Spell & Blade - OSR Retainers Review

 

            This is a quick review of a cool product by Mesozoic Press called Spell & Blade OSR Retainers. I am reviewing both the digital and physical product. What is the product? This solves the problem of having to come up with retainers on the fly. Each 1^st level retainer comes on its own card with stats, gear, personality, appearance, and a quirk. It includes the following: 15 Clerics, 10 Dwarves, 10 Elves, 20 Fighters, 10 Halflings, 15 Magic-Users, and 20 Thieves. As you can imagine this makes creating rival adventuring parties easier too by just dealing out a hand. Need a quick thieves guild representative, pull one. Party wants to hire on some added muscle, let them draw and find out.

One of the main uses I see for this is quick character generation too. When I go back to face-to-face gaming, if I get a last-minute addition to the party, pull a card, and let them have at it. I used to run a gaming club at the college where I teach, and I would often have players show up with little to no experience. I had pre-made characters that took time to create and would just give them to new players. At the end of the session, I would allow them to keep the character or make their own PC and transfer the XP and gold acquired in the first session. This deck makes it that easier to do that then ever. At the end of the session have them transfer the card to an actual sheet and you are good to go.

The Card Box

The characters are made with Old-School Essentials/BX in mind but would work for almost any OSR system with light conversion. One point that has been made, and specifically spoken to on there webpage, is that the NPCs have slightly hirer than average stats if you are a 3d6 down the line sort of person. This to me is one of the things that separates it from the official OSE Rouges Gallery. I love the quirky style of the OSE characters, but many of them are quite a bit…quirky. There is nothing wrong if that is your taste, but Spell & Blade is a bit more my speed. These NPCs reflect more of how my PCs in my party look and fit like a glove. If you are a 3d6 straight down the line sort, then these might not be for you. If you are a 4d6, drop the lowest, and place as desired type, these will work well.

Front of a Card

I am not the biggest computer whiz, but I have some experience with printing on cardstock for game materials and I do not think it would be hard to accomplish that with these files. For the time and effort though I would recommend buying the cards from DriveThruRPG. This is my first experience ordering physically anything other than books from DriveThruRPG and it was quite the success. The cards are reasonable, seem as durable as you would expect, and the box fits them nicely. If you plan to use them at the table, I recommend sleeving the cards, but other than that you are all set.

 

Back of a Card

If you want to purchase this product, click HERE.

I run Old School Essentials weekly and post our games to YouTube, click HERE to see.

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Froglings, Harpies, Zombies and More! Random Encounters for Barrowmaze or any Swamp

 

I received a gift and I decided to share it with the masses. One of my best friends in the world, who just so happens to have a PhD in English asked me for a favor. He said he was feeling a little burnt out on RPGs and wanted a “writing assignment”. I mentioned that I was running Barrowmaze and could use some interesting swamp/barrow encounters. He never fails to impress me. Not only did he produce several interesting encounters that have amazing potential for hooks and NPCs, but he also did layout for it and spruced it up. His talent is only overshadowed by his lack of confidence in his own work, so I asked if I could share it with the world? He agreed but made sure that I mentioned that the art was not original, and he wanted to credit the artists, but could not find many of them.

 

Below is a single example of an encounter, the PDF I am linking below for free, has many more. I hope you all enjoy it. He is a member of the THAC0 Blog Facebook group, so if you feel inclined, you can thank him there. Enjoy!

Trader Grobe and His Flapmen

The group encounter a group of fifteen Froglings led by 3 2HD leaders. Once of them has been cursed by a golden circlet that gives him access to spells but forces him to speak in haikus, another is a warrior looking to defeat and devour his siblings, and the third is a skilled rogue that has fallen in love with a swamp nymph.

-Trader Grobe: Is the leader of the group. He was able to break into a few barrows and loot metal weapons from the corpses, and since then, Grobe learned to trade with the odd explorer or cultist in the Barrowmoors for additional gear. He wears leather armor, bears a shield, and uses a short sword. He also has a few daggers. Grobe possesses the ability to speak a rudimentary form of the common tongue to trade with other peoples. He wants to acquire more weapons and armor for his band, and he can supply a group willing to sell him weapons with what seems to be a limitless buffet of fresh fruit and pure water. A swamp nymph, Antheia of the Mangroves, blesses this group with fruit, swamp prawns and other freshwater crustaceans, and water, in exchange for their armed protection against logging groups and marauding visitors to the Barrowmaze. Grobe is deeply in love with the nymph and will protect the location of her tree with his life.

-Skudsku the Swallower: Skudsku works as Grobe’s muscle. Unlike most Froglings, he stands five feet tall, weighs twice as much as the average Frogling, wears a chain shirt, and carries a battle axe that is larger than he is. Skudsku discovered he had a taste for other Froglings when he first hatched and devoured a dozen of his brother tadpoles. The rest fled. Since then, Skudsku has continued practicing cannibalism, but he is secretly terrified his siblings will return in a group to punish him for eating half his parent’s spawn. He believes that the equipment Grobe provides him will give him an edge in the final battle.

