Kingdoms in Trevail

A Few Minutes of Your Time...

2012-02-03T22:57:00.001-05:00

JB over at B/X Blackrazor has put together a little survey in an effort to gather some information on just who is playing D&D, or has in the past. Not really a marketing survey, but more of a way to gather info on what people are playing or want to play, when they started and so on.

Just fill in the answers in a spreadsheet and email it back to him. Seems worthwhile, so I'd encourage you to take a few minutes and help him out!

http://bxblackrazor.blogspot.com/2012/02/rpg-gaming-survey-your-help-needed.html

Equipment Packs for Faster Chargen

2012-02-02T23:00:00.000-05:00

One of the ideas I've seen around the boards is to use "Equipment Packs" at character generation to speed up that process. It seems as if picking out all your gear is what slows down chargen, and with something as simple as S&W, I wanted to move things along. These are likely most useful for pick-up games or introducing new players to the game. I imagine more experienced players can get set up quickly enough just picking their gear from the limited lists available in WhiteBox.

The packs detailed below as primarily based on "Equipment Packs: A Basic Fantasy Supplement" by Shayne Power, available at basicfantasy.org. I've tweaked them for WhiteBox, and added a Bard option as well. Bear in mind this is still subject to change...

Equipment “Fast Packs”

In order to speed the character creation process for new players, all characters start with the Basic Pack and a class-based pack of their choice. They may also spend their additional gold on the bonus packs, on items from the normal equipment list or to upgrade weapons or armor in their class pack. With the referee's approval, a character may swap a given weapon for one of similar power (e.g. a Battle Axe in place of a Long Sword).

Basic Pack

Backpack; Torches (6); Flint and steel; Waterskin; Bedroll; Rations, dried (7 days); Sack, large; Sacks, small (2); d6x10 gold pieces.

Cleric

Pack 1: Leather armor; Shield; Holy Symbol; Holy water (1 vial); Mace.

Pack 2: Leather armor; Club; Holy water (2 vial); Holy Symbol; Sling; Sling bullets (30).

Fighter

Pack 1: Chain Mail; Shield; Long sword.

Pack 2: Chain Mail; Pole arm.

Pack 3: Leather armor; Long sword; Short bow; Quiver; 20 arrows.

Magic-User

Pack 1: 1 scroll with a random first level spell; Daggers (2); Staff.

Pack 2: Daggers (2); Staff; 50gp.

Thief

Pack 1: Leather armor; Thieves' tools; Short sword; Daggers (2); Rope, silk (50’).

Bard

Pack 1: Leather armor; Daggers(2); Musical instrument of choice.

Bonus Pack 1 (20gp)

Chalk, small bag of pieces; Grappling hook; Rope, hemp (2x50'); Lantern, hooded; Oil (3 flasks); Tent, small (one man).

Bonus Pack 2 – Ready for Anything (10gp)

Glass bottle; Iron Spikes (12); Pole, 10' wooden; Map or scroll case; Mirror (small), steel.

OGL Section 15 Addendum:

The Pellet Crossbow, or Stonebow

2012-01-31T20:08:00.000-05:00

This past summer, while visiting Cleveland, I was able to take the time to visit the fantastic Cleveland Museum of Art, and tour it's utterly amazing Armor Court. While full of an impressive array of arms and armor, one piece struck me in particular - an odd, double-stringed crossbow labeled as a "pellet crossbow."

Invented in the late 14th century, and reaching the height of popularity by the late 1700s, the pellet crossbow, also known as a stonebow, was used primarily for hunting or target practice.It is a light crossbow, with a double string holding a pouch or pocket. The stonebow fires small stones, clay pellets or steel bullets, comparable to sling ammunition.

In D&D terms, it is an idea weapon to introduce to a campaign to add to the cleric's list of available weapons. With greater range than a simple sling, the pellet crossbow increases the cleric's effectiveness in missile combat situations. Below, I've statted out this fascinating weapon for OD&D/Swords & Wizardry and Classic D&D/Labyrinth Lord, as well as a more detailed work-up for the Weapons Mastery system of Rules Cyclopedia/Dark Dungeons.

OD&D, Swords & Wizardry: WhiteBox
Crossbow, Pellet Damage: 1d6-1 Rate of Fire: 1 Range: 50 ft. Weight: 5 lb. Cost: 20 gp
Pellets (20) Weight: 1 lb. Cost: 1 gp

B/X, BECMI, Labyrinth Lord
Crossbow, Pellet  Damage: 1d4+1 Rate of Fire: 1 Range: 60/120/180 Weight: 5 lb. Cost: 20 gp
Pellets, Crossbow (10)  Weight: 5 lbs. Cost: 1 gp

Rules Cyclopedia, Dark Dungeons
Crossbow, Pellet  Damage: 1d4+1 Rate of Fire: 1 Range: 50/100/150 Encumbrance: 50 cn Cost: 40 gp Notes: a,c,m,s,2H,M
Pellets, Crossbow (30)  Encumbrance: 5 cn  Cost: 1 gp
Level Range Damage Defense Special
BS 50/100/150 1d4+1 -- --
SK 50/100/150 1d6+2 M:-1AC/1 Stun(s/m)
EX 70/120/160 1d6+4 M:-2AC/2   Stun(s/m)
MS 70/120/160 P=2d4+4 M:-2AC/3   Stun(s/m)
S=1d8+4
GM 80/130/160 P=2d6+4 M:-3AC/3   Stun(s/m)
(P=H) S=1d10+4

Happy 30th Anniversary!

