone wants to know more about the PCs. Everyone wants to meet them. The PCs are the points of light in the darkness and all attention is focused on them.

In general, people will open their doors to welcome the PCs. Important figures who may not normally be willing to meet with them are curious, or experience a change of heart and take the opportunity to ride the PC’s coattails. Perhaps a few admirers are genuinely interested in just being their friend.

These skills may be enhanced by a positive reputation.

• Bluff: The greater the reputation, the more likely those listening will accept what they’ve been told.
• Diplomacy: Social encounters are a breeze. People are fascinated with the PCs and will forgive many social blunders.
• Streetwise: Anything the PCs ask is answered.

Being famous does have its pitfalls. If the PCs have earned a reputation that tells of their affinity for all things good and righteous, then attempts to infiltrate the criminal element may meet with harsh resistance. Fame can also be regional depending on the reason for a positive reputation. War heroes will be celebrities in their home country, but may be scorned by their neighbours.

These skills may be more difficult because of a positive reputation.

• Insight: Everyone wants to meet the PCs and when they do, they want to be remembered. There will be so many people spinning so many tales that it may be difficult to tell the truth from the lies.
• Stealth: How do you go unnoticed when you’re famous? It’s possible, but a lot more difficult.

No one is famous forever. The DM should present plenty of opportunities for the PCs to hurt their own reputation. If they choose to do stupid things without thinking of long-term consequences, then it’s their own fault. Just remember to offer opportunities for redemption if the PCs begin to fall.

Negative Reputation

The PCs have run into some bad luck of late. Perhaps they didn’t defeat the Dragon that threatened the local village, they only wounded it. After the PCs left, the Dragon returned and took out his anger on the innocent townsfolk. Suddenly, the PCs are infamous; everybody knows them, but for all the wrong reasons.

There are very few benefits to being hated or despised. If the PCs have caused a lot of collateral damage as they’ve travelled the realm, then they may be turned away when they reach the city gates. People are less likely to talk to them or be outright hostile. Important figures may refuse to meet with them under any circumstances.

These skills may be enhanced by a negative reputation.

• Bluff: Since people already think the worst of you, any attempt to play up that angle may garner success.
• Intimidate: People probably expect you to be mean and hateful. A small show of force, or even a small threat of force, may go a long way to getting what you want.

These skills may be more difficult because of a negative reputation.

• Diplomacy: Nobody wants to risk association with you. Good luck finding people to treat you fairly.
• Streetwise: It’s unlikely that people will want to share any information with you. If they do, be suspicious.

In general if the PCs have a negative reputation they should do something quickly to try and remedy the problem. It’s up to the DM to present opportunities for the PCs to prove themselves. The size of the task should be left up to the PCs. Let them decide if they want to take baby steps or if they want to try and fix things with one grand gesture.

Unearned Reputation

An unearned reputation has potential to be the most fun and the most dangerous. This could be something as simple as a mistaken identity. The PCs match the description of another group of heroes and are mistaken for them. Perhaps the PCs stumbled across the site of a great battle and a witness assumed they were the ones responsible for the victory. There are many possibilities, none of them good for the PCs – at least in the long run. The short-term gains are the same as any other positive reputation. But when the truth comes out (and it always does) then the PCs will go from famous to infamous in a heartbeat.

The idea of an unearned reputation has the most appeal to me personally as a DM. It forces the PCs to decide if the benefits of accepting an unearned reputation are worth it. This scenario provides the DM with the perfect opportunity to begin new adventure hooks, introduce new NPCs and set the foundation for the long-term campaign.

If the PCs adopt the persona of the party they are mistaken for, it could have negative consequences. Here are a few ideas of how to make life difficult (or at the very least, interesting) for the PCs if they decide to accept an unearned reputation.

• The real heroes may be wanted criminals in a neighbouring country.
• An item the PCs are supposed to have is needed but obviously unavailable.
• Past debts owed by the true heroes may be called in by a powerful Wizard.
• A pregnant woman may demand the baby’s father marry her.
• The heroes who actually earned the reputation may show up.

The possibilities are truly limited only by the DM’s imagination. In the end you want the scales to be balanced. Just because the PCs indulge when they’re not entitled doesn’t mean that the punishment should be too detrimental. The DM should always provide opportunities for the PCs to make things right. It doesn’t have to be easy, but it should be possible.

Conclusion

It’s up to the DM and players to decide if reputation will impact their game at all. Using reputation shouldn’t be mandatory and shouldn’t have any adverse affects if the PCs don’t want to worry about it. In the end everyone should agree to what extent, if any, reputation has in your game.

This article was written by Ameron from Dungeon’s Master. This is his first guest post on The Core Mechanic.

I'm working on a small project that is building a time line of RPG history, and during my wikipedia / googling meanderings I stumbled on a 2-part interview with Wolfgang Baur of Open Design and Kobold Quarterly. The interview was convincing enough that I signed up as a "patron" of Open Design's latest project - if anything becuase I'm curious to see how it _really_ works. Nonetheless, for anyone outside the industry (like me), the interview was enjoyable to read with a frank point of view; so I thought I would share the links.

• Part 1
• Part 2

Enjoy!

According to the Associated Press, The Players Handbook 2 reached #14 on the Wall Street Journals Top 15 Non-Fiction book sales list for the week it was released. I guess this is a success for WotC. Interestingly, the PHB1 ranked only slightly better the week it was released in 2008.

Who says nobody plays RPGs anymore ? ...

Inspired by this post over at The Art of the TPK - I'm thinking a gamer can go a long way towards breaking the ice with other gamers by simply telling them what they "do" in their games. This same thing probably applies to blogs as well...