-Lorehunter Fuguuzzi: Fuguuzzi was a normal Frogling that had the unenviable job of testing out possible magical items Grobe found in the barrows. She was normal until the day she put a magic item called the Torc of Gwyn Boddell around her neck. The torc is a ring made of metal with a single green jewel in the center that glows when activated that is permanently locked on Fuguuzzi’s neck. It can only be removed by killing Fuguuzzi, and then once it is clasped around another creature’s neck, it can only be removed if the creature is killed. The Torc allows its wearer to cast several spells at will, but it carries a major curse. The wearer of the Torc can cast Detect Magic, Read Languages, Read Magic, Find Traps, and Locate Object, all at will, although each spell drains 1d4 hit points from the wearer. In addition, it increases the wearer’s Intelligence to 14 if it is lower than 14. Also, the wearer can only speak in haikus. Each line must be five syllables, seven syllables, and then five additional syllables. Besides being forced to speak in these patterns, the wearer also must use his or her words to describe concrete, natural things (a tree, clouds, a rock) in a way that is suggestive or symbolic of his or her meaning. Grobe knows that Fuguuzzi is useful, but all the Froglings also find it extremely frustrating to communicate with her. If characters come to Fuguuzzi seeking advice, Grobe will negotiate for useful goods in exchange for the Lorehunter’s services.

Want all the encounters? Click HERE.

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Shielding My Woes

Ugh…I have been wrestling with this one for a while.

The rules for shields in most D&D games are amazingly simple and amazingly awful all at the same time. I want good rules for shields that are both simple but are a bit more accurate to what shields do in combat. I will not claim to be a great military historian or a super reenactor of the period, but I was a nerd in the 2000s that played a decent amount of boffer LARPing and a shield is an amazing piece of defense. Something to me that deserves more than a simple plus one to AC. A basic human armed with a spear and shield should have a better AC then 8, especially versus missile weapons. Considering all that, the flip side is that it is simple and keeps the game flowing. Complex shield rules with parrying and variable AC depending on the size of the shield. Different bonuses with close combat with different number of opponents and/or range fire just tends to bog things down in unwanted minutia. Below is a few of the shield rules I have seen in the OSR community that I like for different reasons.

 

Shields Shall Be Splintered

http://trollsmyth.blogspot.com/2008/05/shields-shall-be-splintered.html

First off, if you are not familiar with Trollsmyth’s blog, you should. There is a ton of great content there. You will not be disappointed. To sum up “Shields Shall Be Splintered” quickly, shields function as written in the rules but a character that has a shield may sacrifice the shield to ignore the damage of a single attack. Powerful, simple, and quite useful for PCs. This adds quite a bit of survivability to characters that use a shield.

I decided to use this rule in my games, but ONLY Fighters could use it. This was an attempt to get people to play Fighters, because in my games no one would play one (I also gave the Fighters Weapon Specialization too). It did not work in seducing people to play Fighters. I have yet to have a Fighter in my multi-year campaign. For my game this failed on two fronts, one, the rule has not been used ever, two, it was not enough to get people to play Fighters. I guess I will just have to start offering signing bonuses for playing Fighters.

 

Crawford’s Shields

Wolves of God

                One of the other sets of shield rules that I like is from the myriad Kevin Crawford’s games (I cite Wolves of God above, but there are plenty of others). In WoG, shields are divided into broad shields and heavy shields categories. Broad shields give you an instant AC 5(15) and if you have an equal or better AC it provides the usual +1 bonus. Heavy shields give you an instant AC 6(14) and if you have an equal or better AC it provides the usual +1 bonus. They also are used to bash your opponents, thus provide a +2 to damage. Shields in his game also completely protect you from shock, which is a great benefit, but does not translate into general D&D.

                I like these rules a lot. I think they make a lot of sense and make shields a bit more effective than the standard D&D plus one AC bonus. The main issue is that issue I see is that I do not see the rules coming up that often in a standard BX/OSE game. In WoG armor is much more rare and much more limited in scope. Many to most PCs in BX/OSE will have chain/plate or cannot use shields. Thus, the rules really do not change for them (accept doing more damage with a heavy shield), they are just getting the standard +1 AC bonus. Why add in all the complexity, if it really is only going to change things in the margins?

 

AD&D 2e (The rules I grew up with)

This set of rules has a lot to it, so I am just going to quote the source:

“A buckler (or target) is a very small shield that fastens on the forearm. It can be worn by crossbowmen and archers with no hindrance. Its small size enables it to protect against only one attack per melee round (of the user's choice), improving the character's Armor Class by 1 against that attack.

A small shield is carried on the forearm and gripped with the hand. Its light weight permits the user to carry other items in that hand (although he cannot use weapons). It can be used to protect against two frontal attacks of the user's choice.

The medium shield is carried in the same manner as the small shield. Its weight prevents the character from using his shield hand for other purposes. With a medium shield, a character can protect against any frontal or flank attacks.

