Showing posts with label Retro-Clone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Retro-Clone. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Review: Mazes & Perils (2012)

EDITED TO ADD: There is a new version out, but I have not had a chance to read it yet.  I will get to it, sometime in the future.

My first experience with D&D was the Eric Holmes version of D&D Basic.  While I soon moved on to Moldvay and to AD&D 1st Ed, the Holmes edition holds a warm and fuzzy place in my gaming recollections. I know I am not the only one that feels this way. So anything that is done as an homage to Holmes I pay attention too.

So I was thrilled when I heard there was a "new" retro-clone that was an homage to the Holmes version of D&D.  That thrill quickly turned sour when a.) I couldn't get it any more and b.) I heard the author was the same one as the OSRIC fiasco about a year ago.  You can read the drama here as a retrospective:
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2011/09/osric-players-guide-retraction.html
http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2011/10/fool-me-once-shame-on-you-fool-me-twice.html
http://swordsandwizardry.blogspot.com/2011/10/copyright-and-osr-part-1.html

Fast forward to this year and there is a new Mazes & Perils out.  I was curious and more than a little skeptical about the game.  I want to give the game and the author, Vincent Florio, a fair shake. The OSRIC book was a copy paste job with some art that he didn't own and the first M&P was copy and pasted from Holmes.  But again, I never saw that first M&P and can only go on what I read.  So, I want to judge this new M&P on it's own merits.

First things first, obviously the name of the game is a nod to John Eric Holmes' book "The Maze of Peril" and I can respect that. If you are going to do a Holmes' homage or pastiche then that is a perfect name really.
Secondly, some others have complained about the art.  I rather like it to be honest.  The cover is very cool and the interior is no worse than what you would have seen in Holmes.
While this is an homage to Holmes I am not sure what I have here.

Taken as a retro-clone by itself it is not much different than Labyrinth Lord or Basic Fantasy RPG, except it is now quite as good as either of those.  M&P stops progression at level 9.  Which I kind of get, but there is not enough here to support an end-game style D&D, say the way Adventurer Conqueror King System does.
The rules are simple, as befits the times it is emulating.  There is some missing information in some areas (or not easy to find, which is just as bad really).  There are tables for STR, INT, CON and DEX but not for WIS or CHA. This is an artifact of Holmes, but M&P expands STR into the AD&D1 numbers, but still does not include these other tables.Some other oddities are the XP levels for Cleric and Magic User.  Some of the monster text is awkward to read.  There are various grammar errors that even I noticed, and I am terrible at that.

Taken as a "Holmes clone" it certainly does that, even to the point that they are little too similar in some respects.  There are some spots of the text that are nearly identical, including some text that is more similar to Holmes than OGC text that is essentially the same in LL and BFRPG.    Other differences from the source material has Elves, Dwarves and Halflings as races and not race/classes like Gygax/Holmes/Moldvay/Mentzer.   This puts it closer to BFRPG.

This is certainly a labor of love on the part of the author.  And as a Holmes fan myself I can respect that.
But I am left feeling that this is too close to the source material.  It even shares some of the shortcomings of the Holmes book.  I understand the desire, but to mimic the style, even to the point where some sections are not very clear, is not a good idea.  This is one of the reasons the Moldvay book was made, Holmes was a transitional project.  There are lot of places in Holmes that say "these are give in ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS".  M&P does not have that advantage.

In the end this still comes off as a collection of house rules added to Holmes and not really a "Holmes clone" or even a "Holmes what-if".   Plus I have the suspicion in the back of my mind that this is merely an edit of a Holmes cut-and-paste job.  I am sorry, but it's true.  If this had been the first effort of this author then I would give him the benefit of the doubt, but that went out with the second copy-pasta.  If you read LL or BFRPG you can see where their text came from; the SRD.  This text does not.

Mazes & Perils is a free product.  It has that going for it. It is also released under the OGL and has it's own compatibility license.  If you can't get a copy of Holmes on your own then this will give you an idea of what it is like, but it's not as good.

In the end it has too many flaws, both in terms of execution and design, for me to really get behind it.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Is the OSR Dead?

