This month, I’m talking about the Pathfinder RPG. This game is built on the Open Game License that Wizards of the Coast put out for Dungeons and Dragons 3.5, which was an upgrade from D&D Third Edition. I owned, and played, both D&D 3 and D&D 3.5, and when D&D Fourth Edition came out, I bought a copy of it… and tried. I really tried hard to enjoy D&D 4. It just was such a completely different game, and it was just such a painful experience. Combat went on forever… a fight that lasted five or six rounds took over an hour to play. Role-play itself was mostly ignored in the rules. (As you may see, I have a very low opinion of the Fourth Edition rules.) On the other hand, Piazo – a company that had been publishing D&D’s magazines “Dungeon” and “Dragon”, as well as adventure modules and other supplements for Third Edition (and later 3.5), decided to give the players what they asked for, and created Pathfinder. This game took what players liked about 3.5, and improved it, and smoothed it out a bit – and boosted the power level of just about everything. You could think of it as D&D 3.7. I waited a long time to pick up the Pathfinder core rules, but after reading them (and now playing a session of Pathfinder), I’m glad I did. A player of 3.5 could join a game with almost no adjustments. The few “new rules” are things that many people had used as house rules: the cleric’s “Turn Undead” becoming a “Channel Divine Energy” feature, doing direct damage to undead monsters, for example. Each class got a power boost, but a logical one. Each race is also a little bit better than their 3.5 equivalents… and the Half-Orc is now my favorite race, because suddenly their negatives aren’t overwhelming. Game play is smooth, and would be smoother still if I didn’t have so many versions of D&D’s rulesets rattling around in my head. (The way things work in Second Edition isn’t necessarily the way things work in Third, 3.5, or Pathfinder, and I have a tendency to remember an old rule instead of the newer one. Hey, I’m old, and so are the rules that I’m used to.) Character creation is straightforward, and again VERY familiar to anyone who’s built characters for D&D 3.5 (or d20 Star Wars, or d20 Modern, or any other d20 OGL game, for that matter.) The new way buying skills work is great, and much easier to remember. Tracy and I both agree that the “luck” rules from Rangers and Rabbits would have saved us quite a bit of hit point damage, and we may “house-rule” that rule into our games in future. Right now, we’re playing RAW (“Rules As Written”) as much as we can, and it works pretty well. This is a great game, and I highly recommend it. I think my favorite is still Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Second Edition… but Pathfinder’s right up there, now. (And, after playing a Pathfinder session, I want to check out Starfinder – see the article I wrote discussing it -- even more!) I may be discussing this game again next month, so let me give you a brief rundown of the party. It’s an unusual one for us, as I usually play a Paladin and the rest of the players play characters that get along with Paladins well. First, Tracy’s fighter: Lursa is a half-orc, wearing the best armor she can afford (scale mail), doing the old-fashioned sword-and-board (well, axe & shield) routine. The cleric, Koloth, is Lursa’s cousin, and another half-orc. In Pathfinder, half-orcs add two points to any one ability score (of the player’s choice); Koloth added his to Charisma. Koloth is a very persuasive fellow, wearing scale mail (again, it’s the best he could afford) and swingin’ a big ol’ great axe. The party’s rogue is a gnome, Querk. Querk is by far the smallest party member, and I’m not completely sure of her motivation. Rounding out Our Heroes is our wizard, Hix Nolothomir. Hix, an elf, isn’t a typical elf wizard – he specialized in Necromancy (or as he likes to call it, “Post-Mortem Communications and Deceased Personnel Management”). I rolled pretty well, and after being adjusted for Hix’s Elf race, he ended up with a Strength of 15, a Dexterity of 19, a Constitution of 14, an Intelligence of 20, a Wisdom of 16, and a Charisma of… 10. I figure he’s a creepy, Sheldon (“Big Bang Theory”)-like fellow. VERY smart, positive that he knows better, and more, than anyone else, but a severe dead/undead geek, which bothers everyone around him. He has no armor (wizard!), but that obscenely high Dex gives him a pretty good Armor Class (AC) of 14; casting Mage Armor brings that up to 18 (for one hour per level). Hix is going to be insanely fun to play, I think. I can’t wait for the next session! Roll some dice, let’s kill some goblins! Sum non Satis? Commodore Tank Clark, SFMD Team Leader, 33rd STARFLEET Rangers (“The Paladins”) “Have Phaser, Will Travel”
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A year ago, I reviewed a game that was new to me: Starships and Spacemen. I had recently downloaded it from RPGDriveThru.com, and was enthralled by it. The publishers of the game, Goblinoid Games, also publish an “Old School” D&D retro-clone called Labyrinth Lord, a post-apocalyptic game in the mold of the old Gamma World game, and other great things, including my favorite game supplement of all time, Rangers and Rabbits.