2011-12-23T11:13:00.000-05:00

The Iconic Moldvay Box Set

In 1981, TSR published it's D&D Basic box set, edited by Tom Moldvay. That famous box with it's dragon adorned cover by Erol Otus was my introduction to the game, as it was for countless others who trace their gaming heritage back to the early 80's. It's hard to believe that I've been involved with this hobby for 30 years now.

I don't recall particularly being a fan of fantasy when I was young - at least not before I received a copy of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings for Christmas while I was in 6th grade. The following year, Christmas of 1981, the same relative who had given me that Tolkien box set put yet another box under my tree, and it's contents cemented my love of fantasy for the rest of my life. There is something special about your first time, and I've commented before about how the artwork from this box is what I see in my head when I think "D&D".

My first fumbling attempts at playing the game began quickly, with me acting as DM while my best friend Tim tackled the Caves of Chaos. I can't really recall any details, but I remember that Tim and I, plus a few others, got involved with a gaming club that met weekly at our middle school library after school. My gaming continued from there, evolving through AD&D, then 2nd Edition as I played through high school and college. I took off a lot of time after that, not coming back to gaming until my kids were older and showed some interest.

Not surprisingly, I went back to that same basic set that I learned on to teach them the game. There's some variation now, as I meld the Rules Cyclopedia, the Mentzer box sets, Labyrinth Lord and other bits and bobs into my game, but for all that, it's still "Basic" D&D that I play - coming full circle. 30 years, and I'm right back where I started...

Another Cover Preview?

2011-10-19T18:24:00.004-04:00

I'm currently mulling over how I want to share my work. Do I go the legal route and release under the OGL? I should, yes, but it's a lot more work to create new OGL translations of things in TSR products that I want to use. They'll be done right that way, of course, and compatible with Labyrinth Lord or Swords & Wizardry, or whatever system I choose to publish for.

Art by Gordon Napier, used with Permission

My quandary is that I don't run a LL or S&W game anymore, I run Mentzer D&D, or Rules Cyclopedia, or however you want to refer to it. So really, at my table, I want the "real" D&D stuff, since I'm using the "real" D&D rules. Sigh. I have some conversations going on a couple of the forums, so if you ahve any thoughts - pop in and offer your opinion there, or do it here. There are threads at the Swords & Wizardry forum, Dragonsfoot, and the OD&D Discussion forum, if you care.

In the meantime, here's a little taste of what the cover could be, if I go the illegal pseudo-TSR route and ape the trade dress of the Mystara Gazetteer books. I have permission to use the art in a free product, so even if I have to do my own original cover, it'll be this awesome pic. My campaign is drifting towards a fey, Irish sort of mythos, and I think this captures that.

Thoughts?

RIP Dan Wheldon

2011-10-16T22:42:00.002-04:00

Dan Wheldon 1978 - 2011

The racing world lost a good man today. Dan Wheldon died while competing in the IndyCar season finale in Las Vegas. I met Dan at a couple of races and he was always friendly and a complete gentleman to both me and my girls. He will be missed.

My heart goes out to his wife and young sons.

TPK = New Beginnings

2011-09-15T13:23:00.001-04:00

Begone foul demon!

For the past 5-6 months I have been running a game of Swords & Wizardry:WhiteBox for my kids and some friends. Sadly, they made some poor decisions last night - their third session in Brave Halfling's fun little "Ruins of Ramat". In general, the kids have done really well in their tactical decision making and have run when they needed to, to stay alive. Last night, however, that all came to an end. The tentacled demonic guardians (see right) proved to much and the party failed to escape.

In a way, this is a good thing, I think. I started them out using the WB rules to simplify things since a couple of the players were newbies to tabletop RPGs. My intention all along though, was to roll the campaign over to Classic D&D using the Rules Cyclopedia - my rules set of choice. We'd discussed it recently and I was getting closer to doing some conversion work on their characters to start using the RC rules. The TPk actually gives us a chance to start fresh and the kids have ideas for new characters they want to try anyway. At the same time, the discussion of PC choices and what type of game they want to play has allowed me to further develop my view of just what kind of game world Trevail really is and I have some grist for new ideas now.

A TPK isn't a bad thing necessarily - don't be afraid to use it for a new beginning and turn it into a win-win situation for the DM and PCs!

A Style Preview

2011-09-11T02:39:00.000-04:00

Below are some mock-up front and back covers for a supplement booklet compiling all my house rules and additions for S&W:WB that I use in my game.

Apologies to Mark Allan for ripping his artwork for the cover. I do credit him inside. :-) If I was to use this piece, I realize it could only be for my private use and if I shared this supplement on the blog here, it would need to be art free, or at least have artwork I have permission to use.

I've asked Matt Finch, the author and publisher of S&W about the legality of copying the "trade dress" i.e. cover design of his work and this post is primarily a way to show him what I would like to do. That said, additional comments are always welcome!

