Questioning My Own Creative Licence?

I have recently been engaged in drafting potential new race as class possibilities to effectively 'test' in my first run of Labyrinth Lord. Difficulties have been abound, as expected as I undoubtedly lack the experience to even begin considering homebrewing rules, but sadly, you do not know me very well and I am one prone to attempting to run before I can walk - and often found crawling to the finish line.

Ignoring the above, what's the problem? Why am I even considering creating a new race/class? Creating a setting and the potential for storycraft is the single greatest pull for me; I want to create worlds and incorporating a race in which players may choose to permeate and naturally evolve my creation just strikes me as something magical, something unique - something I really want to do. I'm here for the open creative process of people absorbing what I have created for them, digesting what's happening around them and injecting their own story within my own - just saying it makes me excited. My mind melts with excitement and potential as I have filled page after page with ideas I would one day like to give life to, but only to become immediately lost within my own sense of direction; at what point does something seemingly within the OSR become something totally different?

The OSR is not dislike many other movements which may fall into the category of a simple preference for an activity or way of things long passed - nostalgic preferences in which there are often two distinct groups. In this context, I propose the nostalgia gamer and the retro gamer. The nostalgia gamer I would define as one who is in love with the period, the art, the styles and the themes which define their own individual piece of history which they seek to recreate, or perhaps never stopped playing. This is more often than not the period of a players first encounter with a game, their first high to which no other product is likely to recreate, so why leave? The retrogamer on the hand, simply prefers the brand of gameplay offered in older carnations of roleplaying games as such a period offered a game which is seemingly disconnected from its' contemporary offspring. The nostalgic is drawn by a longing to rekindle or maintain past experiences, the retro gamers' interests on the other hand are systemic and offers greater freedom for the individual to modern age with free licence to innovate.

I ask you to take this feeble stratification lightly as it is not only feeble, but also highlights a characteristic of mine in which I often perceive such choices in equal measures of black or white. Most gamers may place themselves upon the multiple shades of grey where as I strictly feel compelled to place myself at one end of the spectrum as if fully appreciating either would require my outright absolutism; either step exclusively into the institution of the old school or burn it down and begin the slow process of culturing it in your own image.

Somewhere within this rambling my problem may have reared its ugly head. I find myself hopelessly interested in the OSR. From within a hobby I do not know and from past-times that will never be mine, I have felt nothing but an overwhelming resonance with the game, creating for it and communicating with it's people. In contrast, I then flip the coin I find myself heading in a direction which seeks to potentially destroy the fabric and pillars on which - in my mind - the OSR was built to serve.

I guess my fears may be quelled in a question to my 8 followers (you know who you are!). How do you consider your own creative licenses when it comes to modifying your systems? To what degree do you prioritise Gygaxian input to your systems or settings to that of your own? Or to coin my piss poor definitions: Are you a Nostalgic or Retro?

*EDIT* Brendan's Nalfeshnee Hack lies partially to blame for this post as it marginally blew my mind as I -for the first time- considered an OSR rehash of 4e.

The Road is Long

I am in what you could call a state of limbo. I have spent an exorbitant measure of hours in frenzied modes of thought; referencing large amounts of material and sampling various systems in hope of finding the perfect offering of D&D, yet each step towards assertive action is proceeded with extended periods of facepalming and a recurring fear of failure. I have not once played D&D; my proposed group of players aren't even sure what it is; my fear of failure is I think justified. Included in the wealth of material I have consulted, one key occurrence tends to be prevalent in 'introductory' stories concerning roleplaying; the presence of some medium of mentor or guide. I go on with no such luck other than the written word offered in core rulebooks. Luckily teachers are abound in developing my knowledge of storycraft; my current consultation of Joseph Campbell's The Hero With A Thousand Faces and sporadic dips into the short stories of H.P Lovecraft and the like have taught me more about my desired style of weird or cult fiction than I could hope to learn in such a brief period.

Anyway, back to the issue, roleplaying. As I tend to do, I shall mark the end to a period of obsessive, irrelevant yet massively productive procrastination with a rejuvenated objectivity , this post, and more importantly, an idea:

Pretending for a moment that I did have a mentor, he would certainly have recommended that I become familiar with my chosen system (Labyrinth Lord) via the running of a relevant commercial adventure. Running a game for a group of first time players, the same metaphorical mentor would however be seriously alarmed by my choice; I give you Death Frost Doom by James Raggi, an adventure to which many fears of a first time DM become key devices: death, confusion, panic, anxiety and failure are to be expected. Raggi draws on the Lovecraftian theme of an unknown and unspeakable horror which upon first reading fell short of inspiring fear but arrived at a pleasant plateau of leaving me immediately quite unsettled. This won't be a review of the piece-not until I have had the pleasure of running it- but I will explain my reason for choosing it and how it could perhaps be a useful starting point for other hopeful DMs.