The body shield is a massive shield reaching nearly from chin to toe. It must be firmly fastened to the forearm and the shield hand must grip it at all times. It provides a great deal of protection, improving the Armor Class of the character by 1 against melee attacks and by 2 against missile attacks, for attacks from the front or front flank sides. It is very heavy; the DM may wish to use the optional encumbrance system if he allows this shield.”

                These rules while giving an assortment of different shields each with their own pluses and minuses is far to fiddly for me personally. Tracking four different weights, four different number of opponents, different directions that the attacks are coming from, etc. Doing all of this for a 5% modifier to your percent chance to be hit seems like a lot to me. I would rather just use the base BX/OSE model with a single shield with a +1 AC bonus compared to this.

 

Overall

                I have not found a set of rules that I am completely happy with involving shields. I might be chasing something that does not exist. There are parts of me that enjoy each one of the rule sets mentioned here (some more than others), but each one has just something that does not click correct for me. How about you? Is there a system that you like that I did not mention? Do you like the plain +1 AC bonus and leave it at that? Let me know and maybe I can find something I like.

I run Old School Essentials weekly and post our games to YouTube, click HERE to see.

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Lands of Legend OSR Toolkits

 

Do you like random charts? Do you like Mork Borg style layout? Then these are the books for you. I recently was sent a copy of Axian Spice’s Lands of Legends – Mundane and Lands of Legends – Grim.  Both books provide you with 100 random encounters (broken up into ten d10 charts) and 100 random area. The encounters and areas and reasonably generic to be used with most games, but the two different books add a bit of flavor. The Mundane book most likely has the most versatility as it could be used in almost any setting. The Grim book has a darker twist that might not be suitable to certain campaigns and fit others like a glove (I am looking at you Warhammer Fantasy). These encounters do not contain specific "monster" encounters or layouts to small dungeons. They are more like seeds for overall plotlines and interesting obstacles that the party must overcome. You will not find an entry like, "You run into D20 Kobolds hauling a chest." The entries are more unique and engaging. 

The layout for these books has a large leaning into the style department. To me, it does really look like Mork Borg and that artistic outlook. Some people absolutely love that style some favor a cleaner layout like Old-School Essentials. Taste will vary on this issue. I find that it increases the experience of reading the entries and is part of the flavor of the text. While flipping through the PDF you get a sense for how the author wants you to feel about a certain section, with the layout.

I will admit, I am not the biggest on using random tables at my game on the fly. On occasion I use them in prep, but I mostly read through them for ideas and then use the ones I like. These books are chocked full of those. Here is an example from the chart labeled Grim Civilization. “NIGHTMARISH EXECUTION. A murderous witch is about to be burned in the main square. A crowd has gathered, as many blame her of all their ills. As soon as the flames touch her, the crone curses the city, laughing and prophesying the death of all those who have gathered within the next new moon. After that, her twisted body becomes a cloud of bats, flying towards the nearest dungeon or Grim area. In the following days, the authorities might hire adventurers to investigate.” This to me is a good plot device that can be used to kick off an adventure. This starts the wheels turning in my head as to what I can do with the witch, who is the witch, or who will come for revenge because of the witch.

Overall, I think these products are good and you can get some great inspiration from the entries. According to the author, these are the first two of a series of Lands of Legends. I cannot wait to see what comes from this company.

If you want to purchase these products, please click the link HERE.

 

I run Old School Essentials weekly and post our games to YouTube, click HERE to see.

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Skills in Old-School Gaming

              One of the most important things in any role-playing game is WHEN should a die be rolled. Controlling this is one of the DMs most coveted tools because it can set the tone for a game. In general rolls can be done in one of three places, before the fiction, during the fiction, and after the fiction. When a roll is called for and used determines a lot. If we are discussing D&D (and its clones) the older we go the less skills there tends to be. So, when should you roll a Find Traps roll with a PC? Does the PC have to say they are using the skill? Should the PC roll it or should the DM? How detailed should the PC be about what they are doing? These are some of the questions that DMs face when running a game. I am sure that some people will claim to have the “right” answer to this question. I personally feel there is no “right” answer, just the answer that works for me. This is how I use skills in my game and some of my rationale for why I use them that way.

                To ruin some of my “old-school credibility” I play in a semi-monthly 5e game with my friend who I started D&D with in 1990. One thing that I hated with the 5e system (that many, but not all people do) was the idea that if my character does something directly it triggers a roll, not a solution. Example: My dwarf examines a treasure chest, I specifically state that I am looking in the keyhole for a needle or device. I even stick a knife blade into it to spring a possible trap if one is there. I am told to roll a Perception check with advantage, I still roll poorly. My character decides to open the chest and I am stabbed with a poison needle. If I were running this in my games, the PC would have seen the trap without a roll, because they were looking in the right place. If the player does a thing and, in the fiction, it makes sense they would see a thing, then they do. I assume competency on the part of the PC characters. I see DMs report running this style of game all the time. One in which the PCs must be EXTREMELY specific in what they do to figure out traps and the like. You might believe this is abundantly correct, but then the issue comes up, what is the Find a Trap skill used for exactly? If I need to be specific about what I am doing, and I don’t specifically mention I look in that keyhole should I roll? Should I automatically get hit with the trap? How much detail does a PC need to go into to gain a benefit? More importantly, what is more fun?