A note on the Open Gaming License

2011-07-06T23:00:00.000-04:00

Any gaming content that I post here on the blog will be free to use under the terms of the OGL. I've added a tab at the top of the blog detailing the "core" OGL statement which covers anything I post here. In addition, at the bottom of my posts, I'll add an "OGL Copyright Addendum" if I've used anything from someone else's OGL materials.

Let me know if that's unclear or if you have any questions!

As promised... A WhiteBox Thief

2011-07-04T22:06:00.006-04:00

©Steve Willhite. Elfwood.com

I began my gaming career on Christmas Day 1981 when I received the Moldvay Basic box set. My view of D&D has, therefore, been forever colored by the expectation that it includes FOUR base classes: Cleric, Fighter, Magic-User and, for good or bad,Thief. When I settled on S&W: WhiteBox as my rule set of choice to introduce my middle-schoolers to the Great Game, I felt I needed to add the Thief to the core 3 found in S&W:WB. I spent (as I usually do) far too long searching the interwebz for a Thief I liked - one that "felt right" - since I really do like the streamlined presentation of the classes in WhiteBox. I found any number of interesting variations and ultimately settled on a couple of core resources for not only the Thief, but most of my other customizations and additions as well.

One is the S&W Companion site and White Box Heroes by Salvatore Macri (skathros) and the other is Knockspell magazine, the house mag for Mythmere Games. There is a ton of information to be mined there, under the OGL, and while it isn't perfect for my needs, it's a great place to start. So back to the Thief...

This boy has undergone a few changes as I've gotten closer to what's working for me. I started with the WB Heroes thief, and re-worked the skills to use d6s rather than the d20 skills used originally. Then I switched things up and used some ideas from Knockspell Issue No. 2. After more tweaking, I ended up with this one, which I think fits my sense of WB style better. Without further ado...

The Thief

A figure in the shadows, an expert in stealth and delicate tasks, this is the Thief. Locks, traps, and scouting are their trade; they are the eyes and ears of the adventuring party, tackling the inanimate perils of the dungeon itself. In combat they are not the equal of armored Fighters or Clerics, but instead rely on knowledge and specialized skills to get them safely into and out of the dangerous places where treasure is to be found. They are the scouts; the treasure seekers; and when necessary, the deadly blade that strikes from the shadows without warning.

All Thieves must be either Neutral or Chaotic in alignment. Elves, dwarves, halflings and orcs may all become thieves with no maximum level limitations.

Thief Class Abilities

Weapon/Armor Restrictions: Thieves may use any one-handed weapon, and they are limited to armor weighing no more than leather. They may not use shields.
Backstab: When attacking from behind or from hiding (see Stealthy Movement below), the Thief inflicts double damage with a successful attack. At levels 5-8, damage is tripled, and after 9th level the attack inflicts quadruple damage.
Extraordinary Climbing: Thieves may climb normally inaccessibly vertical surfaces at the rate of 10ft for every two levels per round. At the Referee’s discretion, extreme circumstances may require a die roll to determine success.
Keen Detection: The Thief is skilled at spotting hidden and concealed doors. Thieves are also keen listeners, whether it’s overhearing conversations in a tavern or through a door in a quiet dungeon. At first level, a Thief detects secret doors and hears noises on a roll of 1-2 on 1d6. This increases to 1-3 at third level, 1-4 at sixth level, and 1-5 at ninth level.
Dexterous Manipulation: With the nimblest of fingers, Thieves are able to perform feats of manual dexterity such as picking pockets or palming small items. With the appropriate tools, they can also attempt to disarm small mechanical traps or open locks. They are successful on a roll of 1-2 on 1D6. This increases to 1-3 at third level, 1-4 at sixth level, and 1-5 at ninth level.
Stealthy Movement: The Thief is a master of sneaking and hiding. He is able to hide in the smallest shadows to avoid discovery and move nearly silently, with a movement rate of 1 per level.
Establish Gang (9th): At ninth level, a Thief may establish a stronghold and attract a number of lesser thieves who will recognize him as their boss and serve him so long as his activities continue to provide them with a steady supply of ill-gotten gains.
Saving Throw: Thieves gain a +2 bonus on saving throws in situations where quick reflexes or dodging would help them avoid injury, such as against traps, breath attacks.
XP Bonus for Dexterity: Dexterity is the Prime Attribute for Thieves, meaning that a high dexterity score grants them an additional 5% experience.

Thief Advancement Table

Level	Experience	Hit Dice (d6)	BHB	Saving Throw
1	0	1	+0	14
2	1,500	2	+0	13
3	3,000	2+1	+0	12
4	6,000	3	+1	11
5	12,000	4	+1	10
6	24,000	4+1	+2	9
7	48,000	5	+2	8
8	96,000	6	+3	7
9	192,000	6+1	+3	6
10	384,000	7	+4	5

OGL Section 15 Addendum:

A Welcome to my Non-Gaming Friends

2011-07-03T17:41:00.000-04:00

Being a gamer is an odd hobby. Most of us don't really talk about it too much, or at least go into detail about it. In today's internet age with World of Warcraft and the multitude of other rpg-styled games, being a "gamer" doesn't necessarily have the stigma attached to it that it once did. Still, we typically won't say much until we've got a feel for someone and how they might handle the revelation that you play Dungeons and Dragons, or whatever game. Friends, family, co-workers... you probably don't really "get" what we enjoy doing in our free time.