I finally got a chance to try the game out recently. I found a “sandbox[1]” campaign for it on sale at RPGDriveThru.com, and we spent several hours generating the crew of the CSS Halsey, a destroyer starship in the Confederation Space Fleet. When fully manned, the Halsey has 32 crewmen, and was captained by a Lieutenant Commander (level 4). Our characters were all Ensigns (level 1), and most of the enlisted members of the crew are “E-1” Crewmen (level 1/enlisted). I say “was captained” … the skipper never returned from his first mission, after a teleporter mishap. He may not be dead, but we don’t know where he went, or how to get him back from… wherever. The next landing party, sent down to investigate a long-ago wrecked starship from an unknown species (they went down in a shuttle) consisted of the Navigator, the Security Officer, the Science Officer, the Chief Engineer, a medical rating (NPC) and an engineering rating (NPC). As they approached the wreckage, they were attacked by this huge animal… and it bit the unnamed, red-shirted engineering rating in half. Yes, the first casualty of this game was a nameless redshirt. The gameplay is fairly simple, and pretty smooth. As my familiarity with the system increases, I believe it will be even easier, and even better. This is a great game. General Quarters. Raise shields, load the forward torpedo tubes, ready the phased beam cannons – … Sum non Satis? [1] A “sandbox” game is one in which the players can do anything they want to do. There is no set goal – beyond (a) survive, (b) explore, and (c) have fun. Space Fleet has given the Halsey orders to explore the quadrant of space they’re in, to defend the people and interests of the Confederation of Planets. Other than that, the new captain (who started as the First Officer) just decides where we’re going and what we’re doing when we get there. Troll Lord Games puts out some great stuff. Their flagship is, without a doubt, Castles and Crusades – a new-style RPG with an old-school feel. This is what 4th Edition of D&D should have been... it feels like a streamlined version of 3E, in fact. The “engine” of the game is pretty streamlined, and, like D&D in the old days, can be co-opted for use in other genres. Thus, if you want to play a great RPG set in the universe of the Pulps (think The Phantom, Alan Quartermain, and Indiana Jones), pick up a copy of Amazing Adventures. If you’re a role-playing gamer, most of the system is very familiar. Six stats, ranging from 3 to 18, giving attribute modifiers; these modifiers are added to a d20 roll to attempt to beat a target number. There’s some special bits about “primary” or “secondary” attributes, as well as some special bits on various special abilities, but that’s the main point. “Armor Class” is affected by what you wear… so, if I’m wearing my trench coat and fedora, I’m AC 13… adding my fancy duds and a nice pair of gloves, I can get up to an AC 16. Groovy! The books are readily available on DriveThruRPG.com – which was running a sale when I picked ‘em up digitally. I haven’t had a chance to play, yet. I haven’t even rolled up a character… but this game, and this system, is definitely on the list to try out! Grab some dice, and let’s start punching some Nazis – … Sum non Satis? Commodore Tank Clark, SFMD Team Leader, 33rd STARFLEET Rangers (“The Paladins”) “Have Phaser, Will Travel” I was looking through my hoard (again, it’s not a collection, it’s a hoard… collections are organized) a while ago, and I saw the Discworld Role Playing Game. Discworld, if you don’t know, is a fantasy world created by the late Sir Terry Pratchett, first appearing in the early 1980’s in the novel The Colour of Magic. It’s a flat world, a disc, that rests on the back of four elephants, who stand on the back of Great A’Tuin, a turtle. The world has changed significantly since he first wrote about it – the last novel in the series that I read, entitled “Raising Steam”, tells about the first railway on the Disc – and the fight some Dwarfs put up against