                This is how I run it, I am not claiming this is the only or best way to do it, just how I run it for my games. First off, if the PC does an action, they do an action. If they state they are searching the throne for buttons that activate a pit and there is one, they find it. Second, I use the 1-in-6 type rolls often as a passive alert. If the PCs are moving at “Dungeon Speed” the idea is that they are mapping, trying to be quiet, and looking for things out of the ordinary. I will roll for them to find a trap even if they are not specifically looking for it. If they approach a door and they should be able to hear a ruckus party going on in the other side of the door, they hear it. If there is a possibility of hearing it, I will roll for them, many times without them even knowing. I allow these skills to be used as shorthand too, to speed up game play. If we went into EXTREME detail for every room the PCs come into with their searching, we would possibly clear three rooms a night. I allow them to say “We search the room for X.” I will then make the appropriate rolls. I will often telegraph in rooms with interesting things (secret doors, hidden treasure, etc) with details so they can zoom in on that. If they want to tell me specifically what they are searching, I will then decide accordingly. I do not think this was the intended way to handle these situations, but I think it is fair and efficient.

Demi-Humans often must pay a premium (in XP) to get bonuses to these skills, so let them be skilled in it. I often roll the player(s) with the highest in each skill first, to see if they notice, then everyone else. Once one player achieves the roll, I usually stop. I let that character shine. You will notice that the Elf in my game often hears things and finds hidden doors and no one else does. Because I tend to roll him first and he then gets to take his moment in the spotlight. Making sure that everyone feels their character adds something to the party is important. Even the filthy Demi-Humans.

I also tend to use Ability Checks which can be controversial in the Old-School community. I do not think I overuse them, because of assumed competency, but they are still used. I try to keep in mind that Magic-Users know magical stuff, Clerics know religious stuff, Dwarves know dwarven stuff, etc. I generally give them automatic information based on their realm of expertise. Ability checks come in to adjudicate things that fall outside the common in those realms, they fill in the gaps so to speak. I also admit that I do far more INT and CON Ability Checks then others because I think the stats are under used compared to the others. This means having a higher INT and CON has some more useful benefits. I generally see Ability Checks as the opposite of Saving Throws. Saving Throws happen when something is done to the PC, Ability Checks are when the PC does something to something else. I can see a game going on just fine without them and the DM just coming up with a X-in-6 chance of everything, but I enjoy them and will keep using them.

Overall, the thing I like about older systems is that they do not have a robust skill system. To me this was something that kind of spoiled AD&D and D&D beyond that. Second Edition’s proficiency system was too limiting in that they had TONS of skills, but you got so few you felt your character was inept. Third Edition you could do any skill and skills stacked with skills and had bonuses from class and feats and synchronicity and what phase the moon was in and the list goes on. It was too much. I like the way that OSE/BX keeps things simple, and it is a big reason I continue to use it.

I run Old School Essentials weekly and post our games to YouTube, click HERE to see.

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Faux-Adversarial Dungeon Master

 

               I have seen many a discussion on Facebook groups, YouTube, and Blogs that there are different styles of being a Dungeon Master. One style that is often looked upon negatively is the Adversarial Dungeon Master. This is a Dungeon Master that feels they are in competition with the players and one of their objectives is to “beat the players” often resulting in a total party kill. It is often stated that the Dungeon Master must be a fan of the characters and be there as a supporter of the characters. Some with an older mindset might feel that the Dungeon Master is a neutral arbiter basically calling “balls and strikes” in the fantasy world that is created. But what if you project the aura of an Adversarial Dungeon Master, while really supporting the players in the long run?

                Let us be clear from the get-go that if a Dungeon Master wants to kill a party, they will have not an ounce of difficultly in doing so. No amount of clever play will save you or amazing build for a character will survive. If the DM is out to get you, you are going to die. For all intents and purposes the DM is god in the game, and that give them the ability to interject deadlier challenges until the PCs die, they cannot be defeated. I think this fear exists in every player that the DM at some point could turn against them and it is all over. As Dungeon Masters, we can use this to make a more exciting game.

                We can take on the mantle of the Faux-Adversarial Dungeon Master. What do I mean by this? Oftentimes in my game I will state things like, “Oh, you are going to die now.” Or maybe, “I am going to kill your character.” I FULLY have no intention on doing so, but this makes the player fell there is a viable threat. I become the makeshift “enemy” and they then become the team that is opposing me. This bonds them together. When I then make the proclamation, “You guys are not walking away from this fight!” They have that slight moment of fear, but when they overcome that obstacle, that the all-powerful DM said they could not win, they feel like they really accomplished something.

Give the players this look and make them think twice.