So I made some interesting, though not entirely new or unique, observations.

The OSR, as a Movement, is Dead.

This is the point of view of Tavis Allison who gave a talk about the OSR at Gen Con this past week.  Tavis has the street cred to back up his claims too, author of The Mule Abides blog and the Adventurer Conqueror King game system.

Though he has his reasons, I think I am looking at something slightly different.

I am not talking about the lack ENnies or even representation at Gen Con.
There was the the OSR Publications booth, which was great.

I am talking about the OSR as a movement.  If the stated goal* of the OSR was to get old-school style gaming back into the hands of gamers, then one only needed to go to the Wizards of the Coast booth and buy a copy of the 1st Ed AD&D books, or listen to their keynote address about the availability of older products, or go play D&D5.

(* lets be honest here, no one ever stated any goal of any sort)

If the goal was get products to go mainstream, well the OSR Publications booth was a good step in that direction.  George Strayton of the Secret Fire RPG was an industry guest of honor at this past Gen Con as well. Castles and Crusades (one of the earliest Retro Clones in my opinion) never seemed more popular.

So if the OSR as a mission was get "old school" products in the main-stream, then that goal has been met.

The movement then is dead. Why?  Well if the "R" mean Revolution, Revival or Renascence, then the goals have been achieved.   Old School is back.

The OSR as a community or even as a loosely affiliated publishing movement will live on.  Much like the Indie Press Revolution (who, to be perfectly honest, does everything the OSR could do and does it well).
There will still be sites and blogs that support old-school play.  They existed before the OSR movement and will (in some form) afterwards. 

I fear though that for many that the "R" stood for "Resistance" as in the alternative not because they liked old school play so much, but because they hated the "new school" of 4e or even 3.x.  Well for them I fear the battle wages on and it will never be won.  TSR is never coming back to life, WotC owns D&D and there are  many that enjoy the newer games.

In any case the OSR will change.  Not because it wants to, but because it will need to to stay relevant.

I will have to post on this topic more in a bit.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Witch Books, Part 4. The New Old

The New Old.  
These are new products to play old school style witches. Generally speaking these are all throwbacks to the Basic or First Edition days for games like Labyrinth Lord, OSRIC or any OSR game.

Classic Fantasy Review: Volume 1, Issue 2
This might be one of the first Old-School style witches that I purchased. In this supplement for OSRIC we get the Diabolical Witch.  A witch that gains her powers and spells from the various demon and devil lords.  Its a cross between a cleric and wizard, maybe with more emphasis on the cleric side of things.  The level progression is closer to the cleric than the wizard to be honest.  There are new spells, just a redistribution of current OSRIC spells.  They get a number of special powers, some make sense (clerical turning and shapeshift) others not as much (limited thief abilities).   A nice feature is how witches of different demon lords, devils get different powers.

Darker Paths 2: The Witch
I am always a bit hesitant to review other peoples work on witch-related classes since I have products of my own out there. I fear of being too critical or too lax, each to out weigh the other. In the end I think I just need to review the product as is. Like DP1: The Necromancer this product is for the "Adventures Dark and Deep" RPG, OR any other near-clone of AD&D. Also like the first Darker Path book this presents the witch as an evil character class; not the Earth loving priestess of old faiths or even the spiritual seeking witches of modern tales. This must be recalled when reading the rest of this book. These witches are more Baba Yaga and not Circe for example. There is the obligatory disclaimer on Contemporary Witches and how this game is not that. (As an aside, as someone that has written these myself this one does seem more of a disclaimer of "don't email me" rather than a "I am not trying to offend", but that could just be me. EDITED: I did get an email clarification on this and the author was very much in the "I am not trying to offend, but these are different things" camp, which is cool by me.)
Witches in this game are all evil and their main ability is Wisdom. Their Charisma must start high, but it degrades as the witch rises in level. Interesting. I am not sure I like that since it seems here that Charisma is used as an "Appearance" proxy and not as a "Force of Personality" one. It would make it hard to make a character like Circe, who was evil, attractive and had a lot of force of personality, as a witch in these rules. That is fine, she would have to be something else, but I do want to point it out.
Witches advance to 13th level; so reminiscent of the druid. She has a nice variety of spells to choose from (more on this) and there are rules for her brewing potions and poisons. Like other witches of folklore, this witch can also have multiple familiars. A nice touch in my mind.
The spells are the real gem of this book. Nearly 50 new spells there are a lot of classics here. There are spells on Candle Magic (and done differently than my own) and nearly every base is covered (curses, storm summoning, afflicting others).
Like with DP1, the art is a mix of new and public domain art, but all of it is appropriate to the feel of the book. In the end this is a very good evil witch class. It does make me wonder how the author might do a good witch.