I put a post on my Facebook wall today and invited those folks to come see what I do here. If you, gentle reader, are one of those - Welcome! Feel free to become a follower of the blog, just to see what I ramble on about, if you're into that sort of thing. For me, I think it might be interesting to see a non-gamer's point of view on some of the things I write about here, even if you don't get into gaming yourself.

I hope you aren't too weirded out, but at 42, I yam what I yam, ya know?

Caio!

I'm Actually Playing The Game!

2011-07-03T16:34:00.003-04:00

So, I haven't been very active here on the ol' blog, you may have noticed. Not that I ever was. :-)

I've always had a fairly severe case of Gamer ADD and seem to flit from project to project, interest to interest, so it's hard to ever finish anything. Still, I stay interested in a couple of projects - both my cyberpunk game and developing Trevail, my gameworld. Part of the problem is that I have two systems I want to write for. Swords & Wizardry: WhiteBox is awesome and I want to support it by eventually publishing both projects as supplements for that game. But my true love for a system is still Rules Cyclopedia! GRRR!

As my post title implies, I'm actually running a tabletop game, so while the cyberpunk project sits dormant, I am working on stuff for Trevail. We've been playing for almost 5 months now, meeting weekly, except for the occasional week we needed to skip. Not bad right? My group consists of four players. Three kids, one mine, and a couple friends, plus an older friend of mine. My friend Rich, and Paul (one of the kids) have some gaming experience, both with AD&D second edition. My daughter Shannon has some BECMI under her belt, and Robyn, our fourth only had a bit of online RPG experience. All in all a mixed bag of gaming experience and maturity, so it's been a challenge as a fairly inexperienced DM.

To start things off relatively simply for the beginners, I chose WhiteBox as our system. In pre-game discussions, Paul indicated he wanted to play a Bard, and of course there wasn't one for WB. I did some research and found some examples, plus looked at 2E, since that's what he was used to playing, and eventually bashed something up. Since the Bard is a thief variant in 2E, I ended up working up one of those too, again based on other things I found outline. Never satisfied, I've continued to tweak them to a level I felt fit the WB presentation and I think I'm pretty happy with them now. Also working on orcs as a playable race.

Esran's Isle by Dyson Logos

I'e also been working on some maps, trying to flesh out a small sandbox region for the group to explore. I plug in small adventures try to seed rumors for the party to follow. One great source has been the awesome maps by Dyson Logos. I strongly recommend you check them out if you haven't heard of him yet. That awesome city map over there is going to be fleshed out as the major city in the region I'm detailing. I'm using Haldane as a template for how I want to do that.

As a group, they seem to have taken to the game and ruleset and I've already talked about rolling the game over to Rules Cyclopedia. For the most part, it will be a mostly transparent change for them, I think, and will let me run the system I really want to be using. I'm not ready to do it right away, but it will happen once I'm ready.

So where does that leave us here? I'm going to try and be more active on the blog as a way to force myself to keep working on the game. I'm going to post my WB classes, and eventually compile it into a supplement form ala Greyhawk or Blackmoor were for OD&D. It may be just houserules and classes - rules stuff like those old supplements were - and eventually work in the setting stuff, more like Rob Conley's Blackmarsh, though I doubt it'll ever be that good... I also would like to post some game night pics and session report type things.

Finally, I'll need to work up some of this stuff for Rules Cyclopedia - a Bard, which will be more like the 2E one and less like the WB one, a couple orc classes, some elven variations...

Stay tuned!

I love Cheetah Girls...

2011-03-03T16:19:00.000-05:00

Ok, so technically she's a leopard woman I think, but still. Seeing this picture, I've got a great idea for an African savanna style culture where the leopard people and hyena people (gnolls that is) are at constant war for domination. I do love me some gnolls, too. Just sayin'.

Christmas in NYC

2010-12-05T22:52:00.000-05:00

So, for something a little different and fun this weekend, we took a day-trip to NYC to get in a little shopping and culture. It was a great little get-away from the day to day here in Central New York. My wife and older daughter took the opportunity to hit SoHo and Chelsea Market and get their shop on.

My younger daughter and I took a few hours to see Tutankhamen and The Golden Age of the Pharaohs. It was actually our second time, since we saw it when it was the Field Museum in Chicago. It was absolutely awe-inspiring to see the amazing quality and detail of the artifacts even ignoring the gold everywhere. It just boggles the mind to think that these things were made 3300 years ago. Just gorgeous. Walking through the exhibit, one can't help filing away little gaming ideas. I did the same thing last spring when we went to see the National Geographic's exhibit on the Chinese terra cotta soldiers. I love museums.

That's about it for now. Hope everyone's gearing up for a happy holidays!

After the exhibition, we hopped on the subway and went to visit The Compleat Strategist. I've been to NYC a number of time, but had never gotten down to this gem of a game store. It was just fantastic to see real honest-to-goodness old school gaming materials on the shelf of a real store. They had multiple copies of the Swords & Wizardry Core Rules, as well as a single copy of Labyrinth Lord and the Advanced Edition Companion. I didn't pick those up since I have my home-printed copies, but I did grab the last copy of Michael Curtis' Dungeon Alphabet. It's gotten such great reviews on the web that for $10, I couldn't pass it up. It's on the nightstand now for bed time reading. Woo Hoo!