                I first noticed this phenomenon when I was playing dungeon crawl-like board games that have a competitive edge to the game. I am talking about games like HeroQuest, Star Wars: Imperial Assault, and Descent. These games mimic the Dungeon Master and player relationship of an RPG, but the difference is that the Dungeon Master is on their own side and out to win. In these games I was almost always the DM figure role. I noticed that players started calling me names, like “Dirty Imperial Scum” or “Bastard Sorcerer”. I became the personification of their enemy in the game because I was it. I was there to try and win, because if I won, I got cool stuff in the game too. This led to me playing hard to win and really pushing the players if they wanted to win. I remember playing Imperial Assault and I won the first 3 missions; I was killing it. The fourth mission they managed to win with only one character left on the board. The Rebel players literally jumped out of their seats they were so excited. High fiving each other and rubbing it in my face.

                The difference between these two situations though is that the power of the Dungeon Master role in the board games is limited by the rules. The power that is afforded a Dungeon Master in an RPG is virtually unlimited. The idea of the board game is that it is an equal playing field between the two groups whereas in a traditional RPG there is a clear imbalance in the way the power dynamic is structured. Thus, some kid gloves need to be applied. You cannot use this tactic when the players are already almost down and out. You cannot use this tactic on a player that has already had a string of terrible luck. You can use this tactic when the players are fully rested and ready-to-go. You can use this tactic when the players have a string of good luck. A basic guideline is to not pile-on the player or group but antagonize them a bit when they feel superior or immune from harm.

                Bottom line is that I want my players to be successful and I want their characters to do well and grow. I do not want it to be easy for them, because the struggle is the fun. I want my players to have ups and downs, but always feel like their character’s life could be in danger. If I must tease them a bit to make the win feel good, I will. Remember that a dramatic statement like, “I going after you, because I want you to die,” and a roll to hit out from behind the DM’s screen will add tons of tension to the game. Push on your players a bit, but do not push too hard.

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Lessons On Using Roll20 - Tokens & Websites

           After I posted the first video on setting up a Roll20 game and using the character sheet, I had plenty of people wanting to know how I created tokens in my games. This video goes over token creation and implementation on Roll20. The video also covers some of the websites I use in my Barrowmaze/Stonehell game. These cover the Barrowmaze random tables page and the Old School Essentials SRD website. I hope people are enjoying and getting use out of the videos and if they have something they want to know about, please let me know in the comments.

If you are having problems viewing the video (happens with mobile users) here is a direct link to the YouTube channel. Click HERE.

Lesson #1 on Basics in Roll20 and the Character Sheet is HERE.

My Twitch channel for live videos is HERE.

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Lessons On Using Roll20 - Character Sheet

          With Covid playing such a large part in the world today and D&D groups not being able able to get together, Roll20 is becoming more of a utility. I had plenty of people ask after watching my videos about Roll20 and some of the ways that I use it. I decided to make a video explaining some of the basics of Roll20 and things I have learned so far. This video focuses mainly on setting up a game for Old School Essentials (or any of the games in the BX umbrella) and how to use the character sheet. The sheet that was built for Roll20 is amazing and really does do a lot of the heavy lifting for both players and the DM. I hope you enjoy the video and learn a thing or two along the way.

Some are reporting not being able to see the videos above, if so, here is a direct link to the YouTube channel. Click HERE.

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Rolling Ability Scores – DMG Delve Part 2

        You would think with all these years into the hobby, and all the characters that have been created we would know a few solid truths. One truth that tends to get circulated is that stats should be 3d6 straight down the line, no exceptions! This is not the case in the AD&D 1e Dungeon Master’s Guide. We come to a section early in the book about “Creating The Player Character” and the first sub-section is “Generation Of Ability Scores”. This section gives you information not only on the generation of PC stats, but NPCs as well. While many in the OSR movement claim that modern D&D has a tendency towards super heroes, it seems clear from Gary’s writing that the PCs in Dungeons & Dragons should be “a viable character of the race and profession which he or she desires”. 

Gary admits that it is possible to generate playable characters by rolling 3d6, but only after “an extended period of attempts at finding a suitable one due to the quirks of the dice”. This shows too that rolling over and over again to get a character’s stats at least was a thing. He also discusses how creating lower quality characters can often lean to characters having a short life and this in turn discourages new players. I think this is a great insight and I have argued this for a while online, people (in general) don’t like their characters dying. This can drive people from the game before they ever really try it. One of the best parts of the game is the ability to create a character that is “yours” and getting to play that character. This is not to say that characters should be immune to death, which is going too far. Without a solid threat of consequences, you are robbed of a sense of danger and accomplishment. We should though strive to have characters that are viable for their profession. Thus the rolling system used to create them must tilt slightly in the PCs favor. This should create adventuring folk, not monster bait. With this in mind Gary discusses four methods for rolling attributes for your PCs.

Method I: 

All  scores  are  recorded  and  arranged  in  the  order  the  player  desires.  4d6 are rolled, and the lowest die (or one of the lower) is discarded.

Method II:

All  scores  are  recorded  and  arranged  as  in  Method  I.  3d6 are rolled 12 times and the highest 6 scores are retained.