ACKS Player's Companion: The Witch
This one is not out yet for the public, but I have seen the witch for it.  It was actually based on some OGC I produced a while back with some significant changes.  I didn't write it, but it has it's DNA in stuff I did write. So I have recuse from a proper review, but I will say this:  I like it a lot. It is compatible with my two other "OSR" witches but still covers new ground on it's own. At the same time is still new and fresh.

The Complete B/X Adventurer: The Witch
I have talked about the the TCBXA before, but I want to focus on the Witch class from it.
For starters the class works best if you also own the B/X Companion.

I have to play special attention to the witch.  Not just because it is a witch class, but because it is different than the other spell using classes.  For starters the witch can cast in groups to cast higher level spells. That is a nice feature really and something very much in tune with the archetypal witch.  The witch is the class in the book that is stated up all the way to 36th level AND built to gain powers to that point, also something I rather like.  Why?  Because a 36th level witch is the only class that can cast 10th level spells.  Yup.  This one goes to 10!

Crafting spells.  The witch does not memorize a spell, but she does have a limit on how many she knows.  The witch needs both a high intelligence (to know the spell) and a high wisdom (to learn and scribe it down in the first place).  So a first level witch with a high Intelligence knows 1+Int mod 1st level spells.  She can also scribe spells of 1st level + how ever many extra levels equal to her Wisdom mod.  I like it.  It is a nice quick way to know what can be done.  In fact I would like to use that for clerics since gods should know ahead of time what spells their flock need and then they just give them to the cleric at that time.

For the witch though I would reverse it.  Intelligence to write or scribe the spell and Widsom to know how many they can cast.  Witches are often called the "Craft of the Wise" afterall.   But all in all I like it.
10th level witch spells are nothing at all to sneeze at.  This is a powerful witch class.

The 10th level spells are a nice solution to the "Coven spells"/"Powerful magic" vs independent witches.  I can't see too many witch covens in groups.  Maybe two or three at a time.  With what JB has done here is given us a way to have powerful magics in groups at lower levels and keep those same magics out of the hands of solitary witches till much later.  This then does not make them a more attractive solution over Wizards/Magic Users.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Friday Links

It is the Friday before Gen Con.  While I am gearing up for some serious vacation time coming to me. I figure I'll send you out some link today.

First off, David from There's Dungeons Down Under is back, at least for 1 post.

Kenzer & Co are giving away HackMaster Basic for free!  Crazy I know.

The Kickstarter for Band of Zombies for All Flesh Must Be Eaten has 21 days left to go. Get in on the Zombie WWII goodness.  This promises to be a great book.

My boys and I have decided to start our 1st Ed AD&D game at Gen Con.  Seems fitting and I don't have to haul all my minis and maps with me.
But to do that I need character sheets.  While I have one of each type of the original AD&D sheets left, I didn't want to use them.  Good thing we have the Mad Irishman and his collection of RPG Sheets.

Happy Friday everyone!

Monday, July 30, 2012

OSR Monster project

Re-blogging this from Rended Press.
http://rendedpress.blogspot.com/2012/07/status-update-osr-ogl-blogosphere.html
As of today, the OSR OGL BLOGOSPHERE MONSTERS PROJECT has 26 entries.

I'll close the file sometime during the afternoon of August 1.

Remember: This is open to any creature you've posted on your blog at any point in 2012!

So come on, people. Do the cut & paste!