Combat Light

As is the case with other published adventures by Raggi, the story is in essence one light in combat and rich in atmosphere. I concede that one very likely avenue in which Death Frost Doom hopes to transpire is in the presence of a rather large and incalculable threat, but again this is something which remains quite simple to work with and something I anticipate will remain a matter of tracking movement or declaring the group cornered and thus instantly dead. All other combat is delivered in simple encounters with an interesting variety of creeps to which a new DM should have no trouble.

Atmosphere

Death Frost Doom really shines in this respect. Raggi states in his foreword (or maybe from another of his PDFs?) that when one purchases a commercial adventures one should expect a rich and defined atmosphere. He does not disappoint. Death Frost Doom is far from a traditional dungeon crawl; the meat of the experience I feel is established in the surface area of the cabin and burial ground in which the responsibility lies on the DM to truly evoke a similar atmosphere offered in the text. With first time players in mind, this is a departure from conventional dungeon crawls and can encapsulate flavours of unconventional cult horror which I would argue is a far more effective tool for inspiring interest in a group than the prospect of slaying dragons or slaughtering goblins. Cult horror or the 'weird tale' offers something Skyrim or most other popular vehicles or genres of fiction cannot and Death Frost Doom offers the budding storyteller a great opportunity to develop his skills.

A Mature Challenge

Having become familiar with a number of products geared towards introducing players to the game, I have found most of which to fall under the category of being either orientated towards children, void of any reasonable challenge or being, for lack of a better word, boring (or all 3). Death Frost Doom fits the requirements of the adult gamer whilst maintaining simplicity and one of the most interesting location based adventures I have come across (which is not all that many).

I'll stop here for fear of talking in too greater depth of a game I have not run yet. Forgive the great lack of detail for I would like to save that for the review/gamelog.

I look forward to running the game with my players in the next few days and will give an update on their progress.

Mirkwood - TOR Session #2

Session 2 of our FGII game was fraught with difficulties...personal difficulties; the group rolled excellently through out whilst I tried to set a precedent of failing most of my actions. My second game taught me the perils of...well of dice.

Having decided on our plan to make haste in our pursuit of the children of Woodland Hall and their Orc captors, Trotter, Aidith (The Bridge), Wulfgar (The Healer), Beli and Hamarr pressed into the tangled, dark maze of Mirkwood. We engaged in our first 'journey' or 'travel' phase in which each party member rolled in fulfilling their chosen roles of guide, scout, huntsman and lookout. The mechanics behind this is such that each role fulfills tasks such as ascertaining the route, scouting, tracking and 'spotting' respectively; the success of each can be melded together to form the overall success or failings of the journey in question. In our case, things looked promising as we discovered a short cut through the thick forest which could incur a marked increase in the speed of our pursuit, perhaps allowing us to overtake our enemy. Great roll huh? What you're probably wandering is how my spotting roll turned out?

Goblin arrows whistled between the trees and Hamarr, surprised and failing his protection roll, was immediately wounded. Beli and Aidith rushed forward and easily dispatched the ambushers whilst Wulfgar rushed to tend to Hamarr's wound. Following a brief rest as the shamed Hamarr regained some strength, the group moved quickly, sensing their enemy must be close. Such eagerness saw the party unwittingly arrive in an area thick with the webs of Spiders. Three rushed the group but fell to 3 massive rolls; two silenced swiftly with fatal arrows to the head in the initial volley; another to a massive wound from the Bride's great axe. Hamarr on the other hand threw a spear into a tree.

With lessons learnt and a great deal more caution applied (and taking the groups fate firmly out of my die rolling hands), Trotter sneaked ahead to learn the location of our prey. Our sneaky hobbit spotted our enemy camped in front of a large cave, puzzlingly deeply encamped in the heart of Spider territory. Spiders lurked in the above branches whilst fixed in the damp forest mist hung a number of cocooned sacs; the tale of Bilbo Baggins warned us of the possibility of these being the prisoners. Risking all the group continue forwards in hope to ambush the Orc camp quickly, perhaps even quiet enough to not immediately alert the enemy above.

A what? A stealth roll? Sure.