Method III:

Scores rolled are according to each ability category, in order, STRENGTH, INTELLIGENCE, WISDOM, DEXTERITY, CONSTITUTION, CHARISMA.  3d6  are  rolled  6  times  for  each  ability,  and  the  highest  score  in  each  category  is  retained for that category.

Method IV:

3d6  are  rolled  sufficient  times  to  generate  the  6  ability  scores,  in  order,  for  12  characters. The player then selects the single set of scores which he or she finds most desirable and these scores are noted on the character record sheet.

All of these methods allow you to either arrange your stats, roll more than 6 times, or roll more than 3d6, some of the methods allow for combinations of these. Whichever way you choose to go about it, you are certainly going to get more options than the 3d6 in order. 3d6 in order seems to be the method for generating commoners and people of little renown. Gary mentions making NPCs (which he seems to mean powerful NPCs), which he seems to recommend them getting high scores because, “how else could these figures have risen so high?” General characters need to be average, so he recommends considering and 1s rolled are treated as 3s, and any 6s rolled are considered 4s. For special characters, not high NPCs, but not commoners (like henchmen) he recommends using the same system as the PCs, or doing the 3d6 method, but adding 1 to each dice rolled.

It seems clear that the idea behind the rolling systems is to have characters that are decent at their profession. This seems reasonable to me. I want competent characters and that can accomplish their goals like professionals. I do not want characters that are sickly and gross with little reason to be in the field. This seems to be the appeal of DCC, which is not exactly my cup of tea. There is nothing wrong with it, but it does not suit my style. What do you think? What method of rolling do you use? 

      This is some of the interesting stuff in the 1e Dungeon Master's Guide. I will continue the series Delving into the original DMG. If you are interested in the purchase of the book, please see the links below.

If you are interested in getting a copy of the AD&D 1st Edition Dungeon Master's Guide you can get a PDF or Print on Demand HERE.

If you are interested in an original copy try HERE.







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The Greatest RPG Product Ever Made - DMG Delve Part 1

         I do not think I am the first blogger to make a claim to having the Greatest RPG Product ever. But even if you disagree with my choice, you cannot deny this book's influence.  The 1st Edition AD&D Dungeon Master’s Handbook is iconic. Whether it is its advice, copious amount of tables, the informative Appendix sections, or even its art, it is a tried and true classic for any edition of D&D. The materials inside can actually stretch beyond its fantasy roots and act, in general, as an amazing tool for world building. I really cannot say enough good things about this book and all the guidance it gives you. My plan is to do a deep delve into this book pulling out different sections and discussing what they mean for the game as a whole, or how we can use the information in our own home games regardless of edition.

The image I most associate with D&D

         I wanted to start out today with something that is often overlooked, the Foreword and the Preface. Most people want to quickly get to “the good stuff” and never actually read the beginning parts of this book, or any book for that matter. I believe these opening statements give us, the readers, and an insight into the founders of the hobby and expose us to their intentions with the creation of the game. This lays a groundwork for not just D&D, but the RPG industry as a whole due to the influence D&D held, and still holds to this day. 

The Foreword

This is the only bit of content really in the book that is not written by Gary Gygax (unless you include the comics). The Foreward was written by then TSR Editor Mike Carr of In Search of the Unknown fame. Beyond other projects, Carr was the editor of AD&D’s core three books at the time the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster’s Manual. This gives him a wonderful insight into the thought process around the entire D&D world, at that time. He begins his letter to the player’s with an important question, “Is Dungeon Mastering an art or a science?” A question we can still ask ourselves today.

Carr makes the case that being a Dungeon Master is a little bit of both. It is an art, in that it is a creative endeavor that has each DM’s own “personal touches”. It is a science in the way that it requires both preparation and a keen attention to detail. While moving somewhat quickly away from the more “esoteric questions” he establishes that being a Dungeon Master is a “labor of love”. I want to pick that apart for a minute. You do have to love what you are doing to be a good DM. Have you ever played with a DM that obviously wasn’t feeling the game they were running? It is bad for everyone, not just the DM. It is the enthusiasm that you have for your game, as a DM, that will be infectious to the others that are playing. Stan Lee talked about how enthusiasm was the best sales pitch. If you want players to be interested in your game, you need to be excited for the game. 

        The second part of Carr’s quote is the concept of labor. Being a DM is work, and they are certainly the busiest person at the session. Any labor, whether for work or for love, has value. That value needs to be respected because the DM’s opportunity cost is generally larger than anyone else at the table. As a player be respectful of the DM’s time, effort, and energy. Allow basic etiquette to apply, pay attention to the game, act in the best interest of the game as a whole, don’t argue with the DM at the table, etc. 

This beginning section is a great section and at only five short paragraphs it has a lot crammed in for DMs and players alike. Carr discusses the boons and busts of being a DM that can resonate with anyone that has stepped behind the screen regardless of edition or even RPG. I think I will leave this section with a quote from the text, “Dungeon Mastering itself is no easy undertaking, to be sure. But Dungeon Mastering well is doubly difficult.” 