Note: Please only share material that you feel comfortable appearing in a half-assed, crazy, DIY fan compilation.
I have sent a couple of monsters in.   It would be nice to see some more!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

The Complete B/X Adventurer is Mine!

NOTE My updated review is here:
http://timbrannan.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-complete-bx-adventurer.html

I got my copy of the Complete B/X Adventurer in the mail yesterday.



It certainly lives up to it's hype and to it's predecessor the B/X Companion.
You don't need the B/X Companion to use this, but it certainly helps.

It reminds me a lot of the old Bard Games "The Compleat ______" books. That is a good thing in my book.

I will get a proper review up soon.  But here is the brief one.
I like it.  I like the witch class but the summoner might end up being my favorite.
Can't wait for the PDF so I can have it on my tablet.

Friday, July 6, 2012

OSR Links and Call for Editors

Here are some links and news for all OSR fans out there.

First, I want to repeat that Jason Vey of Elf Lair Games has a poll up.
http://elflairgames.blogspot.com/2012/07/contemplating-kickstarter.html

Howling Tower, the blog of long time vet Steve Winter has both an article up at Kobold Quarterly, http://www.koboldquarterly.com/k/front-page13022.php and listing of some of the best free OSR products, http://www.howlingtower.com/p/old-school-renaissance-resources.html.

Also we need some editors to expand this Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons_simulacrums

This article is about all the D&D clones, near clones and other such games we love in the OSR.
Please be sure to include any external and third-party refs.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

B/X Companion in PDF


One of the things I like most about the OSR are the products that don't give me things I already have, but things I have always wanted or never knew I needed.

B/X Companion is one of those products. (You can read all I have said about it in the past.)

Well it is now finally out as a PDF. Please stop by DriveThruRPG or RPGNow to get your copy.
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/103412/B-X-Companion?affiliate_id=10748&

So if you have been waiting for this one, her is your chance.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Are We Done with Retro Clones?

Mind you this is not a rant.

But are we done with Retro Clones?
Not playing them, but making them.

I enjoy the hell out Labyrinth Lord and Basic Fantasy.  Spellcraft & Swordplay is still a fave and there are others I want to try out more like ACKS, LL-Advanced and who knows what else.

But there is such a thing as market saturation and soon (if we are not already there or past it) we will have more games than our small market will allow.

So do we really need anyone making more clones?
Do we really need Version X of someone's house rules?

I suppose the only important answer is "yes, as long as there are people willing to pay for them."

Saturday, April 21, 2012

S is for Spellcraft & Swordplay

Continuing on with some of the games of the Old School Renascence I want to talk about my favorite game.
Spellcraft & Swordplay by Jason Vey.

Now, just I get this out of the way first.  Jason is a friend of mine and we worked on a lot of Unisystem games together.   Also I worked on a supplement for S&S called Eldritch Witchery that is due out soon.  That all being said I developed my opinion of this game long before EW ever was thought of.


 Spellcraft & Swordplay is not a retro-clone exactly.  It is more of a "near-clone" or as I often think of it as an alternate reality version of OD&D.

When D&D was starting out it grew out of the rules in Chainmail.  Using a d20 (twenty-sided die) was the "alternate" combat method that became the norm.  But the original combat method involved 2d6 (two six-sided dice), S&S (among other changes) explores that further.

There are other changes such as saving throws are made against the appropriate ability (which is not to far off to how 3rd or 4th ed does it) and there are no skills, but ability rolls.

So in many respects it is a much simpler game than the other clones.
I have written a rather long review here for the core book:
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_reviews_info.php?&reviews_id=57722&products_id=94105&affiliate_id=10748

I wrote that before I got the gig to write EW.  In fact I got the book, read it, reviewed and then convinced Jason to let me write EW.

If you are new to this sort of game or want to check it out then PLEASE give this a shot.  All you are two normal 6 sided dice, just like the ones in your Monopoly game to get started.

There is the core book, Spellcraft & Swordplay and a supplement, Monstrous Mayhem.
Both PDFs and print copies are on sale now. Plus if you buy the print copies you can get the PDFs for free.

I really can't say enough about this game. In fact here are my old posts about it.