So, what do I do? lemma tell you...

• I do roleplaying with voices and sometimes props.
• I do cryptic runes and burnt, hand drawn maps
• I do riddles and poems
• I do epic campaigns that always aspire for greatness but never (maybe once) actually reach that lofty goals
• I do FRCS (gasp!) and short-lived homebrews
• I do laptops at the table, but recently they've been banned
• I do miniatures now, but only since 3E
• I do fantasy (any game), cyberpunk (shadowrun), and d20 modern
  
• I do espresso martinis, imported beer, and baked goods
• I do cheap beer, chips, and take out Chinese.
• And yes... I do like to post April Fools posts to my blog.
  

What do you do? Leave a comment, or track back, and let me know... I'm curious to see what the Web 2.0 gaming crowd is into.

 

That's right! According to Gary Lively, the director of the 2005 film Dungeons & Dragons 2: Wrath of the Dragon God, "Tricia will definitely be featured in the miniseries. Her success as Caprica 6 on BSG has created a huge fan base which already regularly tunes in to Scifi channel." Already a star on one highly successful SciFi series (BSG), it's not a surprise that Tricia would be featured on another epic series on the same network. Wohoo! If anything, it will be a great show to .... watch.

In other news...

Martians have landed in New York and are demanding that the United Nations pay them a 1 billion dollars to help stimulate the failing economy on Mars. Sheesh!!! The nerve of those guys...

The second part of the title of this post could be a statement or a question.

Hopefully we can look at it as both.

This is the first post in a series that will explore what might be missing in 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons; in terms of crunch, fluff, rules, crank, and couch. I'll begin by looking at the current state of the game, from a "crunch" point of view - then in future posts I'll look back at previous editions and other current games for a comparison. I plan on looking at some of the differences in rule mechanics between editions, the so-called "fluff", and eventually the general audience of the game (which I believe has changed). Let me know if I've missed anything, or if there is something you think I should cover.

The Current State of 4E
When 4E was first released I remember tons of complaints that the game didn't provide you with enough options. That every character was a cut out copy of the same race/class combo used by any other player. In terms of "crunch" (stats/abilities), if this was ever the case it is certainly no longer. A quick survey of the current state of 4E gives us the following numbers...

• 29 playable Races
• 17 Skills
• 18 Classes
• 185 Paragon Paths
• 36 Epic Destinies
• 2621 Class Powers
• 709 Feats
• 186 Rituals
• ...not to mention there are 2124 Creatures and 4477 usable Items currently in the game.

So there are now over 500 different combinations of character races and class alone, not to mention power and feat selections. Something for everyone, I believe - and the available variety at first glance seems to already be on par with 3E D&D. It is a veritable pallet of material for any custom home brew setting or stock bog fantasy.

 

In terms of crunch... what, if anything, is missing for you?

I recently cracked open my old Birthright materials. If you are not familiar with Birthright, it was a 2nd Edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting where the characters were essentially rulers of nations backed by the gods. It was a game of adventure and nation building. One of the cool things about Birthright was the idea of bloodlines, you played a bloodline of kings and queens - not just one character. As you progressed, you increased your regency points and increased your domains (lands, provinces, resources). The setting presented a mix of Arthurian and Tolkienian mythology - a nice diversion from the "standard fantasy" of 4E. In terms of setting, it kind of reminds me of Harn. You can check out the Wikipedia page for more basics.

I really enjoyed reading about this setting; although sadly I was never able to get a game up off the ground. There were some fundamental flaws in rules at the time, and if I remember correctly, D&Ders either loved it or hated it. I was surrounded by gamers who hated it, thus I never played it for more than one or two sessions.

Fortunately this morning I crawled out from under my rock and discovered Birthright is alive and well! There's a very vibrant and growing community tucked away on the net that apparently even once had the tacit approval of WotC to publish a d20 update to the Birthright setting. I also found that there is an effort to convert/update the Birthright rules to 4th Edition. Of course, some major changes to 4E would be needed for this to work, but it should be interesting if it ever gets off the ground.

Have any of you played Birthright beyond a few sessions? What was your impressions of this 'version' of D&D?

I recieved some excellent feedback from you about what I should about my site design and layout. As you can see... I've made some changes. (if you are reading this in your RSS reader, click through and check out the new layout).

What do you think of then new site design? leave a message and let me know. I'm trying to make the site more readable, while improving the overall quality of the layout. The last design was way too cluttered and craptacular. Is this an improvement?

Today kicks off a new feature on The Core Mechanic, The Farchives. Every Friday I will re-post a popular TCM post from the previous year. To kick this new series off, I've included a post that was one of the first "popular" ones I had the first month the blog was in existence. This post was originally posted on July 22nd, 2008. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.

---

After reading Stephen Radney-MacFarland's column "Saying Yes is a Skill", the following paragraph stood out:

...Consider this case in point. The cifal, also known as the Colonial Insect-Formed Artificial Life (I'm not joking), was a critter from the original Fiend Folio that featured a back story and a name I thought was absolutely stupid. And I was not alone; in 2000 the cifal was voted the stupidest Fiend Folio monster by the readers of Polyhedron magazine. Still, this critter showed up a number of times in my game as a swarm-of-flies devil that served Baalzebul. What did I change about the monster? Not much, just the name and alignment. It was that easy. My players were scared to death of the poor, stupid cifal, which they knew as bzazels (heck, not even a vast of an improvement on the name front, come to think of it)...