The Preface

This was a letter from Gary Gygax to his fellow campaign referees (Dungeon Masters) about the book they just purchased. Beyond that, it really discusses some of what he saw as the job of a “referee” in running a campaign. He stresses that this books is solely for the Dungeon Masters and is not for the players. He goes so far as to state that players should not own this book, and those that do are “less than worthy of an honorable death.” This seems like such a foreign concept these days as it is eliminating a portion of the market. I think a significant portion of the people who play D&D own the core, three books of the PHB, DMG, and MM. You are just throwing sales out the window, for the sake of keeping the core game mechanics a secret. Remember at this point the DMG, not the PHB, has most of the rules for play. Combat is not covered in the PBH, because that was not for players to know. 

Art from the DMG.

        I am not sure how tongue in cheek the statement above is, but it seems serious in the passage. He also suggests charging PCs who own the DMG, more money from sages for information. If meta-knowledge is used from the DMG, it is suggested that the player should lose several magic items and apparently that is letting them off easy. One thing this shows us is the value knowledge had in older (A)D&D. My players have come to realize this more recently. They would much rather get a useful piece of intel then a magic item, because knowledge often keeps you alive. This could have disastrous consequences for the tournament scene, which he mentions as a reason for the standardization of the rules. 

        Gary says that this work is “written as one Dungeon Master equal to another.” The DM is the “creator and ultimate authority in your respective game”. Regardless of that power, this book was about taking the rules and trying to create a “degree of uniformity” so that players could travel from one game to another and not, in essence, be playing a different game. He admits to the fact that no two games will be 100% the same, but hopefully the core will remain the same. Races will be the same, spells will work more or less the same way, magic items might vary, but will have a common resonance. Thus in some ways this book is about putting some limitations on the game and set up a group of boundaries. These boundaries are important, because at some point you run the risk of drifting out of what is D&D. He warns players, “Similarly, you must avoid the tendency to drift into areas foreign to the games as a whole. Such campaigns become so strange as to be no longer “AD&D”. They are isolated and will usually wither.” The trick seems to be to create something new and unique to yourself, while maintaining the viability of the rules i.e. the systems and “laws”.

        Other bits of advice from the letter involve getting the most out of being a referee. He discusses how you will spend hours making, creating, and running your game. The best reward a DM can hope for is that people (players) use what you created. Isn’t that what we all want? So that are effort wasn’t for nothing? We just want someone to play with our toy. I think this is a great insight, and he discusses some pitfalls. He mentions how player, in general, want their characters to succeed. There is nothing wrong with that, but if left to their own devices they will often want to succeed quickly and with as little struggle as possible. Players with a strong personality can manipulate a DM into ideas that might be good for them and their PC, but bad for the group or game world in general. Players that do not have as strong a personality will drift from the game as they will want something more egalitarian and possibly challenging. The opposite is a problem too. Games that have too high a difficulty might feel unfair, or that the DM is just out to “get” the players. This can lead to resentment and players ditching the game in order to avoid a weekly beat down. 

       This article is wonderful and shows players of any edition the thoughts that went behind some of the earliest years of the game. The book was released in 1979, but he does mention in this letter he had been working on it for at least 2 years. So the construction of this mammoth tome was started about 3 years after the hobby was created. We see some of the intentions of the creators in that the DM is the ultimate authority of his game, the rules need to be grounded, but flexible, and that knowledge should be a commodity in D&D games. 

        I plan on continuing this series and delving more into the AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide to see what it can teach us about today’s gaming. If you would like to see more, please comment here or on social media to let me know. Overall this has been one of my favorite articles to write as I have always had an affinity for this book, though 1st Edition AD&D is the edition I have played the least. I think all editions can benefit from this book, and I plan to show it.

If you are interested in getting a copy of the AD&D 1st Edition Dungeon Master's Guide you can get a PDF or Print on Demand HERE.

If you are interested in an original copy try HERE.







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Can We Talk About The Dungeons & Dragons 3: Book of Vile Darkness Movie?

                  I know…..Believe me I know……I was there opening night in the theater for the first Dungeons & Dragons movie. I attended a watch party at a friend’s house for the second Dungeons & Dragons movie. At that point I tuned out of the entire process. I did not know that they even released a third movie until 2018 when I read a random blog that mentioned it. I made an immediate search for it and watched it that night. I remember telling my wife before watching it, “This will be shit, but I have to watch it.” She laughed and told me that I did not have to watch it, but I did. And……..

I did not hate it, in fact, I kind of liked it.

                Don’t get me wrong it is not an exceptional movie by any means, but taking into account a few factors, it is an actual home run in comparison with the others. I do not think the movie would be enjoyable to people outside the hobby, but people who enjoy D&D might be able to get some cool stuff from the movie. Some of the characters are quite memorable, the plot is very Dungeons & Dragons, the special effects, while not great, are evocative of the game. The acting has its limitations, but I can honestly say that they are trying. It is also a more adult story than the previous two movies. There is some nasty gore, orgies, and some really evil acts. What were expecting from The Book of Vile Darkness? The story feels like it actually has at least a modicum of weight to it and I like the situation that the main protagonist is placed into and what he must do. They throw in some obvious 4e references like what armor the main character should buy heroic or paragon. Cheesy, but it is not altogether ruining of the story.