Finally, I picked up a copy of Savage Worlds, also for $10. I've read so much about it and if I had to play a non-D&D game system, SW seems like it could be the one. Simple and quick to set up and play, elegant, it fits the bill for how I like to roll. I'll be reading through it and I hope it reads as well as I expect.

Imagining D&D: A Response

2010-09-17T15:53:00.000-04:00

This is simply a graphic response to the question posed >here<. I see 3 images in my head...

I started with Tom Moldvay's Basic set. I love Erol Otus, but this Willingham pic is still my fave.

Then I moved on to AD&D. Which means this:

Plus this:

Why Race=Class Kicks Ass

2010-07-31T00:07:00.000-04:00

I've stayed away from RPG.net's forums section for the most part, since there is rarely anything on Classic D&D. Lot's of 3e and 4e, but that doesn't help me much. I do check in once in a while though, and stumble on some fairly interesting threads, including one this I found this evening where folks are discussing the merits of Race=Class. You know: Humans get to be Clerics, Fighters, Magic-Users and Thieves, but Dwarves are Dwarves, Elves are Elves and Halflings are Halflings. That's it. No Dwarven Clerics. No Elven Thieves.

Philotomy Jurament, of the fantastic Philotomy's OD&D Musings had this to say:

I think the Class concept is useful for modeling typical PCs. I don't think it's useful for modeling the way the fantasy world operates. Thus, the archetypical Elf adventurer is a F/MU, but that doesn't mean that all elves in the world are defined in terms of the Elf class. Similarly, the (Human) Cleric class is an archetypical adventuring holy-man/crusader: the kind of warrior-priest that is likely to adventure. That doesn't mean that all holy men or priests are defined in terms of the Cleric class, and it certainly doesn't mean that non-humans don't have holy men or priests of their own (it's just that they're not Clerics).

And further along, I found this from Yakk:

Give me a game with Dwarven Battleragers, Dwarven Runepriests and Dwarven Stonemages as the three Dwarven classes. Human Wizards, Human Fighters, Human Clerics and Human Thieves. Elven Spellblades, Elven Bards and Elven Archers. Halfling Scouts and Halfling Blades. Gnomish Tinkerers, Gnomish Illusionists, Gnomish Stouthearts.

That pretty much sums up the whole thing for me. Your typical demi-human racial adventurer fits that races particular view of what a hero should embody. Each class is an archetype. Just like the 4 human classes are archetypes of what we humans see as heroes. If one wants to make additional class options for the demi-human races found in their campaign, by all means do so. But take the time to make their choices unique to that race. After all, don't they deserve it?

I've already got my notes on Dwarven Runepriests (Runecasters, actually), but I need to work on some of those others. Anyone got some ideas of the others to share?

On Dragons and Ogres

2010-07-17T00:59:00.000-04:00

I've recently begun playing in a quasi-Dragonlance campaign - run under the awesome B/X rules - and it has gotten me thinking about a few things within that setting. Back in the day, that is late 80-s to early 90's, I devoured Dragonlance stuff. Read the first two trilogies, had a couple of the modules, and being so long ago, I assumed I had forgotten most of it. Well, guess what? As I am playing the game, an amazing amount of the material is coming back to me. Now, I don't intend to pull too much into Trevail, but these old memories have got the juices flowing, and there are some things to consider.

Remember this lovely "lady"? Takhisis, Goddess of the Evil Dragons. Five chromatic heads of total bad-assness. Now, she's not a Dragonlance original, no, but I was reminded about her. Totally got to be used, in some form anyway. Which brings us to dragons in general.

I believe that dragons have to be something special, and powerful. Not just another monster to be slain without too much effort. They are ancient, one of the first Great Races. I also don't want them pigeon-holed by their stats in the rules. Alignments are right out the door, to start. Any dragon, as with any human, or elf, can be of any alignment - they are individuals of an intelligent race. That gold dragon may be controlling the local thieves guild, or advising the local priest of the Great God of All That Is Good. You never know. Same thing goes for the red dragon next village up the road. They come in all colors- chromatic, metallic, jeweled - and you'll have to take your chances with each one.

How about these guys here? They're the Irda - which I don't actually know much about, setting wise. I do know they are "High Ogres", magical ones. Are they good? Evil? Not sure, don't care. She doesn't look evil to me, but him? I plan on using these guys as my Ogre-Magi instead of those crazy Japanese ones in AD&D. How that works out I can't say yet, but I'm gonna have some fun with them, I can tell.

What else does Dragonlance have to offer Trevail? How about intelligent minotaurs? Not likely, doesn't work for me. Kender? Gully dwarves? Not a chance. I do like the elven cultures - Silvanesti, Qualinesti, Kagonesti. Maybe some bits there to work with. Draconians? Possibly. Towers of High Sorcery? In some form, yes. Between those and the idea of the White Tower and the Aes Sedai from Jordan's Wheel of Time, I definitely want magic somewhat controlled - at least in parts of the game world.