it. The RPG, like many I own, is a bit dated. This edition doesn’t include, nor refer to, about half of the series. It’s written using the third edition of the GURPS rules, and includes a “lite” version thereof. To get the most out of the game, though, I’d suggest using the full GURPS rules. GURPS stands for Generic Universal Role Playing System, and it’s published by Steve Jackson Games (the same folks who make Munchkin, amongst other great stuff.) The game system is thorough. You can, given enough character points, make ANY character you wish, from any time you wish. Want an elf wizard? (The Discworld doesn’t have ‘em, but other fantasy universes do.) No problem. Want a cyborg? Ok. A superhero? Can do. A Roman gladiator, an Egyptian priest of Set, a Viking raider, an Old West gunfighter, a Discworld werewolf? No problems. Of course, this thoroughness comes at a price: character creation is fairly slow, very meticulous, and involves math. Lots of math. (*shudder*) Grab some dice, and let’s start killin’ some goblins – … Sum non Satis? Commodore Tank Clark, SFMD Team Leader, 33rd STARFLEET Rangers (“The Paladins”) “Have Phaser, Will Travel” I’m still (every once in a long while) playing in a unique blend of For Gold and Glory/Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Second Edition)/Rangers & Rabbits. After a trip to Half-Price Books, I have acquired yet another book to add to this blend: AD&D Player’s Options: Combat and Tactics, by TSR. This book, as well as the other Player’s Option book, Skills and Powers, came out pretty late in the Second Edition era. I did not get it, back in the day, and now I’m kind of sad that I didn’t. It enhances game play in several ways, and is (in retrospect) an obvious stepping-stone on D&D’s march from Second Edition to Third Edition. In 2nd Ed (and, for that matter, in For Gold and Glory), a combat round was roughly a minute long. In 3E, it was six seconds long. PO:C&T has a ten-second combat round. It also requires the use of a battle map with one-inch squares, which represented (in melee) a five-foot square. Movement has became more structured using PO:C&T, time became easier and more uniform to manage, and certain random events could occur at moderately rare intervals, possibly effecting the battle. Although spell durations were modified (because a 10-second combat round is lots shorter than a 1-minute round), this didn’t really change much tactically, as the party (and the enemy) are uniformly affected. PO:C&T also adds some great bits to character creation and improvement, which For Gold and Glory already appropriated – namely, the use of Weapon Groups and Weapon Types in the selection of Combat Skills (known in AD&D as Weapon Proficiencies.) PO:C&T also adds some wonderful proficiencies that may fill either Weapon or Non Weapon Proficiency (aka Combat or Non-Combat Skills) slots, giving the character more options. We haven’t had the opportunity to play since I acquired this book, but when we next play, we will include elements from Combat and Tactics. If you see a copy somewhere, I’d recommend purchasing it! Grab some dice, and let’s start killin’ some goblins – … Sum non Satis? Commodore Tank Clark, SFMD Team Leader, 33rd STARFLEET Rangers (“The Paladins”) “Have Phaser, Will Travel” I’m still (every once in a long while) playing in a unique blend of For Gold and Glory/Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Second Edition)/Rangers & Rabbits. H. R. Hufflepuff the Badger has broken a couple of lances against enemies that were afoot; the party’s thief (a Cat named Sylvester) has performed really entertaining maneuvers in combat, including dropping off the side of a stairway next to – and then backstabbing – a goblin; our party’s cleric is a Hawk named Hermione, and she’s perfected the “swoop in and cast Cure Light Wounds” maneuver; the Lioness Nala, a Fighter/Magic-User, lives quite well by her dual-weilding swordplay mixed in with a loud Roar. Heck, even the party’s henchmen and hirelings are loads of fun!