Get it.  You can thank me later.


Saturday, April 14, 2012

M is for Mutant future

Yesterday I talked about Labyrinth Lord.  Today I want to talk it's sister game Mutant Future.

Mutant Future is not really a Retro-clone, near clone or anything like that.  The closest game game it is like is Gamma World.  Set in a post apocalyptic world, Gamma World has it roots in the dawn of the RPG age and D&D in particular. Filled with mutant animals, plants and humans of all sorts.
Gamma World was fun but it was not a game I played.  One of the reasons was it was close enough to D&D but far enough removed that my teenage self dismissed it as a lesser product.  Stupid I know.

Mutant Future not only doesn't have that issue (it is the exact same rules as Labyrinth Lord) but *I* don't have the same issues.  So Mutant Future then is a new game that feels like an old game that never really existed.

Mutant Future does have some differences from LL. The game is set in a post apocalyptic Earth like Gamma World. Characters can be an Android, synthetic, mutant animals, mutant plant, mutant human or the rare pure human, also like Gamma World. Abilities can go as high as 21 and there are a different set of saving throws, but the basic rules are the same.

So think Mad Max or better yet Adventure Time!
As I mentioned yesterday Labyrinth Lord + Mutant Future = Adventure Time!

Finn is a Pure Human, but everyone else is a mutant of some sort.  Including his magical shape sifting dog Jake.

Jake (for Mutant Future)

8th level Mutant Dog
Age: 26

STR: 15Energy Attacks: 9
DEX: 16Poison or Death: 8
CON: 15Stun: 10
INT: 12Radiation: 9
WIS: 13*Saves are very similar to LL
CHA: 15

AC: 6
HP: 52

Mutations:  Stretchy, Growth, Body Adjustment
Increased Intelligence (all dogs have this)

To Hit AC
-6-5-4-3-2-10123456789
201918171615141312111098765


Equipment: Viol,  picture of his girlfriend Lady Rainicorn

Well the game looks like it is a lot of fun, gotta try it with the boys now!

Friday, April 13, 2012

L is for Labyrinth Lord

Last Monday I talked about Basic Clones.

Today I want to focus on one of them since it will tie well into tomorrow's M post.

Today L is for Labyrinth Lord.

Again, what is a basic clone?  Well a basic clone is a new game, using new rules to emulate an older game.  In this case the rules are D&D from 2001-ish (called 3.0 or 3.5) to emulate "Basic" D&D from 1980-82.

Why would someone want to play a game that is 20 years old?
Well D&D Basic is long out of print.  D&D 3.x (the 2000s version) is a great game, but the complexity is also much greater.  D&D Basic is easier to learn, faster to play and perfect if you are teaching younger kids how to play.  But I can't buy copies of D&D Basic anymore.

I can buy Labyrinth Lord.

Goblinoid Games is the publisher of LL and in many respects could be considered one of the pioneers of the both the Retro-Clone game (their game GORE simulated Call of Cthulhu) and OSR (Old School Renascence).

Labyrinth Lord specifically is most like the B/X version of Basic, or the Moldvay, Cook/Marsh edited versions.  Which is great because that is the version I enjoyed the most and talked about last year.

You can get Labyrinth Lord in three different "Editions", though all work roughly similar.
Labyrinth Lord - the original.
LL: Advanced Companion - which sets out to emulate AD&D 1st Edition
LL: Original Edition Characters - which emulates the original D&D from 1974

All are compatible with each other, maybe more so than the games they try to emulate.

There is another game, Mutant Future, which uses the LL rules and is the subject of tomorrow's post.

But the one thing that occurs to me is this.  Since LL and Mutant Future do use the same rules, it gives you a chance to do some really weird things.  Actually the first thought I had was this "Labyrinth Lord + Mutant Future = Adventure Time!"


Adventure Time is a cartoon about a human boy named Finn and his magical dog Jake.  It takes place in the land of Ooo which seems to be a post-apocalyptic Earth.   The Dungeons and Dragons elements are all over the place including liches, gelatinous cubes, displacer beasts, dungeons, magic swords, Finn even calls himself a Paladin.   If that is not enough then check this out from Wizards of the Coast, http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4spot/20110408

The world of Finn and Jake is totally D&D...and Gama World.  So if we want one system to do it all it needs to be LL + MF!