It seems like it's been a long time since I had any time to think about Trevail and what I want to do here. Real life does have a tendency to rear it's ugly head, but lately I've been thinking about it again and making some notes. I'm pulling things together to start up a PbP game again, and got some inspiration for some things over at retrocyberpunk, too. Time to actually write some stuff up and not spend so much time reading other peoples ideas. Ya think?

Housekeeping!

2009-12-26T00:19:00.000-05:00

Been a loooong time since I posted anything, but the ol' wheels are always turning, have no fear. I've been busy researching cyberpunk, reading alot, and jotting down ideas.

To keep things tidy, I've created a second blog Retro-Cyberpunk, which will be the home of my musings for cyber74 (the straight-cyberpunk S&W supplement) and ultimately, Mages & Megacorps (the full-blown Shadowrun game). I decided to keep Kingdoms in Trevail for it's original purpose - D&D musings, and development of my gameworld. Keep in mind that by "D&D" I mean straight fantasy. It will include tidbits for BECMI/RC D&D and Swords & Wizardry, I imagine.

While I've spent alot of time doign cyberpunk reading, I also have been reading some world-building and sandbox campaign creation stuff, so there are ideas brewing on both fronts. It seems there are too few hours in the day, but I do intend to occasionally post to both blogs.

So that's the story for now, intrepid readers! If you are here for the cyberpunk goodies, please hop over to the new place and become a follower there, and I hope you find something one place or the other that you enjoy!

See you in 2010!

Designation of Open Gaming Content

2009-09-27T20:55:00.006-04:00

Throughout the upcoming months, I will be using this blog as an avenue for the introduction of rules and information pertaining to the development of my Cyberpunk retro-clone.

That content will be clearly designated as Open Game Content, and therefore released under the terms of the Open Game License, Version 1.0a as detailed below.

OPEN GAME CONTENT

Open Game Content may only be Used under and in terms of the Open Game License Version 1.0a (OGL).

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15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE

System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

Modern System Reference Document Copyright 2002, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Charles Ryan, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, Peter Adkison, Bruce R. Cordell, John Tynes, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker.

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Another crazy idea I don't have time for...

2009-09-26T00:15:00.004-04:00

I hate it when I get an idea in my head and it WON'T GO AWAY. I always loved the idea of Shadowrun - and yes, I know a lot of people hate it just as much, if not more. But for me, the meshing of fantasy - magic & monsters, elves & dwarves - with cyberpunk - guns, cyborgs and virtual reality - just ROCKS. I played a bit on and off while in college. We were playing mostly 2nd Ed. AD&D and needed a break, so switched to Shadowrun for variety. We loved it, but the rules? Meh. Too much a change from what we were used to, I guess.

So now we fast-forward to 2009 and The Rise of the Retro-clones. The OSR is in full swing. I've fallen back to Classic D&D rather than the newer, more complex versions, and play around with Swords & Wizardry, too. Did I mention in an earlier post how much I love the simple elegance of S&W? I did, didn't I.

This is when the bug bites me. The OSR doesn't have a cyberpunk clone yet. Maybe it doesn't need one, but there it is. Obviously, somebody needs to write that puppy - so I'm stepping up. It will be a looooong process, I know, but I think it will be fun (mostly) and worth while in the long run.

Using Swords & Wizardry White Box Edition as my base, I need to first write a cyberpunk variation on the ruleset. Some of the things that need to be worked up include guns, cybernetics, computer hacking stuff, and some basic vehicle rules. For inspiration and research, I'm slowly working through the original - Cyberpunk 2020 - as well as Shadowrun (2nd Ed), GURPS Cyberpunk and even a bit of d20 Modern. I'm re-reading some William Gibson, too. Oh yeah, and watching Blade Runner at some point.

THEN, after the basic Cyberpunk/Modern rules are done, I'll need to put all that back together with the fantasy of base S&W. For the proper Shadowrun feel, I'll need to add in some additional new magic rules - most importantly Astral Space and a drain-based spell casting system.

So there it is. It will be a long, tedious process but I think it can be done. S&W has proven itself to be adaptable to other genres - look at Mike "MikeD" Davison's Ruins & Ronin, David "grubman" Bezio's X-plorers or Michael "chgowiz" Shorten's The Seige Perilous - Ultima RPG. There are also "in the works" things (poke around S&W's forums page) for a superheros conversion (Hideouts & Hoodlums), Westerns (Fantasy Wild West) and pulp science fiction (Anacreon Zeta). Some projects are further along than others, sure, but they still show the flexibility of the system.

Wish me luck! I'll be posting bits here and at the S&W forums for comments and vetting.

If anyone cares to comment, I'll initially ask one question. How should these rules be released? I see three options to choose from.
1) Offer the generic cyberpunk supplement (no magic or fantasy elements) first. It will be compatible with S&W, obviously, so people can add the bits they like from it into whatever modern or cyberpunk-esque game they want to run. Then follow that with the "full" Shadowrun clone version.
2) Offer it as a cyberpunk supplement and put in the magic rules in as optional, in an appendix or something.
3) Just go all out and do the thing as SR right from the start, with the fantasy fully integrated. People who don't want the magic bits can still use what they do like.

S&W: Cyberpunk first, or go right to Mages & Megacorps? Thoughts?

ROCK THE VOTE - OSR STYLE, BABY!!

2009-07-24T11:31:00.003-04:00

Voting for the ENnies opened up today and some great FREE OSR stuff has made the list of nominations.