However, this month, let’s talk about a science fiction RPG from the waning years of TSR: “Alternity.” TSR published this game in 1998, during the heyday of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Second Edition. The core books are the Players Handbook and the Gamemasters Guide; there were setting books published for it as well, including Star*Drive, Dark*Matter, and StarCraft, as well as other accessories, like the Arms and Equipment Manual. I purchased my copy several years ago at a Half-Price Books. I sometimes still see them, and I will continue to look for extra copies, as well as for other books in the line. Although Wizards of the Coast doesn’t support the game at all, one may download a torrent with PDFs of the books, and there’s a wonderful fan-supported web site called Alternity.Net. Additionally, a new company called Sasquatch Games is creating Alternity 2.0, updating and changing the rules. (I’ve looked at the Sasquatch game; I think I prefer the original Alternity.) The Core Mechanic This is a skill-based system, and every die roll that’s made uses the same core mechanic: roll the control die (always a twenty-sided die (d20)) and a situation die (which ranges from a negative four-sided die (-d4) through a positive 3d20 (+3d20)), and roll the skill score or less. Lower numbers are always better in this game (except when rolling damage or armor), and the lower you roll, the better you do – there are degrees of success. I think that the designers took the “non-weapon proficiency” rules from AD&D 2E, and ran with it… and I think that it makes an awesome system that’s fairly easy to understand. The situation die is on a “step” scale, that goes -d20, -d12, -d8, -d6, -d4, -d0, +d4, +d6, +d8, +d12, +d20, +2d20, +3d20. The gamemaster (GM) assigns the situation die according to his judgement on how difficult the action would be. The die total is compared to either the specialty skill, the broad skill (if the character has no specialty skill), or an untrained ability score check. The better (lower) the roll, the better the action was accomplished, ranging from Critical Failure (a 20 on the control die), a Failure (higher than the score), an Ordinary success (ranging from the score to one more than one-half the score), a Good success (one-half to one more than one-quarter the score), and an Amazing success (one-quarter or below.) Rolling a 1 on the control die is always a success. Character Creation The process of creating a character is a bit time-consuming, at least for a new player. There are four “professions” (think classes in other games): Combat Specialists, Diplomats, Free Agents, and Tech Ops. A fifth profession, Mindwalker, is optional. Mindwalkers are psionics-users. Combat Specs are just that – fighter types. Diplomats have the wonderful advantage of having a secondary profession, Free Agents are the people who do just a little bit of a lot, and Tech Ops careers include doctors, engineers, pilots, and so forth. Under each profession are careers, which aren’t really necessary for the game, but are helpful in the process of character creation and for roleplay. Each sample career in the game lists a starting package of skills (and the points total of those skills), as well as “signature equipment”: things that a member of that particular career would have. Each character has six ability scores: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Will, and Personality. Going by the standard rules (as found in the Player’s Handbook), players receive 60 points to divide up between each ability. Each profession has different required minimum abilities, so you’ll have to have a minimum of 12 in one score, and a minimum of a 9 in another; the other four are assignable however you like. In the Gamemaster’s Guide, there are alternate methods of generating ability scores, including random dice rolls. Each race has a different set of “free broad skills”. Skills are grouped by ability score – for example, Modern Ranged Weapons is a Dexterity broad skill, while Deception is a Personality broad skill. Under each broad skill are specialty skills – for example, under Modern Ranged Weapons you’ll find the Pistol, Rifle, and SMG (submachine gun) skills. To buy a specialty skill, one must first buy the broad skill, and the free broad skills count as being bought. There is a table in the Player’s Handbook that lists the costs for each skill (both broad and specialty). Each skill also lists the professions which can buy the skill at one less than the listed price. The amount of skill points the character starts with is dependent on the character’s Intelligence score. The table in the Player’s Handbook is very limiting; however there are better methods I’ve found on the Internet. The one that seems to be most used by people on Alternity.net is “Optional Rule 2”, used by the game designers in their own home games, in which players get 30+(INTx3) to start, as well as flattening out the costs of skills past the first rank. There are several ways of equipping a character, ranging from taking starting funds and buying every single item, to the GM just assigning gear. As I mentioned earlier, each career also has their own “signature” equipment – things that a member of that career would always have. House Rules As I mentioned, there are a lot of house rules and other optional changes I’ve seen on the Internet for this game. When I finally get around to playing this game, I would like to use the Optional Rule 2 mentioned above. I believe I would try a random generation of ability scores, using 3d6+2, re-roll "1"s, and drop the lowest die. (I use something similar in my FG&G/AD&D/R&R game) I would also reduce the costs of buying skills after the first rank: instead of the second (and later) ranks of the skill costing (skill cost) plus (current rank), the skills would cost the same for second and later ranks as it would for the first rank of the skill. As far as equipment, it kind of depends on the campaign