Then it occurred to me that I had been doing something for years that maybe other DMs don't do, or maybe don't do often enough. I'm talking about Stat Block Masking (SBM). SBM is one of the oldest tricks in a DMs toolbox. It's easy to do, saves hours of prep time, and keeps the players on their toes. The muchkins at your game table hate SBM techniques, the role players love it. So, what is it?

SBM is where the DM uses the stat blocks for one creature, item, trap, spell, class, etc. to replace the stat block of another similar thing. The decription of the thing stays the same, but the stats are VERY different. Two examples should be enough to illustrate my point:

---

Example 1: The Beegguns Goblins
Goblins are easy to kill and the player characters blow through dozens of them in an evening of gaming. After a whole evening of slaughtering scores of them, complete with spell casters, traps, interesting terrain combinations, and the like, you realize that the players need a bigger challenge. But, the problem is that they are in a goblin den. To maintain internal consistency, there's a somewhat limited number of assailants you might throw at them. What can you throw at a group of Level 2 heroes that might scare them out of their wits. Then, you have an idea...

As the PCs turn the corner and see a four 'bigger', foul looking goblins coming down the hall towards them. "These 4 huge goblins come lumbering around the corner, groaning. Their bodies are covered in some kind of black oil, as are their large spiked clubs. They don't seem too happy in general, and are probably going to take it all out on you."

One of the players at the table says flatly "Oh no, these goblins look (sarcasm) scary! I charge them."

Another player metagames a bit and says, "What, they have twice the health or something? My wizard begins casting Ray of Frost."

You simply just chuckle and the battle begins. After 4 rounds of combat, the party has blown all their encounter powers, and nearly everyone has used their dailies. Action points? HAH... those are all gone. These goblins are stunning people with some sort of sap that's on their clubs, and seem like to beat on the same, stunned (panicing) heroes until they are clobbered. Plus, these guys are taking huge ammounts of damage.

Its at this point that the players realize that these are not simply "tougher" goblins; they are something else entirely.

In fact, they are Ghouls. Well... at least their stats are Ghoul stats. But, instead of claws, they use big clubs covered in somekind of toxic (to everyone but goblins) sap. Instead of being vulnerable to radiant damage, you make them vulnerable to fire damage (the sap burns quite well). In the end the PCs are fine, they mostly survive. But, they are all left wondering "WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?"

---

Example 2: The Ring of Blades
Your heroes have worked hard pushing through the goblin den. Most of the goblins have either been killed or have fled to find greener pastures. In a final, last ditch effort for "survival" the goblin chieftain surrenders and offers the heroes a 'secrete treasure that will remain buried forever' unless they let the remaining tribe go free. The heroes, always filled to the brim with a lust for more lewt, agree. The chief tells the heroes where he keeps a secrete cache of coins and a few items of value. The heroes find the treasure and among they find a magic ring and a magic axe. They let the chieftain go (these heroes are real goodguys), and begin investigating the items. They seem harmless enough. The axe is a something magical, but harmless.

The ring, however, is something different. "Your skill checks are successful, and you determine it is a Ring of Invisilibility". They PCs actually failed in identifying the ring correctly and on an earlier Passive Perception check, but the game table is filled with a series of 'holy crap!" "wow!" "OMFG!" etc.

Then, one of your players adds "Wait... a Ring of Invisibility is a Level 18 item. We're a bunch of Level 2 stooges..."

"You know Mr. Metagamer, you are right! And, just as your character realizes this existential fact and holds up the ring to inspect it, it seems to unfold. Slowly at first, then faster still until the whole party are enveloped in a whirlwind of flying blades."

The ring is actually a Whirling Blades trap (p.89 DMG), and appropriate but difficult challenge for the party. You might also rule that, if they fail in disabling the trap the ring is destroy. If they succeed, they might just walk out of there with a nifty little gadget to take with them...

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I've think I've illustrated my point. Statblocks can be stripped of their descriptions and applied to anything in a variety of settings, assuming you keep challenge at an appropriate level for the heroes. The trick is just to think outside the box a little and be creative. Using this technique, DMs out there will never be stuck needing a 'better' challenge in the middle of a gaming session. Players out there will also have to stay on their toes since you'll never know what to expect next...

"What the heck is that?"
"What? His mount? Oh... that's his armored heavy warhorse that was raised in the marshlands of Xuntargak. It was trained for war, and has been subject of many foul rituals by his arcanists. Good luck..." It's a heavy warhorse, but I'm using the Basilisk statblock.

I should note that Unclebear has also come out with a series of posts on "Shemping" - anyone interested in more info on recasting / shemping should check out his blog for his view on the same topic.

I WON!!! The Most Ugly RPG Blog Award!

OK, just kidding... but I do have a very strong desire to eliminate the busy, distracting nature of this blog's layout and design. The problem is that I have very little time to tinker around with CSS and HTML for hours on end. So what do you think I should do?

Drop blogger and jump to WordPress? Or stay here and just redesign using one of bloggers templates?

Fire up my own hosting service and get back into PHP? My mousefinger groans in pain at the thought of hacking php again.

So, since I don't have all the time in the world... should I use a free template or purchase one? Are purchased WordPress templates "worth it"?

Is there anything about my current site design that you like? (I'm so sick of looking at it, I usually use my feedreader to check the layout of my posts...)

My goal is simple: to improve The Core Mechanic by improving the reader's "experience" through increasing the blog's functionality. Simplicity, readability, functionality are the words that make me go "Yeah... I want that".

Any feedback you have, positive or otherwise, is very much appreciated.