Finn  (for Labyrinth Lord)
7th level Human Paladin (Fighter)
Age: 14

STR: 13 Breath Attacks: 9
DEX: 16 Poison or Death: 8
CON: 15 Petrify or Paralyze: 10
INT: 13 Wands: 9
WIS: 12 Spells: 12
CHA: 13

AC: 7
HP: 50

To Hit AC
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5

Sword +1, Backpack, Awesome Hat!

Monday, April 2, 2012

B is for Basic Clones

I was going to do Bunnies and Burrows today, but I wanted to stick a little closer to my home turf for this one.
BTW if you like, check out Bunnies and Burrows. It really is a classic and a piece of RPG history.

But today I want to talk about Basic Clones.
In the OSR (Old School Renascence) a Basic Clone is a game that emulates the rules of Basic D&D, or about the time frame of 1978 to 1984.  I talked about the D&D Basic Game last year and ACKS yesterday.  In fact I talk so much about it here it has it's own label, Basic.

D&D Basic was always my favorite system for quick and fast play.  D&D Basic has been long out of print and usually can only be found at places like Noble Knight Games or Ebay. So I was thrilled when the Basic clones began to come out.

Basic Fantasy is one of my favorites.  It is a simple game that covers the Basic D&D feel, but incorporates ideas from the later Advanced D&D game. Namely is splits up race (elf, human, dwarf) and class (fighter, cleric, magic-user).  In other words it was D&D like how I used to play Basic D&D anyway.  It is flexible, easy to use and totally free.

Labyrinth Lord is the biggest and arguably the most popular Basic clone.  It is closer to Basic D&D than BFRPG is, but for me it lacks a little of the charm.  Not to say that LL isn't great, it is and both lovingly sits on my shelf.

Dark Dungeons is another Basic clone aimed at emulating the old Rules Cyclopedia.  It is a good effort but feels a bit off to me.  Can't quite figure out why though.

Last year I also talked about the Companion rules. When the B/X version of Basic came out we were promised a book called the Companion rules that would take characters from 14th level to 36th level.  We did get one, but is was part of the BECMI version of Basic and thus not 100% compatible and you would have to be a HUGE D&D geek like me to even care about the differences. Or you have to be these guys, since they wrote their own.

B/X Blackrazor came out with his B/X Companion which I have talked about extensively here and is currently sold out. But it is a great book.

Another book is called the Companion Expansion by Barrataria Games.  It didn't get the same level of hype as the B/X Companion, but it covers much of the same ground.  I have not looked at them together to see how they cover similar topics, but they seem very compatible.  You can get the PDF of Companion Expansion for free at DriveThruRPG and a print copy for 16 bucks at Lulu.

My love for Basic D&D and the Basic clones is what prompted me to make my new witch book, The Witch, for Basic Era Games.  Look for that later this month!

Sunday, April 1, 2012

A is for Adventurer Conqueror King System

Welcome to the April A to Z blogging Challenge for 2012.
My name is Tim Brannan and this is my blog, The Other Side.  This month I am going to review Role Playing Games.  I am going to give you my opinions, overviews, reviews and maybe even some fluff or crunch.

For my "A" post I want to talk about Adventurer Conqueror King System.

ACKS (as it is also known) is what is known as a "Retro Clone", that is it takes a modern rule system (the d20 SRD) and make it emulate an older game.  In this case Basic/Expert era (1980-1982) D&D.  I discussed Basic D&D during last years A to Z challenge.

ACKS though is more than that.  Part of the game's premise is it has a definite beginning and end.  In game play characters are limited to 14th level.

Unlike other "Basic" retro-clones (like Basic Fantasy or Labyrinth Lord), ACKS also uses a skill system and complete rules for running and maintaining a kingdom of your own. Typically these kind of rules have shown up in later "Companion" rules.