model. My current idea for a campaign starts like this: the characters are all on a “cruise ship in space”, as passengers and/or crew. A disaster occurs (possibly a pirate attack?) and the PCs all board a lifeboat, which takes them to the nearest inhabitable planet. The PCs have whatever they carry with them, plus the gear stowed on the lifeboat (which would include weapons, armor, tools, food, water, first-aid kits, etc.) There may be a settlement, or maybe an automated “dilithium cracking station” (like in “Where No Man Has Gone Before”), and/or alien villages, or all of the above and more… regardless, the party has to move across the planet to another location in order to be rescued. The party may not be a homogenous, balanced party – it may have a movie star who’d have to work with a ship’s crewman, or a lawyer, or a doctor, or a gambler, or whatever. The Other Bits The “engine” of this game is simple, easy to remember, and virtually universal in its application. Even the “initiative” system uses the same standard core mechanic, of rolling a control die and a situation die, trying to roll under a certain score. The math is all figured out on the character sheet, so you don’t have to do the math during the game. An experienced game master can easily “eyeball” how hard any particular action should be, and dictate the situation die accordingly. An inexperienced GM should use the clearly written guidelines found in the Player’s Handbook and the Gamemaster’s Guide, but I would think that after a few sessions, that GM would get comfortable enough to use the eyeball method. Armor works by subtracting damage, and each type of armor reduces different types of damage in varying amounts. There are three types of damage: Low Impact (LI), High Impact (HI), and Energy (En), and each weapon deals a one of those three types. In combat, as well as in some other situations, the target’s abilities influence the attacker’s situation die… for example, a target with a high Dexterity is harder for an attacker with a pistol to hit. Again, all of this is determined during character creation, and is easily found on the character sheet. This is a well-designed system. The weird thing about the system is getting used to the concept of wanting a “1” to show up on your d20 roll… but I have some dice that would work well, judging by my experience with ‘em. Grab some dice, and let’s start killin’ some goblins – er, I mean bug-eyed monsters from outer space… Sum non Satis? Commodore Tank Clark, SFMD Team Leader, 33rd STARFLEET Rangers (“The Paladins”) “Have Phaser, Will Travel” I’m still (every once in a long while) playing my own unique fusion of For Gold and Glory/Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (Second Edition)/Rangers & Rabbits. It’s amazingly fun, and H. R. Hufflepuff the Badger Paladin has just purchased a steed, so I’m hoping for some opportunity to charge a foe wielding a lance. (Huff’s mount is a snailodon – think of a Clydesdale horse-sized saber-toothed snail. Total awesome sauce.)
This month, however, I’m going to discuss a game that I’ve just acquired, for free: Mazes and Minotaurs (Revised Edition). Mazes and Minotaurs is a new-ish game, but it was based on the idea of “what if the world’s first role playing game was written after watching Jason and the Argonauts instead of after reading The Lord of the Rings?” To answer that question, the good folks at Legendary Games Studio (LGS) wrote not only one RPG, but two. The first one, Mazes and Minotaurs, is more of an homage to the original D&D rules, and is all in one 74-page document. This version was apparently written in another, parallel universe, in which it WAS the first RPG. (Well, that’s the in-character story.) LGS had, as their design goal: a nostalgic pastiche of early fantasy roleplaying games, a tongue-in-cheek tribute to old-school gaming, and a complete and fully playable roleplaying game. I believe they succeeded quite well. Mazes and Minotaurs is available at http://storygame.free.fr/MM1.html, I urge you to take a look at it. Then, go to http://mazesandminotaurs.free.fr/revised.html and download the “Revised Edition,” which I’ll be discussing here. Not being satisfied with just this, though, Legendary Games Studio also produced the four books for the Revised Mazes and Minotaurs RPG: The Player’s Handbook, The Maze Master’s Guide, The Creature Compendium, and the M&M Companion. (These are from the same alternate universe that produced the “original M&M”, but in declare themselves to be from 1987.) This game is similar in nature to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game, with more classes, magic, items, and so forth than the “original” one, while keeping the same design goals of being nostalgic, a tribute, and being completely playable. Even more than the other game, though, this is very playable, and quite expansive. Character Creation The game has several steps in creating a new player character. First, you must choose a class. There are twelve classes to choose from, organized into three groups: warriors, magicians, and specialists. The warrior group consists of Amazons, Barbarians, Centaurs, Nobles, and Spearmen; the magicians are Elementalists, Lyrists, Nymphs, Priests, and Sorcerers. There are two types of specialists, Hunters and Thieves. Notice that there are gender restrictions on some classes: for example, Amazons and Nymphs must be female, while Barbarians, Centaurs, and Spearmen must be male. Priests of gods are male, whilst their counterparts of goddesses must be female. The next step is to generate ability scores. In keeping with the desire to create a game with an old-school feel, the six ability scores (“basic attributes”) are generated randomly, using two six-sided dice and adding six to the total (2d6+6), generating a number between 8 and 18. These attributes are: Might (physical strength), Skill (adroitness and martial training), Wits (alertness and cleverness), Luck (good fortune and divine