A little retrospective:

Back in the day (1E AD&D), there was this notion of the "DM's Blue Bolts from Heaven". The idea was simple - some PC is too annoying to deal with, too powerful compared to their peers, or just plain ignored the warning from the gods. Blue, firey bolts of hot lighting would come down and, potentially, strike them dead on the spot. I think the rule of thumb was 3d6 bolts would come down, each carrying a saving throws vs. Death inside. I lost several characters myself this way. Luckily, a couple of them had friends in high places who could raise people from the dead...

No one doubted that BBFH were a very real threat to munchkin players. Power gamers and munchkins were always justifying their awesomeness as a result.

"He must find the Holy Avenger, like his father before him! It is his destiny!"

Declarations like that early in a character development not only added to the backstory, but it also provided the munchkins among us a foil against future BBFH should they find the sword in some kind of ass'hattery kind of way. Everyone was happy, story gamers and munchkins alike.

Enter 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. You start out as a "hero" at first level. The game is designed for power gamers, munchkins love it, and roleplayers either hate it or are heard frequently defending 4E as just as viable an RPG as any other 'older' one (me included). Regardless though, there's nothing in the rules-as-written about controlling over powered characters. The RAW in fact supports accension to godhood (which, in all fairness, every other edition of D&D has supported as well including BASIC).

Nonetheless, throwing down blue bolts from heaven in a 4E campaign strikes me as a deal breaker. I can already see the players standing up and crying "That's Bulls***!".

So... Are munchkins a problem, or a welcomed part, of your game? If you are running a 4E game, what measures have you taken to limit the obscene power gaming munchkinism that the end-days of 3.5E D&D faced? Or, is this not even an issue for you?

Open Game Table aims to bridge the gap between the RPG blogging community and the broader table-top gaming fan base by showcasing the best talent in the RPG blogosphere. Within these pages are 47 blog posts from 32 top-quality RPG blogs, plus a Foreword written by RPG luminary Wolfgang Baur. After six months of hard work, I am very happy to say this anthology is finally here for your enjoyment!!!

... Check out the review on WIRED Magazine's GeekDad blog ...

Packed with the best in RPG blogging and over 60 illustrations, this book is Pure Gold. The anthology chapters cover a wide variety of topics for fans of all table-top roleplaying games, including:

1. Play Style;
2. Game Play;
3. Characters & Players;
4. Monsters & NPCs;
5. Encounters, Settings, and Locations;
6. Adventure Design;
7. Campaign Setting Design;
8. Classes, Action, and Equipment;
9. RPG History & Commentary; and
10. The RPG Toolbox.

This anthology is the result of the hard work of nearly 100 volunteers, authors, editors, judges, artists, and designers. A true grass roots effort; it is a tour de force of the RPG blogging universe.

The book is shipping from Lulu Marketplace and Amazon.com for $22.95. Soon, it will also be available from Indie Press Revolutions.

ORDER YOUR COPY HERE

Want to support Open Game Table on your own blog or website? I would be honored! Please grab any OGT graphic on this page and link to the Lulu storefront or this post on The Core Mechanic.

These graphics kindly provided by Lee Barber, a contributing artist to the Open Game Table project.

Wow... it has almost been a month since I did my last "Around the blogs..." Saturday morning schtick. Well, this is not to say that I haven't been trying my best to keep up to date with the goings on around the RPG blogging community. Here's a healthy dose of what I've been into over the last few weeks...you'll notice it centers around one topic really... Old School D&D.

It seems I'm on a OD&D binge. I blame James Maliszewski's blog Grognardia. He keeps reeling me in with his Gygaxian Naturalism, among other things. This then inevitable bleeds over into other great OD&D blogs as well. Heck, this time around I even ended up posting a couple things about OD&D and 4E here at The Core Mechanic.

1. "Gygaxian Unnaturalism" One of my all time favorite OD&D posts was J.M.'s post about "Gygaxian Naturalism" from last September. Now, he follows up with a response of sorts to the impact his post has had on the RPG community. "Gygaxian fantasy takes place not in a wholly magical world, but instead in a natural world to which magic has been added, which is why magic often gets a great deal more attention in his writings." Jump over to his post to get the full story.
2. Necromancer Games is going Classic 4E - a mix of OD&D and 4E at the same game table. "Classic 4e--Will It Fly?" at RPG Blog II led me to the announcement.
3. Since that post, it seems some people have gone ahead and jumped in. Greywulf is running a series of posts "Like It's 1981 All Over Again" parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. Honestly, I have rpgenvy. From what I have read thus far, it looks like he is have a blast.
4. There's been a ton of Get of My Lawn style OD&D posts in the last month. I don't know why the resurgence; but the tone has definitely changed. Donny the DM picked up on this a few weeks ago with "Old School vs. New School - Or how to properly destroy something all profess to love." Not only is this a great post -- that can only center your thinking -- but the comments are well worth the digg as well.
5. I guess much of the OD&D crowd is looking back, thinking things were better before. Maybe we should all do what Scott did and answer"What D&D Is (To Me)". Maybe with a little reflection on the hobby we might put away the hatchets.
   
6. Finally, after reading dozens of OD&D articles lamenting the better days of the hobby, I finally joined in the echo chamber in a weak attempt to bring the two tribes together with "Old School vs. New School: Have we lost our way?". I even made some suggestions as to how we might play nice and how a 4E campaign could be houseruled to play a bit more like OD&D - but that too was met with some gnashing of teeth. At least the ensuing discussions those posts brought on were worth it - heck, I was even honored with a post response by Tales of the Rumbling Bumblers with "4e For Grognards?".

Well that's been about it. Oh, of course I have been also EXTREMELY HAPPY that the Open Game Table anthology has already received a huge number of previews. It literally seems like every time I check my feed reader, my Technorati feed tells me another kind blogger has linked to an Open Game Table post. THANK YOU! Most recently there have been TONS of previews... check them out...

