Unorthodox

The subject of this blog post came from a Kickstarter question: "Does this support 3.5?"

"This" refers to the next adventure I'm writing, Revelry in Torth.  "3.5" refers to that late-middle period of Dungeons & Dragons which helped propel the Old School Renaissance into existence.  Indeed, 3rd and 4th editions practically forced nostalgia-fueled grognards to become a like-minded community, continually hashing out what is and what isn't OSR while enjoying the melange of overlapping and polarizing tastes it has to offer.

After a little back and forth, I gave his query two different answers.  In the way that Revelry in Torth will include Hit Dice, Hit Points, Armor Class, etc... yes.  It's "supported", meaning compatible.  However, beyond that, no.  3.5 is not just like OSR, O5R, or anything calling itself old school.

Aside from a few conversion issues, there's something else at work here, a deeper issue.  Where 3.5 tried to standardize the game.  I and the OSR go in the opposite direction - non-standardization!  My aim is to make things as unfamiliar and strange as possible, while staying within the loose confines of D&D's core principles.  NPCs and monsters will have special abilities and powers and various game mechanics; however, they will not resemble the rigid and bloated stat blocks of 3.5.

3rd edition, like 4th, is a different animal than original D&D, AD&D, 2nd edition, and now 5th. The majority already know this.  Gamers like myself don't want hardwired rules for everything and everything to be explicitly stated in the rules.  We want grey areas.  We want room to do our own thing, to explore the weird and wild game flow just as player-characters might explore a subterranean environment.  It's not just about the mechanics.  It's a totally different style of tabletop fantasy roleplaying.

The early editions focused on improvisation, collaborative storytelling, and interacting with the unknown rather than rules knowledge and character optimization in order to "win D&D".  I can only hope that 5th edition carries on that unorthodox tradition, that feeling of apprehension when facing a stairway leading down to the next level of the dungeon.

So, those looking for "a proper conversion up to 3.5" will be sorely disappointed in the vast majority of OSR, O5R, and similar products.  Yes, the extra GM prep is an issue but, more than that, they are aesthetically antagonistic.


VS

Unexpected Encounters #3

This idea came to me during an elevator ride a few days ago.

The PCs are crawling through a dungeon or similar area when they notice an illuminated panel embedded into the stone ceiling.  The panel is definitely not stone.  In fact, it looks very out-of-place here, the material like nothing they've seen before.  Adventurers can see the shadow of something between the panel and whatever light source is above it.  Whatever is up there isn't moving, but curved like multiple serpents.

There's a mechanism for opening the panel if someone looks for it.  Otherwise, smashing it to pieces also works.  The light source comes from two luminous cylinders mounted 6" above the panel.  Is it powered by magic, electricity, power cells, crystals, or something else?

The DM can either pick one of the following, roll randomly, or choose his own creation.  Also, there's nothing to stop you from describing multiple illuminated ceiling panels or something else adventurers can see as a silhouette.

1.  Intestines!  A little examination and knowledge reveal they are from a humanoid and have been removed and placed above the panel within 24 hours.  Whose innards are these and why were they put there?  Was it for some kind of religious ceremony?  Does someone plan on collecting them afterwards?  Are they from a regenerating beast?

2.  Circuitry!  Tubes and connected wiring lie on top of the panel.  Perhaps they fell from the advanced-looking mechanism 3' above the panel or maybe it was deliberately cut down (sabotage)?  This, of course, begs the question: why are there mechanisms between the dungeon's levels?  Is it part of a space ship?  Was this dungeon built by aliens or beings from another dimension?  If so, then what other properties or capabilities does this structure exhibit?

3.  A gateway to another world!  3' above the panel is a swirling plane of kaleidoscopic energy, sitting directly on top of the panel are ropes.  Why?  Where does this portal lead?

4.  The severed tentacles of some eldritch beast!  The tentacles are leaking traces of a milky white fluid.  There's no sign of the creature from whence these appendages came.  Perhaps the PCs will face it further down the corridor.  However, that still does not explain why the illuminated ceiling panel is here or what its function is.
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Ultimately, there should NOT be a 3 second answer easily satisfying all.  The point of these unexpected encounters is to inject a bit of mystery into the game.  What's D&D for if not to explore the unknown?

If you use this in your adventure or have some wild theory about what this illuminated ceiling panel is and why it's here, then please post a comment below.  I'm curious as well.  ;)


VS

The Influence of Other Games

Ironically, it was my wife who suggested I find someone else's game to play in.  It's ironic because she would prefer it if I had no life at all beyond staying home and raising our two young daughters.  That's her calling, Dread Cthulhu bless her, reluctant some days as she might seem.  She suggested the idea because I've been working like the dickens to find interested, reliable, and available players for my own weekly roleplaying game.  Sometimes it works out, lately it hasn't.

So, that's what I did.  I went to a traditional (old school) RPG meetup at my not-too-far-away game store.  Didn't know what to expect, but I did know that any momentary trepidation was just the newness of the experience and needed to be overridden.  It was fun; it was different.  Different because it wasn't me behind the screen running the game.  I got a chance to experience Empire of the Petal Throne.  A fascinating setting.  And, if my wife doesn't strongly object, I'll keep coming back.