favor), Will (resolve and self-discipline) and Grace (charm and appeal). Each of the twelve character classes has two primary attributes, two which the highest scores must be assigned. The other scores may be placed however the player wishes. From these scores are derived almost every other detail: hit points, melee and missile attack bonuses, initiative, base defense class, and even saving throws. After the attributes are rolled up and placed as the player desires, the modifiers for each attribute is determined. These modifiers are used to determine the other details mentioned above. For example, the Defense Class is equal to 12 plus the Luck modifier, plus 2 points for each piece of armor (helmet, breastplate, and shield.) Each class has a starting equipment list, as well as a variable amount of “starting cash.” Nobles, for example, start with a sword, dagger, shield, helmet, breastplate, and 3d6x100 silver pieces; Thieves, on the other hand, only start with a dagger and 3d6x5 silver pieces. From start to finish, including purchasing equipment, it took me 20 minutes to create a player character. This is very fast. The process is easy and fairly well laid out The biggest issue is the standard equipment list has prices, but the encumbrance of items is on another page, and not all of the items on the equipment list have encumbrance values. Unlike other systems, encumbrance is pretty important in Mazes and Minotaurs – for example, stealth attempts use the attempting character’s encumbrance as a target number. There are also not as many items on the equipment list as I’d like there to be. (This simply means that the Maze Master – what they call the game master – has a lot more work to do when his party wants to buy things.) The Other Bits The “engine” of the game is very well designed, with simple, easy to follow rules (and not an overabundance of them.) Something I like the concept of is the “weapon of choice”: when a PC uses his weapon of choice in combat, he rolls two d20s and uses the better result. (An idea I first encountered with D&D 5th Edition.) Something that would take some getting used to, on the other hand, is that all weapons use a d6 for damage (except for daggers in melee: they do d3.) The Maze Master’s Guide contains lots of guidelines for creating adventures, including a method of generating random islands (for all those ocean journeys from the myths and legends), and a helpful way of generating plot hooks. It also gives some helpful information about the gods and goddesses of Greek myth, as well as an overview of the default setting, the world of Mythika. The Creature Compendium has hundreds of creatures, folk, monsters, and humans to encounter, including statistics and drawings. Some of the entries are pretty obvious nods to other games: the Orkos (singular Orkoi) who “are barbaric and brutish humanoids who use Giant Boars as mounts. They roam in packs led by their bloodthirsty warlords and gleefully engage in acts of plunder, rape, wanton destruction and mass slaughter” easily remind one of D&D’s orcs, for example. The fourth book of the game is the “Mazes and Minotaurs Companion.” This book contains optional rules – and nothing but options. Some of the options include an alternate Amazon class, as well as a few other optional classes; an alternate advancement scheme (instead of using the default Glory/Wisdom/Experience point system found in the Player’s Handbook); and many, many other ways of personalizing your game. It’s going to be a while before I can actually play this game. It’s on the pile of other games that I’m looking forward to playing, though, joining Starships and Spacemen, Mutant Future, and many others. A very definite “thumbs up!” Grab some dice, and let’s start killin’ some goblins – er, I mean minotaurs … Sum non Satis? Commodore Tank Clark, SFMD Team Leader, 33rd STARFLEET Rangers (“The Paladins”) “Have Phaser, Will Travel” First, let me talk a bit about what Frankenstein’s mish-mash of a game I’ve been playing, when opportunity permits. I’ve kind of talked about it before, but let’s discuss what we’ve got going on. The base game is For Gold and Glory, which is, in most respects, a clone of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Second Edition. Some terminology is changed, and some rules that were only found in accessories like The Complete Fighter or The Complete Thief were incorporated into the core rulebook. Along with that, the primary “overlay” is a Labyrinth Lord accessory called Rangers & Rabbits. Labyrinth Lord is a retro-clone of Original Dungeons & Dragons (with some changes & simplifications), and R&R changes the standard races to anthropomorphic animals – like in Disney’s animated Robin Hood movie. There’s lots of bits & pieces that are added & changed along with the species of the player characters, too. For example, R&R has Luck points, based on character size (small, medium, or large), that are rolled at the beginning of each game session. Because LL is based on Original D&D, and R&R is based on LL (and the Labyrinth Lord Advanced Companion, which uses makes the game more closely resemble AD&D First Edition), there’s a lot of First Edition-like rules mixed in, too… and we’ve added some, too. We also use house rules, both adapted from other RPGs (like the combat math system from Stars Without Number, discussed in previous issues) and ones that I’ve used in the past, like the “half or better” hit points for levels above first. When the character is leveling up, roll the hit die. If the result is less than half that what is possible, just use the half possible amount. For example, a cleric uses an eight-sided hit die (d8); if the cleric’s player rolls a d8 and it comes up two, than that cleric’s hit points go up by four (as half of eight is four, four is the minimum hit point increase). If, however, the player rolled a five, the PC’s hit points increase by five… and of course, this is modified by any race or constitution hit point modifiers.