• WIRED MAGAZINE's Preview - Launch of RPG Blog Anthology - "Open Game Table" Announced
• The RPGBloggers Anthology...first impressions from The Art of the TPK
• RPG Blog Anthology: Kudos from A Butterfly Dreaming
• Open Game Table Anthology from Tales of the Rambling Bumblers
• Work CAN be Fun at Make Way for Ducklings
• Open Game Table from Stupid Ranger
• Open Game Table Set for March 23rd Debut from The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope
• Open Game Table from NewbieDM
• RPG Blog Anthology over at Encounter-a-Day
• Open Game Table: Anthology from Critical Hits
• Open Game Table: The Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs out March 23 as a featured news submission to Gaming Report
• Stupid Ranger Preview - Open Game Table Review
• Robot Viking Preview - Bridge the Blog-to-Tabletop Divide with Open Game Table

OK.. finally I need to point out one last post. My head exploded when I read it. (for me that's a big complement; its a good thing). Ben Robbins did it again with "Grand Experiments: We’ll always have Lorngard". If you read nothing else -- check out his post at Ars Ludi.

Your head will explode.

The Core Mechanic is looking for contributors! Along the road back to daily posts, I realized that I am not a bottomless font of words. One-shot guest blogs, or regular contributors, are both welcome additions. So, exercise those writing chops, and if you are an RPG enthusiast who follows and enjoys this blog; drop me a line and let me know. Click "CONTACT" above and let me know you are interested.

Contributing to TCM is a great way to start blogging if your new to the community or to provide some cross blog connections if you already have an RPG blog of your own.

All inquiries will be considered.

Best Regards,

Jonathan.

Ever wondered what's "popular" among us D&D geeks? How about what was popular? Using Google's new Google Insights Tool, you can mine all kinds of Web 2.0 goodness from their databases. For instance, the above graph shows the "interest level" by netizens over the last five years for 4E D&D (in blue), 3E D&D (in red), 2E D&D (orange), and 1E D&D (in green, absent becuase it's below Google's threshold level). The fully interactive chart is available here. Notice the HUGE spike last summer when 4E was released, and the precipitous drop. Also notice the the trough for 4E interest is about at the same level as 3E was back in 2004. I wonder how well this data tracks with sales of D&D products? I would venture fairly well.

The downside to this data is that, overall, there's a declining interest in D&D in general, across all editions (barring the spike last summer). The upside is that, if you look at the last 60 days, interest in 4E D&D seems to be trending a bit higher which might be promising. OK, so how does interest in D&D track with RPGs in general?

From the looks of it, interest in RPG's in general is remaining steady -- but interest in D&D is fading. What I want to know is what the heck cuased the 42% spike in general RPG interest back in April of 2006?

I recently had some friends over for diner and, as is customary among the people I hang out with, after eating we decided to play some table top games. Wow - big surprise, right?

Well, it was actually because I believe I discovered quite possibly the stupidest game ever made. It's called "L.C.R." which stands for Left Center Right. It's a betting game that involves rolling three dice, moving chips around the board depending on the results, and there is ZERO strategy. It's a "game" of chance - which in my book makes it barely a game at all. I'm completely confused by the 18+ reviews on Amazon and the 4 star rating... what am I missing?

Can something be a "game" when there is no choice or control on the part of the player? Are slot machines games? I tend to agree with the computer game designer Chris Crawford in that a game must include the player's ability to interfere with the outcome of play. LCR and slot machines do not even barely meet that definition.

A drunk cat laying on a bed of catnip surrounded by mice in a food coma from eating cheese could play LCR. No really... I'm not joking. If there is some way to get the dice to roll around, the game moves forward.

I was absolutely floored.

Played it for about 5 minutes and then spent the rest of the evening making fun of it and playing Dominion instead. We had a blast.

What's the most idiotic, stupid, or otherwise shockingly lame game you have ever played? What do you consider to be a game? Even Wikipedia is not sure what a game is. (yunno... because Wikipedia is like the Emerald Wizard of Oz...)

Have you ever wondered why the D&D community was so fragmented?

Have you ever thought "Hey, 4E is the new Old School D&D!"?

Have you ever wanted a grognard at your 4E game table?

Well, I have. Some say its impossible though. Grognards are, by definition, grumpy dwarfs. They don't want to game with 4'Teens. They say it can't be done. It's against thier code of ethics. Plus, it is rumored that they will turn to stone as soon as they use a healing surge.

I disagree. These rumors all all bunk. I think they do want to game with us. I think they just are grouchy, but shy. Well, take any one of these 10 House Rules and help make your 4E game appeal to that grumpy old curmudgeon. Come on, you know we all love'em! Right?

OK.. maybe it will take all 10 of these House Rules, but give it an honest shot. You may surprise yourself...