Hamarr's wounded thigh gives out as he slowly seeks to traverse a fallen tree and his feet land heavily; the subtle and delicate snaps in the undergrowth are met with the hiss of curved Orcish blades leaving scabbards and the camp roars in our direction.

Neither Hamarr's sword nor his spear made contact with an enemy; in hindsight I am pleased he did not go so far as to stab himself. He remains wounded and the group decided to part ways for the night, but not before Hamarr succeeded in alerting an entire camp of Orc to the groups presence and of course their creepy friends lurking in the canopy above. Perhaps if he attracts a large enough horde then he'll find it hard to miss next time?

Check back for next Sunday's update where I will most certainly impale a friend and toss a spider a healing potion.

Cubicle 7 Release: Words of the Wise - Free Adventure

Popped onto the Cubicle 7 forums and came across this new release. Got her printed and ready to succeed the introductory adventure offered in the Loremaster's Book come my first session with my flatmates. Problematically, I feel that I shouldn't become too acquainted with it as it might pop up in the Sunday game I am involved in. Tricky.

Grab it here - The One Ring - Words of the Wise

How I Got Started In All Of This

It is a reoccurring thought; how did I get here? Unlike most who lived through its inception in 1974, perhaps grew up in and around gaming stores or were maybe ushered in by a friend or family member; how did I come to implicate myself in what is very much niche hobby, particularly one enshrouded in such secrecy? This post will be the symbolic nail in the coffin of my subsequent shift in gamer identity and the subsequent mass deliberation of how to spend my 'me' time. Apologies for the length.

As a teenager I was never exposed to D&D. I never found myself within a games store more than a handful of times, the RPG section of which are often obscured from vision by curtains or hidden in the basement. Given the fact that the role-playing section is hidden away like the 'porn' department of a DVD shop, I find it easy to forgive my own adolescent ignorance. I had several run ins with Games Workshop stores and products, but they never seemed to hold my interest or translated in appropriate terms, my wallet. Going in to a GW always felt more like being fleeced by salesman than having a fun day out and this was when I was 13 or 14 years old.

My young life in respects to gaming took form in online virtual worlds, most notably Sosaria and Ultima Online. Not since my ten or so years of Ultima had I been able to rekindle the accessibilty or availability of a tangible fantasy world. As limited or empty as it may be as a standalone game and social tool, it remains one of the best. Given my relative successes and addiction to UO, taking myself as a gamer heavily implicated in the MMORPG genre I accordingly fancied myself as largely involved in that particular movement and followed it through a wealth of titles to it's fruition in Blizzard's World of Warcraft. WoW's launch and the subsequent months would rival the best there may ever be in online gaming and were exciting times, but short lived. The dawning of a weak yet growing maturity did far from kill gaming for me, but simply reiterated my reason d'etre for participating in online video games and made it clear to me that those goals had long been absent from anything I had been involved in.

The years which followed may be dubbed the 'grumpy' years, years in which I came to loathe many things within the genre for no other reason than misunderstanding my own disenfranchisement from it. This being the case and to use a poor analogy, if you keep digging, soon enough you'll find yourself digging up and out the other side to pastures new. As if through relentlessly seeking and questioning my own objectivity, I came to start second guessing my own thought processes as if becoming a target of my own twisted bitterness and loathing; what did I discover?

I don't like massively multiplayer online roleplaying games. Not at all.

Spending a large chunk of your youth, energy and passion in a single hobby was to me quite literally a ball and chain on my own progressive thinking. It were as if admitting this new found reality had to be avoided at all costs should I wish to avoid a cataclysmic collapse of identity. It may sound silly to speak of gaming this way, but say you have been an artist for many years and one day realise that you've just grown to hate it? It's a slap in the face of your own inner self image; you were internally wrong about something as personal as your own hobby, an activity of self pleasure, a facet and integral feature of your very existence. Shame on you.

The upside of this is of course both obvious and refreshingly limitless; what to do? I began to look back and extract elements of gaming which I truly enjoyed and sought to find a new activity which shared these features. I began going back to older singleplayer games, RPGs specifically, with a fresh perspective and attention to detail I'd never before applied. Mynameisnotlilly's YouTube channel was a real inspiriation for this and I strongly recommend you check out his videos. I think I've previously said, Let's Play videos are a pet hate of mine, but the creative process in making them, paired with the potential for narrative and storytelling, a great deal is offered in producing a new and exciting perspective for gaming. I intend to put out some Lets Play videos of myself playing Baldur's Gate, incorporating fore mentioned aspects of role-play to which I will keep you all informed as to when and where these will surface.