That difference is part of what made it important.  Besides having the opportunity to play and making contacts in order to fill my table at home, playing in another Dungeon Master's game gave me a fresh perspective.  Good, bad, or weird... games influence each other.  That influence keeps one's game world from remaining in a vacuum, giving it new life and energy.

Of course, sometimes it's better to resist outside influences, to keep our subjective vision uncorrupted.  After all, we don't want D&D to become too homogenous or standardized.  That way lies sanity - the opposite of madness.  And madness, if you think about it, is where many of us want to go - into that unknown abyss of black secrets and dreams, deep down within gaming's sorcerer-demon soul.  Nevertheless, all Masters of the Game will benefit from playing every once in awhile.

VS

You can't put your wizard miniature in the same dungeon crawl twice!

Ok, first off, this is a brand new post.  Not one I transferred from the old new RPG blog.  So, the area around the text should be the same color as the actual blog background.  Yay!

Man, when is the New World Order going to take over and fix everything?  Shouldn't incompatibility be a non-issue in 2013?  Fuck the idea of Google or one giant corporation taking over.  No, that's not what I want.  That's not what 99% of us want.  However, I believe that an overriding system or authority or mandate will eventually manifest which saves our collapsing sociocultural infrastructure from being crushed by its own weight, as well as, blasting all the parasitic assholes which hasten our collective soul annihilation into space.  Who's with me!?!

Anyways, on to today's post.  It's an informal response to a blog post I read the other day:

http://jrients.blogspot.com/2006/09/how-to-awesome-up-your-players.html

I commented at the bottom of the author's post.  It has to be moderated first, but basically this is what I said (expanded upon here):  Not only is there no "one right way" to run a game, there isn't even a way that works 100% of the time for one group.  Things need to be changed up every so often or stagnation takes hold; ruining the game on a micro level and potentially ruining the entire hobby on a macro level.

Gaming methodologies require evolution or else they become prisons.  Even a nice, comfortable prison with curtains that serves your favorite kind of tea is still a prison.  Break out!  Do something different.  All those people railing against Jeff's blog post, as well as, those supporting him, will eventually have to alter their game's modus operandi or deal with the consequences.

Just as you cannot put your hand in the same river twice, a Dungeon Master cannot make the Player-Characters struggle throughout an entire campaign just to amass a couple hundred gold pieces or a measly +1 sword.  Not unless you want the fun to flag, the novelty to wear off.  The same goes for session after session filled with easily-won riches and power.  Where's the unexpected?  Do you know about the law of diminishing returns?  Once might be awesome, but the hundredth time means death for your campaign, DM.  Change things up before it's too late.

Would you want to see the exact same TV show (more or less) every year?  Hells no!  Even with a couple variations here and there, that would still get super boring, right?  I'm sure players feel the same way when each campaign begins and ends pretty much like the last one, and the one before that, and the one before that, etc.

So, how does an enterprising DM keep things interesting?  He shifts gears.  If the PCs were struggling in the last campaign, then spoil them in the next one.  If it was magic and artifact poor, then make this campaign overflowing with the stuff!  Did all the characters begin the game as lowly peasants?  Well, make them lords now!  Of course, a certain level of challenge must be inherent in every adventure.  That isn't what you're taking away - you, self-aware old school Dungeon Master, are altering the way your PCs are challenged.

It all comes back to non-standardization.  It's so easy to codify rules and settings and ways to run a game.  Create a mold that works and keep mass producing campaigns based on that mold.  Makes sense - maybe it even saves time... nevertheless, it's antithetical to the Old School Renaissance [OSR].  Fresh, imaginative, revolutionary ideas are the lifeblood of old school gaming.

I'm not just talking about throwing a new monster into the dungeon or allowing access to a new spell.  That's OSR for noobs!  I'm talking about occasionally (if not frequently) retooling your whole approach to running the game and campaign creation.  This is not easy.  This is not quick.  And sometimes it's not very much fun, either.  Which is exactly why the OSR relies so heavily on community.  At the roots of the word "community" is the notion of sharing.  There are literally thousands of fascinating D&D concepts out there in cyberland which are utterly alien to you and your particular style of play.  Some of those concepts, such as going diceless or setting a campaign in Carcosa, might scare you.  That's ok.  Besides frightening us, exploration of the unknown is supposed to be fun, too, right?  After all, we Dungeon Masters send wizards, warriors, and thieves down into the bowels of the earth to encounter God knows what!

So, take some chances.  Don't just game awesome... game eldritch!  Oh, and let the OSR community hear about your results.  That keeps the OSR movement growing.

Framing this post in conclusion, I long for standards without the mistake that is standardization... just as I hope humanity achieves self-actualization via benevolent force in the next couple decades.  What I'm talking about is the Third Side.  Not black, not white, nor grey... but green!

Agree?  Hate my guts?  Don't know WTF I'm talking about?  Leave a comment!


Venger Satanis
Grognard de Noir