Let me just say this about our R&R/FG&G/AD&D game: I’m having a blast, and wish we could play more often. Visit RPGNow.com, and download your copy of Labyrinth Lord, Advanced Companion, and Rangers & Rabbits. Okay, there’s one more game I want to discuss, and it’s one that’s not available yet: Starfinder. Once upon a time, the owners of the Dungeons & Dragons game decided to drop the then-current game engine (D&D 3.5) and Hasbro/Wizards’ of the Coast issued D&D 4th Edition (“4E”). Piazo, a company who had published Dragon Magazine and Dungeon Magazine, took the opportunity to publish an updated edition of 3.5, and they called it Pathfinder. Pathfinder is currently one of the most popular, if not THE most popular, fantasy RPGs. (So much so that even out here in the wilds of Wise County, the local public library hosts a Pathfinder game every month.) This year, in August, Piazo will be releasing a new science fantasy game based on the Pathfinder engine, entitled “Starfinder.” Instead of a standard science fiction space game, this will be firmly on the “fantasy” side of the coin. I’ve been following the pre-release information fairly irregularly, but it sounds interesting, with “four-armed aliens with laser rifles casting spells” and “wizards with laser guns.” In other words, this game will be closer to John Carter of Barsoom than to Star Trek, or even to Firefly. One of the goals of the system is to maintain compatibility with Pathfinder, so your Space Marine can fight dragons, trolls, and orcs. Starfinder is scheduled to launch with a single Core Rulebook, supported by supplements, accessories and Adventure Paths. The “downside?” Well, you know how much I like free RPGs? This ain’t one of ‘em. It’s available to pre-order for $59.99, at http://paizo.com/store/starfinder. I’m still very, very interested. Grab some dice, and let’s start killin’ some goblins – er, I mean bug-eyed space monsters … Sum non Satis? Commodore Tank Clark, SFMD Team Leader, 33rd STARFLEET Rangers (“The Paladins”) “Have Phaser, Will Travel” This month, we examine Warrior, Rogue and Mage. As attentive readers of this column may know, I enjoy all sorts of roleplaying games (RPGs), but I don’t exactly have lots of money. Free RPGs, therefore, are games that I enjoy checking out. As true of many of the games in my horde, I still haven’t played this one.
Warrior, Rogue and Mage is a VERY rules-light fantasy roleplaying game. Character generation is fairly simple and does not require rolling of dice. (By the way, the only dice used in the game are six-sided ones (d6’s), so if you want, just go raid your Monopoly set.) PCs (player characters) are defined by distributing 10 levels among three traits (the Warrior trait, the Rogue trait, and the Mage trait), choosing three skills (each provides a bonus of 2 to any relevant action), and talents (minor special abilities). Actions are resolved by rolling 1d6 and adding the appropriate attribute. One then compares the result to the gamemaster-set Difficulty Level (DL). DLs range from 5 to 13, with every 4 points above the target number improving the result. The three primary traits are used to derive the secondary traits: HP, Fate (luck points), Mana (used as spell points), and Defense. There are short lists of equipment, spells, and magic items. The very sparse setting includes a mix of magic and technology (dragon rifles), amid the ruins of an empire where golems were used for war and menial labor. As I mentioned before, this is a free RPG. You can download your copy (as well as game supplements) at http://www.stargazergames.eu/games/warrior-rogue-mage/ -- and I highly recommend doing so. Free is my favorite price. Grab some dice, and let’s start killin’ some goblins – er, I mean Fire Drakes … Sum non Satis? Commodore Tank Clark, SFMD Team Leader, 33rd STARFLEET Rangers (“The Paladins”) “Have Phaser, Will Travel” As October is traditionally a “spooky” month, let’s examine one of my older, “spooky” RPGs: Beyond the Supernatural (4th Ed, 1991) by Palladium Books.