1. Limited Healing Surges. Limit the number of healing surges to PC's 1+Con bonus, or just set a fixed number regardless of constitution or class ("everyone gets 3 healing surges, that's it!")
2. Halve Starting Hit Points. That's right. Start with less. In OD&D most wizards only started the game with 4 hit points, and that's if your DM was being generous.
3. Limit the Classes to the Fab Four. OK, technically there were three in the original game, but the thief is just too good to pass up. From 4E, play only with the Fighter, Cleric, Wizard, or Rogue.
4. Limit the Races to Three. All you need are the Human, Elf, and Dwarf races, right?
5. Award XP for Gold. 1 gold = 1 xp. Also, drop xp bonuses for quest rewards, skill challenges, and traps. Killing things and taking their loot are the only things worth XP.
6. Make All Encounters Deadly. When making encounters, always pretend the party is 2 or 3 levels higher than they are.
7. Don't Scale the Campaign Setting. Take a page out of the book of Gygaxian Naturalism and design your campaign world independently of the PCs level. If those woods over there are dangerous, make them so. If that castle is inhabited by demons, make it so. There's nothing more annoying that a town frightened by a tribe of level 1 kobolds... its just laughable.
8. Make Encounter Powers Daily Powers. This will make their use a bit more like old school one-a-day spells and abilities.
9. Make Daily Powers Charged Powers. Make the use of a daily power drain XP, use a healing surge, or have some other charged effect.
10. Put Away the Miniatures. Try playing without miniatures. This may seem antithetical for 4E gameplay, but it IS possible. How? Use your imagination. There's something very cool about playing D&D in a living room instead of at the game table. Try it.
11. Try What Greywulf Suggests...
1. Roll 3d6 for stats and then GO!
2. Play an old school D&D module using 4E rules. Very cool... we like this. And YES.. this is the ELEVENTH house rule.. actually.. its two.. now I'm just confused.

With one or more of these house rules in effect, I think its pretty easy to recreate the deadly, resource management style game that OD&D embodied using 4E rules. Give it a shot, and let me know how it goes.

Oh, and this post is meant to draw fire. Flame away! Show me your worst! I'll take it on the chin like the geek that I am! [runs away, hides...]

Today, I'm very happy to report that Open Game Table: The Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs is available for pre-order via Amazon.com for $22.95. The book will be released on March 23rd (next Monday), at which time it will also be available for order directly from Lulu.com Marketplace. In addition, in the very near future the book will be available for wholesale distribution via Indie Press Revolution and Ingram (retailers: contact me directly for more information).

Open Game Table aims to bridge the gap between the RPG blogging community and the broader table-top gaming fan base by showcasing the best talent in the RPG blogosphere. Within its pages are 47 blog posts from 32 top-quality RPG blogs, plus a Foreword written by RPG luminary Wolfgang Baur. Packed with juicy content and over 60 illustrations, this book is Pure Gold.

The anthology chapters include a wide variety of topics for all RPGs:

1. Play Style
2. Game Play
3. Characters & Players;
4. Monsters & NPCs;
5. Encounters, Settings, and Locations
6. Adventure Design
7. Campaign Setting Design
8. Classes, Action, and Equipment
9. RPG History & Commentary
10. The RPG Toolbox.

This anthology is the result of the hard work of over 50 volunteers, authors, editors, judges, artists, and designers. A true grass roots effort; it is a tour de force of the RPG blogging universe.

Not sure if this book is worth its weight in gold? Check out these other blogs for some in-depth previews of the book and then decide for yourself - you will NOT be disappointed.

• The RPGBloggers Anthology...first impressions from The Art of the TPK
• RPG Blog Anthology: Kudos from A Butterfly Dreaming
• Open Game Table Anthology from Tales of the Rambling Bumblers
• Work CAN be Fun at Make Way for Ducklings
• Open Game Table from Stupid Ranger
• Open Game Table Set for March 23rd Debut from The Society of Torch, Pole and Rope
• Open Game Table from NewbieDM
• RPG Blog Anthology over at Encounter-a-Day
• Open Game Table: Anthology from Critical Hits
• Open Game Table: The Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs out March 23 as a featured news submission to Gaming Report

Have you seen a preview copy of the book? Then by all means, please let my readers here know what you thought.

Want to know more about Open Game Table? Then check out all these posts that have been tagged, or leave a question for me to answer!

Thank you for stopping by. I'm so stoked that this project is finally out the door with such a warm reception!

In response to a comment by Thanuir left in response to my post " Old School vs. New School: Have we lost our way? ".

There are differences in the _mechanics_ of resource management between Old School and New School D&D, true. 4E lends itself to heroic combat where guns are blazing and the PCs are in a constant firestorm. OD&D is more sudden, deadly, and possibly even mysterious. I guess some might consider this a trade off 4E carries due to "The Tyranny of Balance", a phrase Donny the DM coined.

Now, every campaign I've ever played in had its own houserules. So, allow me to ask this question - how many houserules, or what kinds of houserules, would be needed to make OD&D more like 4E?

How about to make 4E more like OD&D?

As a molecular biologist, I'm intimately familiar with the notion of subtle differences between two things (genes in this case) that have profound effects on observable outcomes (phenotypes). These differences can be quantified - makes me wonder if we could really put our finger down on the (small number of) characteristics that separate the OD&D Grognard tribe from the New School 4'Teen tribe. If so, what would those be? How many aspects of the rules would have to be changed?

I guess what I'm asking here is "What houserules would need to be put in place to bring OD&D and 4E and PF players together at the same table, and have everyone be happy?"

Is that even possible?

If so, what would that game look like?

On March 21st, the Player's Handbook 2 is being released in coordination with World Wide D&D Game Day. Someone at Wizards of the Coast must have realized the growing importance of the RPG blogging community because I was offered a free copy of the book - weeks before it is released - in exchange for reviewing any one of the character classes included in the PHB2. How could I say no? I was already anticipating the release of the Invoker because, from what I had already read online about the class, it seemed right up my ally.

The Invoker is a bad ass.

Plain and simple.

The whole idea behind the Invoker is that they are a divine caster, much like an Avenger, Cleric, and Paladin -- but unlike those classes, the Invoker does not rely on the trappings of a divine focus (i.e. holy symbol) for their abilities to function. They do not pray for spells and are not granted them from some agent of the gods. Instead, the power wielded by Invokers is cut from the very fabric of universe. They channel immortal powers of the gods directly -- and use their power to lay waste to anyone who stands in their path.