Get out there and drop a white ball for Swords and Wizardry as "Best Free RPG Product", and both Mythmere Games (Swords & Wizardry) and Goblinoid Games (Labyrinth Lord and Mutant Future) for "Best Publisher".

You can vote for more than one choice in a category, so don't be shy.

The OSR needs YOU!

EDIT: Got a Silver!! Congrats to Mythmere and everyone else involved.

Another S&W Index Card Character Sheet

2009-06-23T16:50:00.007-04:00

It seems that putting your "old school" character sheets onto index cards is all the rage nowadays. I think it's a great idea, what with them being so "stat light" and have seen some great ones.

In particular, my version was inspired by le bulette's and made use of the graphic elements in a full-sized sheet by Thomas Denmark at Original Edition Fantasy. Thanks again for letting me use those!

You can find the PDF here. And the editable Photoshop (psd) file is here. Help yourself if it's of any interest to you.

UPDATED 11/10/10 to add the master file and update the PDF link.

S&W "Travel" Game Kit

2009-06-06T00:43:00.000-04:00

As I discussed in the previous post, I'm throwing together a "digest-sized" set of Swords & Wizardry White Box. The idea is to be able to take it on vacations, camping or wherever, and be able to play if the desire strikes.

At the right, is a pic of my setup so far - a digest printing of the WB rules, punched and put into a DayPlanner binder I had lying around. With it for comparison is my full-sized copy of the S&W core rules, comb-bound with laminated covers. It helps to work in an office supply store. (No NOT Staples.)

I've also copies of the Classic D&D Modules B1: In Search of the Unknown, and B2: The Keep on the Borderlands. Both printed up booklet style.

I found these great S&W index card character sheets (here) that fit right into the spirit of the kit.

And, based on another post in that sane blog (Thanks, bulette!), I need to make a little mini DM screen to pop in as well. Work, work, work!

I'll also be modifying his Labyrinth Lord 3x5 character sheet to use for my DM copies of character sheets and NPC sheets in my "regular" Classic D&D game.

WTF?!

2009-06-05T15:49:00.004-04:00

OK, those last two posts are ones that I started back on May 31st and just saved the drafts as I worked on them. So, I finish and post both this afternoon, and the date stamp still shows May 31!

Don't you think they'd go onto the blog dated for when they were actually PUBLISHED?

EDIT: I actually searched the Help section and found an answer! The date defaults to when you first started the post, but it can be changed. Yay!

A Colored Map

2009-06-05T15:48:00.000-04:00

Got out the colored pencils and played with some coloring last weekend. I want to get an idea where the mountain ranges are and see the global view brought to life. After that, I'll zoom in on a smaller region and go at it hexmap style.

Just based on how this came out, there are already changes of course. The other "problem" is that I've been playing with putting this image into some software that lets you do proper cartographic map projections, and when it's projected onto a globe (orthographic view) I can see the distribution of the continents doesn't work at all. So, I need to move somethings about, and maybe do a bit of re-sizing here and there to get something that is more aesthetically pleasing.

Sidetracked! (or why do I do this?)

2009-06-05T11:43:00.000-04:00

I've held off from doing much with Swords and Wizardry so far. Sure, I went and downloaded both versions so that I could look through them, but hadn't really done much yet. Unfortunately, I finally caved in to the hype and took a bit of time to read the White Box version.

Now, as I've noted, BECMI/RC D&D is my system of choice for an ongoing campaign and that won't change. I do want a bit more crunch in my base rules, but RC still gives me all the freedom to house-rule as I see fit. I've never played Original D&D, and never have seen a real, live set of those little brown books. So, when I had just skimmed through S&W on other occasions, I just saw rules variation that I didn't get. They weren't quite "right".

This time reading through it, something was different. Maybe I just was looking at it with a different mindset, I don't know. But what I saw was really cool - the simplicity just kicks rocks, and I can totally see using White Box for one-shot and pick-up type games.

What's it got going for it? Well, simplified mechanics, mostly. The whole "all weapons do d6 damage" thing, a single saving throw, very basic monster stats, index card character sheets. I have to say that for these quicky games, I'll even use Ascending AC. It's pretty simple to understand and use on the fly.

I plan to put together a little gaming package in a digest-sized DayPlanner binder that I can take anywhere - vacation, camping and so on, so I can pick it up and play with the kids for an hour if it rains. The WB rules, printed digest size, a single set of dice, and some adventure stuff.

What I need to spend a little time on is the adventure part. I want to put together a small 'sandbox" style setting to include in the kit. A map of the PCs home base village and the surrounding area, populated with mini-dungeons and set-piece encounters that will be found as they follow rumors or just hex-crawl around the map. That'll be the most time-consuming part, but I think it will be worth it. Once it's put together, I'll be sure to share.

Random Rules Post 1

2009-05-10T10:20:00.001-04:00

I find myself spending way too much time perusing boards (RPG.net & Dragonsfoot mostly)for ideas rather than coming up with my own stuff. I'll read and read and read,and always get more ideas than I can ever use, and I LOVE IT! So there.

By the way, can anyone recommend others that have enough "Classic" content to consider? I know there's the OD&D Discussion board, but it really does focus on OD&D, which isn't quite my thing.