This new angle was the catalyst to a strong revival in past interest in fantasy fiction (Gemmell, Tolkien, Wolfe) and was coincidentally followed with a timely introduction to a show called I Hit It With My Axe. Zak's show had a profound effect of bursting my 'only social misfits play roleplaying games' bubble. In hindsight, I never really thought that of RPG players, yet given a life time total of perhaps 5 seconds of consideration to the hobby, that preconception is a common assumption of those who never posed themselves the question. I also find it somewhat ironic that Zak's show would have the effect of making me consider the reality that normal people play D&D, when in fact his show is about playing D&D with perhaps the least likely group; strippers & porn stars. Following Zak's series and his unique take on playing old school Dungeons & Dragons (I highly recommend his city running kit Vornheim), I dived head first into the blogging community, more specifically those involved in the Old School Renaissance (revival of original or 1st edition Dungeons & Dragons). I learnt very quickly that D&D was not another dislocated wargame or odd hobby, it was many wonderful things.

Exit D&D prejudices, enter uncontrollable excitement. I guess I should explain what the game means to me as, much like my uninformed self, I failed to grasp precisely what D&D and roleplaying games were about. I enjoy fantasy fiction, enormously. Literature, film and video games offers large windows into these worlds and are widely accepted as the delivery systems for this genre of entertainment. Role-playing games simply offer a medium to which one may apply their imagination to tangibly interact with these worlds, including the potential to engage in the creative process of designing, crafting and giving life to such settings. A close friend recently made fun of me asking if I wanted to be a wizard (a mage irl? where did he get that idea!); the question warranted no answer, but were I to answer I would say "of course not"...but do I want to be engaged in a shared creative process of developing an original story in a rich fantasy setting which blows our collective mind? Peter Jackson's Lord of The Rings was epic, I just want more. That is the core of 'my' hobby and that is failing to mention the quality of the written fiction, art and aesthetically stunning books available, not to mention all the other toys and shineys.

In hindsight I still look back and think 'How the hell did I become a role-player?'. The information above offers quite clear indicators that I might enjoy the hobby, yet it still strikes me as odd as I found myself gorging myself on publications and relevant blogs, perhaps before I even knew what it was I was exactly getting into. It simply appealed to me on so many levels that I'd made the jump before I had even seen where I was going to land. The online community for the hobby, be it YouTube, forums, blogs or indie writers/publishers, is phenomenal. I have been welcomed in many circles to what strikes me as a warm and welcoming community of gamers and it certainly feels a lot like home.

I've ticked a box on my personal check-list of 'Things I Should Know About Me', lets hope I was right this time!

The One Ring plucked my cherry! - TOR Session #1

How did I go from a OSR enthusiast to playing my first ever tabletop RPG in Middle Earth? Beats me. But I'm glad I did. I was kindly invited to join an online Fantasy Grounds II campaign for The One Ring roleplaying game published by Cubicle 7 and written by Francesco Nepitello. So - 3 hours in - my immediate thoughts on:

Disclaimer: This is not a review - We shall leave such things for a time as and when I have a clue what I'm talking about. If it sounds like I am tripping off my first ever tabletop RPG session which just so happens to be based upon my favourite fantasy setting...then I most definitely am.

The System

My initial reaction? Pleasantly surprised. Despite lacking the real dice in hand experience of playing a d20 system such as Dungeons & Dragons, I have a working knowledge of the game and have witnessed many games over the years to which I can cast some contrasts. What do I feel comfortable suggesting at this point in time? The One Ring would not stand up to D&D in core functionality. I think I can say that much. My knowledge of TOR as it is today, I am immediately aware of a few mechanics which are rough around the edges and time can only expose more such difficulties. I will not go into depth on such issues however until I have a much greater working knowledge of the system (i.e find a situation in which there is any reason to wear any substantial grade of armour). What did surprised me however, was how little I cared. Such seemingly obvious issues were overwhelmed with a willingness to ignore them as I could not pull myself away from what the game was doing incredibly well; blowing my mind. It must be stressed that if you are not a fan of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, nor did the movies put you in a joy induced coma, the game may fail to measure up as a core system in light of the vast competition; my mind however was too awash with evocative imagery and emotive, epic soundtrack to care. The core game could do with some work, but the brand of gameplay it systematically encourages and the atmosphere it generates accurately evokes a Tolkien-esque experience. TOR is a springboard into Middle Earth, and I say so without having experienced much table time what so ever. I sincerely hope my praises stand the test of time.