Invokers are controllers.

Much like Wizards, in combat Invokers can cast their "prayers" against multiple opponents as early as first level. What I find interesting is that many of their abilities have burst effects that are not simply aimed at damaging foes. These are not the specialist-wizard invokers of AD&D, whose power lay entirely in dishing up massive amount of damage. 4E Invoker prayers include involve plenty of pushing, pulling, sliding, slowing, dazing, and immobilizing. And that's just up to Level 5. Like I said -- they are controllers.

Invokers are summoners.

This is likely the biggest departure from the AD&D version of the Invoker. Whereas invocation and evocation schools of magic were juxtaposed to that of conjuration, the 4E Invoker gets the best of both worlds. Starting at Level 1 they have access to a daily prayer, Summon Angel of Fire, that summons "an angelic figure wreathed in fire." Yeah... and it burns you to a crisp if you stand next to it. The conjuration / summoning abilities of Invokers don't end with angels either: the list of things include magic walls of light, dancing blades, angels with dancing blades, walls of blades, and walls of angels with dancing blades. OK, the last one was a joke -- but you get the idea. As an Invoker, the forces of heaven got your back.

Oh, and at Level 19... you can summon the Tomb of Magrym. Yeah. It's a tomb that pops into existence on top of your enemies. The sorry souls who are stuck inside are in for a confusing experience and have to hack their way out. Did I mention the tomb was made of stone?

Paragon Paths
The Invoker also features four Paragon Paths: Angelic Aspect, Blightspeaker, Flame of Hope, an Hammer of Vengeance. I'll leave it to you to be the final judge of these paths - but in my estimation they are all top notch and provide highly flexible options for your end-game Invoker. My favorite? The Blightspeaker.

I've always had a soft-spot for classes that blend the dark elements of death, pestilence, and decay. Some of my earliest posts here at The Core Mechanic were in fact a 4E conversion of the 3.xE Forgotten Realms Talontar Blightlord prestige class and the blightspawn monster template - both of which were core to my campaign at the time. The Blightspeaker makes their enemies vulnerable to necrotic damage, and then uses the same energy type to harvest the life from their victims to fuel their own power -- but that's not the best part. These foul characters heal themselves every time they score a critical hit.

PHB 2: More Options, No Creep
The Invoker is a welcome addition to what is now a huge variety of classes that are available. For one -- it provides you with a new controller character type for players looking for something a little different than the wizard class. Secondly, the Invoker is substantially different from the 2E wizard-specialist class -- it feels like something entirely new. It is a flexible controller class that can easily play into a secondary role of striker or leader. And, for those looking for options to use during role playing scenes (i.e. non-combat encounters), the Invoker also includes a number of utility prayers to boost your PC's diplomacy and intimidation skills.

All in all I don't feel like the Player's Handbook 2 suffers from any "power creep" -- that is, the Invoker class and the other new classes, are on par with what was offered in the PHB1. It just might take a while to get used to all the core options - but options are good in my book, and I'm very satisfied with the way they are presented in this new member of the D&D family.

---

Want to learn more about Player's Handbook 2? Read on...

• Atomic Array: Episode 018: Player's Handbook 2
• Game Cryer: Player's Handbook 2 Review
• Gnome Stew: A Veteran GM's Take on GMing and the PHB2
• Critical Hits: The Avenger
• Campaign Mastery: The Barbarian
• Uncle Bear: The Bard
• Critical Ankle Bites: The Druid
• Kobold Quarterly: Review: Player's Handbook 2
• The Core Mechanic: The Invoker
• Flames Rising: The Shaman
• Stupid Ranger: The Sorcerer
• Musings of the Chatty DM: The Warden

Drop by Wizards of the Coast today!

I just read Donny the DM's post "Old School vs. New School - Or how to properly destroy something all profess to love." and ... well.. I've decided to make a Universal Grognard Feed. (copy the link into your feedreader...) It's even better than the RPG Blogger's Network because it picks up on EN World and all the millions of RPG forums out there.. wohoo!!!

OK... to be fair...

I also made the Universal New School RPG Feed.

YOU

MUST

CHOOSE...

oh wait... they are strangely the same... hmmmm....

I haz it...

Itz aweshum...

Open Game Table, The Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs will be released for intergalactic sale on March 23rd, 2009. It will be available directly from Lulu Marketplace, Indie Press Revolution, and Amazon.com for the retail price of only $22.95. Look for it on March 23rd, trust me... you'll love it.

And I'm serious... it really does look amazing in print. After slaving over the electronic form in draft, the physical book (galley proof) is far far better than I expected. Even by looking at the PDF, some people seem to agree -- check out the pre-reviews already hitting the blogosphere at The Fine Art of the TPK and A Butterfly Dreaming. (thank you!)

More details coming...

In the last couple of days, I've seen read some disturbing news and blog posts about the independent hobby game store business. You know... your FLGS.

Today, Nicholas over at DungeonMastering.com posted "Requiem for a Game Store" where he laments the slow decline of his own FLGS. This stood out to me because just yesterday I read Aoen's foreboding satirical forcast of 5E D&D ("Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Review") at GameGrene.com. Their point was the same -- FLGS are becoming a thing of the past and there is little we can do about it.

I disagree, there is a ton the gaming community can do to help the FLGS industry survive these tough economic times. All it takes is a bit of creativity and initiative. (I should preface this post with a warning: I have nearly zero understanding of how the actual RPG industry works from the ground up -- so, to many of you this may make you chuckle.)