Slight Spoilers Ahead

                I am going to try and explain bits of the movie without spoiling the whole thing. I will try and stick to information that can be gleaned from the trailer provided with this article. With that being said, here we go. The story is about a young knight/paladin that is in search of his father, who himself is also a knight/paladin of a sacred order. He learns that a group of foul mercenaries are working for his father’s abductors and decides to join them in order to learn the whereabouts of his father. The mercenary company is looking for pieces of the Book of Vile Darkness in order to reassemble it and rule the world. While working for the mercenaries the knight is forced to make decisions on how far he is willing to go in order to rescue his father. He is faced with interesting decisions and moral dilemmas that would be fun as a DM to make the players face. He is constantly faced with blowing his cover, or doing something against his code of honor.

The main characters are the following:

• Grayson – A young knight/paladin who will do whatever it takes to rescue his father. His faith is constantly tested.
• Akordia – A Shadar-kai witch who appears to have escaped from enslavement and now just wants to adventure.
• Bezz – AKA The Verminlord This guy is great. He is a mustache twirling bad guy, but the performance is fun and the concept is interesting. He appears to be a wizard with the theme of plagues of insects.
• Seith – A shadow assassin with a religious bent. He believes the world is basically those who kill and those that can be killed. The fittest will survive.
• Vimak – A goliath barbarian who is in it for the wine, women, and song. He has a slightly interesting background that gets explored in one scene.

Lesson For Our Games  

                This movie is an interesting example of how you could in theory run an evil party without it going completely to shit. It actually has a paragon of virtue knight running with them as well and it seems natural. The evil party never quite trusts one another, but they need each other to accomplish their goals. Do I recommend running evil parties, in general, no. If you were going to do it though, and you had that one hold out that HAD to play a paladin, this is a way you could go about it. It would take a lot of maturity from the players, and accepting to precepts before the game even started. It could work, it has a lot of ways it can go wrong, but it could work.

                I also like the way that you could see alignment through this movie. The young knight was obviously a Lawful Good person when the movie begins, but he is forced or tempted throughout the movie to make interesting choices. I emphasize the word interesting. Many times, I am guilty of it too, DMs put players in situations that at stark good or evil, it is the gray decisions that are so much more fun though. I have a thing I do with my parties that I occasionally write them “Love Letters” as stolen from Apocalypse World RPG. These letters are basically downtime actions and situations that the players face. Since I am writing them ahead of time, I have plenty of time to make the situations “interesting”. Below is an example from my game.

Dearest Hera,

                You barely scrapped out of that last bit of fun didn’t you? You left the corpses of at least four followers and one companion on the field dead. You are finally getting some time to rest and recuperate in the fine town of Helix. One day Hendon comes up and asks to speak to you. He states that his son, Tamson, has been acting funny lately. He is extremely sullen and generally does not eat well anymore. He is worried about his son and was hoping you might take a look at him. He knows that Paladins often times have the ability to heal disease and he fears that he caught a nasty pox. Hera, your father taught you about such symptoms and they are often psychological. Your father said these people were suffering from “Soldier’s Heart”. Sometimes when a solider sees something they cannot comprehend, something inside breaks and they cannot function well in society.  Curing diseases of the mind is generally not the area of magics, but you have heard of men and women who work in the powers of the mind. They often gather in remote monasteries to practice their traditions.

Here’s the rub…..

Hendon believes this illness that has struck his child was cause by his overbearing nature in wanting to protect the boy. He feels great guilt about this and is desperate for a cure. You can alleviate that guilt by telling him the truth that you were using his child as a guide. This will solidify that he will not trust you or your crew ever again, thus not allowing you to help Tamson with his illness.

Or

You can keep the secret to yourself an obvious lie of omission, and attempt the help the boy with the father continuing to feel guilt for a crime he did not commit.

Your call…..

Hugs & Kisses,

Your GM

The group had approached Hendon, the father, to act as their guide, but he refused not wanting an adventuring life anymore. His 15 year old son, Tamson, knows the area quite well and was guiding the group without his father’s permission. The group knew his father would not approve. They used him several times, but the adventure just before this the party was attacked at night twice by undead, and they lost several members of the party. The boy panicked and had never seen undead before, let alone them feasting on his companions. It broke him a little. Now the paladin has to make a choice, lie, in order to be able to help the boy in the future, or keep the secret, but let the father believe he is to blame. I think this is an interesting choice, and scrapes some alignment boundaries.

Conclusion

                Is it a great movie, no. Is it and interesting movie for some, yes. If you can check it out, I see a lot of reviews on amazon that say it is much underrated, and I would agree with that sentiment. To me this is the best “official” D&D movie we got, and I do still watch it on occasion for fun. Like just last night to prepare to write this today. I tried to stay brief on details to not spoil much of the movie, so if you can find it, give it a chance.


The DVD can be found here, it looks like it is region coded, but can be played on computers.



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