The Session

The session was very much a setting of the scene as I, the new member of the group, was introduced to the party in Woodland Hall in the Wilderland. My character Hamarr, a Bardling of Dale had gained the friendship of Beli of Erebor on the Old Forest Road. Originally destined for Rhosgobel to seek the counsel of Radagast the Brown on behalf of his people, Hamarr meets the party:

Trotter - a hobbit of the Shire.

The Bride - a woman of Mirkwood.

Beli - a dwarf of Erebor.

The Healer - a man of Mirkwood.

Following introductions and a warm evening within the hall, the party turned in for the night, but to be awoken before sunrise by the town bell as the outer ring of the hall engulfed in flames as Orcs raided the settlement. Rushing to the aid of the woodsmen (and Beli collapsing faces with a mattock), the Orcs retreated into Mirkwood, but the party soon learnt that they had abducted a number of children during the raid (dinner?). Too worried by the missing younglings to consider continuing on to the Brown Wizard, a good Insight roll by yours truly leads Hamarr to claim the Orcs to be those of the Misty Mountain. Plans were hastily made for the travel phase as we quickly prepared to pursue our enemy before they built up an appetite for their prisoners. The early signs pointed towards the north east river Running as their route of escape. To make the first of many cringe worthy quotes I expect to make over the comings weeks and months: "Let us hunt some orc." Next week beckons.

My Thoughts

What pleased me the most was that I found a wholesome enjoyment of the game despite playing what I came to sense as somewhat of a functional first session. Combat got sluggish at times, roleplay a little slow and participation rates all over the place from players; I'm making a big deal out of what were relatively small or marginal elements, but my point is that despite these things I maintained a heightened interest in what was going to happen next and I was not remotely let down in any element of the game thus far (granted I have only scratched the surface).

Something that struck me immediately was that of the medium in which we played, and what I believe to be the single cause for the minor criticisms. Given my premature personal preference of requiring a more intimate set up than that of pure text based communication to which was being utilised, I maintain my initial judgement that the lack of real time 'banter' can lend itself to some lasting silences which can be detrimental to play. Structure can become lost as players rush to fill silences as the LM may simultaneously pounce with the next story element, that or more dreaded silence. Open lines of vocal communication allows for such to be a feature of the game itself than a number of silent participants routing through hardbacks and pdfs. This is not a criticism to the LM's prefered methodology; keeping things in soundwaves or scripture is definitively a position of opinion and individual taste. Given the formation of online 'plug & play' random groups, the restriction on individual expression and interaction as achieved by voice communications could be seen as a blessing; you would not invite a stranger from the street into your group, get chatty then assume you'll enjoy his company. Text does have the bonus of keeping the roleplay thick, the OOC thin and RL under wraps - I guess the longer I talk about it the more my opinion is seemingly swinging; we'll leave it at a matter of preference for now. I am enjoying myself and most likely picking nits as I am eager to get to a stage where I can have a face-to-face game.

How about the virtual tabletop? Come the day I run my own game, Fantasy Grounds is currently the front runner as a solid tool for a LM or DM to use should I decide to run an online game (more than likely). Rules can be configured, visual illustrations and battle maps drawn - all angles are covered. Bringing Skype into the mix would seem to be a pure winner for me as it brings the social element of the tabletop to the fore, whilst clearing the chat log for key text and visual illustration to make for a very strong device indeed.

In summary I can say I enjoyed myself, handsomely. Not my preferred medium, but as a testament to the players and the LM, I'd happily play for the next year and I feel lucky to explore The One Ring with them. Stay tuned as I'm hoping to make updates each Sunday on our progress, as well as a possible review of the box set when it arrives!

Let's Play Videos Are Up - Baldur's Gate TotSC

Given my new found freedom from academic bondage, a friend (term used loosely) and I have recently undertaken the epic task of running through Bioware's Baldur's Gate - Tales of the Sword Coast, a PC game released in 1997 which takes place in the Forgotten Realm setting. We've only done a few hours but, as I have painstakingly discovered, this makes for a wealth of youtube content.

Should anyone be interested in it then by all means subscribe to the Mages IRL Youtube Channel. I personally do not follow lets play videos, I do however adore making them as they can really bring something special to your own enjoyment of a game; this being the case I understand should you decide to ignore this series. It is not as such a roleplay take on the story presented in the game as I would perhaps have liked to do, but more so a dualism of whether myself and Edd can conquer both the game itself and our inherent dislike for one another.