1. Get to know your store. Set aside at least one-day per month to attend a gaming event at your FLGS. By visiting the store regularly you will get a vibe on how they are doing and get to know the "locals" as well.
2. Meet the Owner. Make a point of introducing yourself to the owner of the store. Putting a face on the store will help you remember that, when you shop at Amazon or Barnes & Noble, you are making a choice that doesn't include this person.
3. Make A Suggestion. Your a gamer, therefor you have strong opinions. Make them known to the guy behind the counter, let the store owner know, talk about it in the aisles of the store. Once your idea is out there, you never know what kind of impact you can have. Unrelated to gaming -- I made a suggestion to my FLB&WS (that's beer & wine in the middle there) about a certain Chilean wine I recently had enjoyed at a local restaurant. A few weeks later I noticed it was on the shelf, and it turned out to be one of their best sellers.
4. Special Order Something. Instead of click click ordering with Amazon, stop by your FLGS (or better yet call them) and ask them to special order what you are looking for. By ordering through the store, you are likely to pay a similar price as you might find in a big-box store like B&N, but will also be supporting them as well.
5. Order Online. Addicted to purchasing stuff online? Then make sure your store doesn't have an online ordering system. Many FLGS have online stores - some even with Instant Pick Up service (it's in the store waiting for you the minute you order it). If they don't have an online store set up -- see #3 above.
6. Bring a Friend. Two customers are better than one, so the next time you are going to drop in to your FLGS ask a friend to come along. The two of you can geek'out together, and the store owner might even be able to offer up a small discount if you buy two copies of that gamebook instead of one.
7. Try a New Game. The best way to spend money wisely on gaming (is that possible?) is to branch out and try something entirely new. Whether it is a new RPG, a new card game, strategy game, or something else -- your FLGS can guide you in making the decision as to what you might like to play best. I mean... do you REALLY think the stooge at Barnes & Noble is going to be able to tell you that Dominion is awesome and you definitely will like it? No.
8. Volunteer to Lead an Event. See #1 above, if that doesn't float your boat -- then see #6 above and repeat as necessary until you have enough people to run your own event in the store. Not all FLGS have the space for tons of concurrent games, but check their schedule. Ask them if you can host an event in their store. Got a regular gaming group? Depending on the location, you may even opt to host your regular gaming group at the FLGS.
9. Write About Your FLGS. Are you a blogger? Frequent forum poster? Then write a review about your FLGS. Provide links to their online store or their calendar of events. You will help them get some free advertising and through an honest review you will also give them straight-talk advice on what you like and don't like about their business (which is a good thing). Then send the link to the review to your FLGS by email and let them know about it.
10. Join Their Mailing List. All hobby shops have mailing lists - or at least email lists. Give them your contact info so that you can be informed whenever their is a sale, event, or other tidbit worth knowing about. By volunteering to be part of their marketing pool, you will stay in the know and sometimes even get coupons / discounts on items only available to people on the list. Its a win win.

The economics of hobby gaming is definitely changing. I too have seen my local store become somewhat more sparse than I remembered it to be. And while the digital initiative push by WotC certainly can not bode well for most FLGS owners, I'm sure this is not the only thing in their threat zone. We are a digitally centric group of people (gamers), but we need to remember that there is value to your FLGS that Amazon, DDI, and big box stores cannot give you: a connection with your local gaming community. Start thinking of your FLGS as a community center for gamers, and maybe it will follow that you'll remember them before you click "Checkout" at Amazon.

My local store? It's Dream Wizards in Rockville, MD. -- a 30 year icon of the region. I'm interviewing the owner in the next week or two, so hopefully I'll be able to complement this post with an insider's view of the business.

OK.. lunch break over... back to work...

This post is in reference to this other (excellent) excellent post over at Jeff's Game Blog. So, please jump over their and read up on what I'm reacting to. My comment just got too long, and decided to house it here since it was somewhat off topic anyway... and for the record I am not singling out any one blog or blogger -- it just seems that something troll'ish has emerged from the depths of Forumland and is invading our blogs...

....

Regardless of what game system I've played, its the GM/DM that makes the biggest impact on whether I had fun playing. Sure, as a player I can decide my own characters actions, but without the support of a DM who works with you, things get boring / frustrating fast. And when I'm the DM, which is often in my circles, the game system we are playing doesn't matter -- call me static, tired, old, or stuck in my ways, but there is a certain way I like to run a game regardless if it is D&D, Shadowrun, or Teddy A. D'Ventures -- loose scripting with tons of room for player direction and development. It hasn't changed in any of the versions of D&D I've used.

The edition or the game we choose does not determine whether or not we can play how we want to play.

I'm increasing convinced that many people are choosing "sides" and picking a banner to follow because it is just easier that way.

"I'm Old School! Check out my badass tattoos!"

"I'm Pathfinder! Check out my arty style!"

"I'm 4E, Look at my Rinestones! Aren't they purty?"

It's really sort of funny.

I would argue that people might not judge a book by its cover. the book being the DM behind the screen. What DM's do off the clock, planning for the campaign/ adventure/ encounter is their business. What they do behind the screen during play is their business. Fudge a roll? Sure! Roll dice and just ignore the results all the time because they just want to? Sure! Use / Don't Use Random Encounter Tables? Sure! ... what do I care anyway?

As a player all I should be worried about is one thing:

Are we, as a group, having fun?

Sry if this comes off as sort of a rant -- its just beginning to be funny to me that so much time and wind (ink?) is spent arguing about the good ol'days and how people should / should not play the game. Are they having fun? Great!

So many excellent blogs are devoted to fighting the good fight against the armies of Paizo, WotC -- I would much rather be reading game content from those authors. Have we lost our way?