Beyond the Supernatural (henceforth abbreviated BtS) was one of those games set in a world of mystical cults, demons, vampires, zombies, Things That Man Was Not Meant to Know, Elder Gods (like the Cthulu mythos of Lovecraft) and so on. As the game was written by Palladium Books, it uses a version of Palladium’s mostly-standardized game engine. Palladium had lots of RPGs back in the day, starting with their Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game and including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Rifts, Ninjas & Superspies, After The Bomb, the Robotech RPG; newer games by Palladium include Dead Reign RPG and Nightbane RPG. These share a standard set of game mechanics including character design methods, combat system, abilities, and so forth. As this particular book was published in 1991, the publishers made sure we all knew that this was JUST A GAME, to be taken no more seriously than Monopoly or checkers. To quote: “If you find yourself turning out lights and lighting candles, wearing a robe, casting spells or seeing spirits, toss this book out the window and talk to somebody quick. Talk to your Mom or Dad, a friend, a priest, a psychologist or someone who cares, because this isn’t normal. Remember, it’s just a game.” As was typical of RPGs of this time (goodness, twenty-five years ago!), BtS included a section on “How to play a role-playing game.” This discussed how to imagine the scene, how to interact with the gamemaster, how to interpret your character, and so forth. The book then launches into the RPG engine’s requirements (2d4, 4d6, 2d8, 2d10, and 2d20, plus the character sheets, pencils, and paper), a glossary, and then a step-by-step guide to creating a character. Character creation is not too difficult, but it is a fairly long process. One generates ability scores for eight abilities, then determines hit points and SDC (Structural Damage Capacity); next, you select a Psychic Character Class (PCC), occupation, education & skills, equipment & money, and finally you round out the character. Almost all of this is contained in various tables. Each PCC requires a different amount of Experience Points (XP) to increase in level, and each PCC has a very different outlook on the world – both of the “normal” world and of the supernatural world. There are even optional rules for “normal” (“ordinary”) people to be player characters, to replicate those types of stories where “Joe Blow” stumbles into something pretty bizzare. Choosing your PC’s PCC and occupation, then equipping the PC, is probably the most time-consuming part of character creation in BtS. Some characters (and creatures, and bad guys) use magic, and they do so in diverse ways… spells, rituals, natural abilities, etc. (The book continuously points out that magic isn’t real, just in case we don’t know that.) Others use various psychic, or anti-psychic, powers. Adventures in this game are fairly familiar to anyone who likes Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the X-Files, the stories of H. P. Lovecraft, Kolchak the Night Stalker, or other scary, weird, bizarre tales. Anything may happen, and the “bad guys” might be evil cultists, “Things From Beyond”, classic monsters like vampires or werewolves, or even Scooby-Doo type “monsters” (people disguising themselves as scary things in order to get away with being naughty). As in the Lovecraft stories, insanity is a constant threat – as is physical injury and/or death. As with many of the games in my RPG horde, I haven’t played this (even though I’ve owned the game for a quarter of a century). There are many reasons, in this particular case, but the primary two are (1) the system isn’t the easiest in the world, and (2) the genre has never been popular amongst the gamers in my RPG circle. Grab some dice, and let’s start killin’ some goblins – er, I mean Mind Slugs … Sum non Satis? Commodore Tank Clark, SFMD Team Leader, 33rd STARFLEET Rangers (“The Paladins”) “Have Phaser, Will Travel” |
Commodore Tank ClarkCommodore Clark has been the Team Leader of the 33rd STARFLEET Rangers for several years. His monthly articles about games (usually Role-Playing Games -- RPGs -- but sometimes about other tabletop forms of entertainment) appear regularly in the Regulator Charge!, the ship's newsletter. Archives
September 2017
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