One of the things this blog will help me to do is, as I said, get those ideas on paper so that I can focus on incorporating the ones I decide to actually use. So, this post will be the first in a series, I imagine. As I poke about the interwebs and find "stuff", I'll put it here for further consideration.

Two for this morning. Discuss.

"Death's Door" Rules: I've always played in small groups and it sucks gettting killed too easily, so I see the value of not dying automatically at 0 HP. The "Survive to -10" seems arbitrary, and too much, as does "Survive to - CON" (survive to -14, or -18, really?), two options I've seen. I kind of like the "Save or Die" option from the RC, it gives you a chance, based on your class and level. Another good choice seems to be "Survive to - CON Bonus" which rewards those with high CON. Makes sense to me.

I guess my vote will be either "Save or Die" or "- CON Bonus"

Critical Hit/Fumble: I know that in "Classic" that Natural 20 doesn't actually mean anything. But like most people (as far as I can tell), it is house-ruled so that it does. At the minimum, it becomes an automatic hit, usually for Max or Double damage. I lean to max damage. What about more specific critical hit rules or damage. A recent thread on RPG.net turned up2 cool charts: here and here , but are they just more rules? What about teh "Natural 1"? An Automatic miss, yes. Chance to hurt yourself or an ally? Lose your weapon? I actually don't remember using this really, just Natural 20 rules.

First Map

2009-05-08T00:24:00.001-04:00

Here is the base for my world map. I've sketched out the continental outlines so I have a starting point, and can grow from here. I'm using the AD&D 2e World Builders Guidebook to some degree here. From this world view, I'll be roughing out the gross geographical features and climate patterns. Once that is done, I'll zoom into a smaller region that I can flesh out in more detail for the players.

My plan is to make classic Mystara-style hex maps initially, (OK, maybe not that nice), using the fantastic online utility Hexographer. Then as I feel artistic or more creative, work on redrawing everything more by hand, in the vein of the Tolkien Middle Earth maps, or Darlene's Greyhawk (1) & (2).

This map is a mash-up of a number of hand-drawn maps I made. I did 3 or 4 sketched maps, roughing out continental shapes, and scanned them all into Photoshop. I was then able to mix and match pieces I liked, rotating, flipping, shrinking or expanding, and so on.

Where to begin?

2009-05-03T01:12:00.000-04:00

What is Trevail? What do I want it to be? Every author asks these questions of himself as he sits down, pen in hand. I want Trevail to be a world that mirrors the aspects of fantasy that I have always found most interesting, and it will be drawn from many sources.

First off, my D&D is an older version of it. I started by playing Classic D&D by way of the Tom Moldvay Basic rules way back in...oh, '81 or so. Yes, I moved on to AD&D, then Second Edition. I never played 3e as a PnP game, but have been exposed to it via the videogame Neverwinter Nights. I've found that the game has grown so bloated and rules-heavy that I hardly recognize it anymore. Sure, there is a multitude of choices and endless character customization for the players, but it is too much for me - not the game I learned to play. As for the new 4e D&D? Well, that I really don't recognize as D&D anymore. Not the D&D that Gry Gygax wrote, anyway. When my children got old enough to show interest, I began to think about how to play with them. What needed to be simplified or otherwise modified so that they could understand what they were trying to do? I finally realized that the game I wanted them to play was the one I origianlly learned. It had changed, I know. The "Classic" rules had been revamped by Frank Mentzer: five new box sets had been released while I was playing AD&D, then merged into the Rules Cyclopedia. That tome was what I chose to play as I move forward. At least it will provide a place to start, and I will freely modify it to be the game I ultimately want to play. I think that is what D&D is all about. My world, my rules, my imagination at work.

It isn't THE beginning, but it is A beginning...

2009-05-03T00:48:00.000-04:00

For a player of Dungeons & Dragons - regardless of edition - there can be no undertaking more personal than that of creating your own world. For most it is a labor of love, and often a thankless task. We pour countless hours into these worlds: researching, writing, mapping, the list is endless. Everything we read can be a source of new inspiration. We constantly scribble little notes to ourselves when some new idea catches our fancy, and those notes are all seeds which often blossom into something new and wonderful within our ever changing, ever growing creation. For the most part it will mostly turn out to be nothing more than a creative outlet, never seen by our players.

World building is, for me, the most truly creative aspect of D&D. When we are actually gaming, we act more as an improv actor, and a referee. But when we are world-building, we are authors, artists and cartographers, historians, geologists and philosophers. We are the creators. As the world grows under our diligent labors, we bring to life a vision we have in our heads of where we want to be as players, filling it with whatever we desire.

And so, I present Kingdoms in Trevail, my personal creation. Right now it is mostly ideas rattling around inside my head, and scattered about in notebooks and on scraps of paper. I am building it for myself, and for my kids as well, so that they can play in someplace that is a part of me and not someone else's vision of a fantastic world. I'll use this blog as a place to get my ideas out of my head and onto "paper" so that I can begin to separate the wheat from the chaff. It will be a sounding board as I invite others to critique it or offer their own suggestions. I hope you can help me grow Trevail. I have lots of ideas, most of which likely won't make any sense, and perhaps seeing it through the eyes of others will help me get it all to fall more neatly into place.