Depsite the fact that there is nothing here I haven't seen before, I really like ACKS.  My son has been playing in a weekly ACKS game and I helped contribute to the Witch class in the upcoming Player's Companion.

Speaking of witches, my own witch classes from "The Basic Witch" and "Eldritch Witchery" are compatible with the ACKS witch.  You can use the same spells, traditions and magic with all three.  In fact having all three gives you a more complete class.

I have spoken about ACKS before here and here, but the one thing I haven't mentioned is that of the recent batch of retro-clones, ACKS is the best looking one.

Player's Companion promises to be very interesting and hopefully it will take the game to new areas.

Follow my posts for more games!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Tale of Two Games

It has been a busy week.

So busy that I have not had the chance to game (and next weekend is not looking good for that either).  I had a lot of things planned to talk about, to do.  Just none of those happened.

But one thing I do want to talk about, two games I just picked up. And really they could not be more different.

Adventurer Conqueror King System and Marvel Heroic Roleplaying

 

Let me talk about why they are similar first.
Both are highly praised games that have been well received by players and designers.
Both owe something of their popular due to the legacy of games produced by TSR in the 80s.
Both, now during the GMs sale, are under $10.   So for a Hamilton, you can get a new game.
I was eagerly waiting for both. Was slightly disappointed when I finally got them (expected more from one,

But there the similarities end.

Designwise, Adventurer Conqueror King System (ACKS) has defined beginning, middle and end.  Marvel Heroic Roleplaying (MHR) is open ended. In deed things on character sheet (Milestone) change as the game goes on. In the case of milestones, something that gave you experience last year, might not this year.

Greg, my friend and GM for myself and one of the games my kids play in described MHR as the "Antithesis" of the OSR, whereas ACKS is a synthesis of all the OSR embraces.

Character design in ACKS is straight-forward, roll your dice assign (in order) your scores.  Then see what you are going to be?  Rolled high in Strength? Congrats you are a fighter!  But don't worry about much else, in fact roll up four more characters, you might need them.

Character design in MHR starts with a concept, and a fairly well articulated concept at that.  Who is your hero, what does he do? How does he work in teams or with a partner? What are his goals, his issues?  Once you have that THEN you assign values to them, but in truth these values can be about anything.  It doesn't matter to MHR that the Hulk and Thor are both strong, we don't even need numbers for that.  If the hulk wants to pick up a tank and hit you with it, he does.  What matters instead is what motivates the Hulk to do that.  How does he perform in a group.  What are the things that are important to his story.

Character design then are two very different things in both games.  Given that overlap one could stat up the Howard version of Conan (from the books) and the Marvel Comics version of Conan, but come at it from completely different mindsets.   In ACKS we would be interested in his level (depending on when we read the tale), his strength and prowess with a blade.  When the Player's Companion comes out we might even be better able to mimic him.  In MHR we are interested in his ability to work in a team, partnership or solo.  We would also be interested in who his enemies are, what his goals are.   How close is he to regaining his throne? His loves?

On a personal note. It took Greg and I a couple of hours to detail Justice and Zatanna in MHR.  Earlier in the day he, my son and 4 other 12 year olds rolled up 5 characters each for ACKS.

ACKS is a D&D clone that attempts to mimic the great stories of the pulp age.  Conan rose to power from humble beginnings. As did John Carter and the Grey Mouser.

MHR is social game that attempts to mimic comic books, not supers games.  Comic book writers don't keep track of such things as how much can the Hulk or Spidey can bench press, only that they are as strong as they need to be for a particular scene.  MHR is the same way.  Can Spidey lift 1 Ton?  No idea, can he lift enough to save Mary Jane?  That is a more important question.

ACKS will run like any number of D&D games, but maybe a little grittier, a little more deadly.
MHR will run like any number of supers games, but while you might not ever die in this game, you can loose everything important to you.  Which is sometimes worse.

I guess there is one other area where the games are the same.
Both are great fun.

It took me a bit to see the value of each game.
After all I have tons of D&D clones and Supers games.  In the end it is not about what these games do that is the same as their "cousins", but rather what they do that is different.

ACKS is about the Short Game, or rather the game that is like a story with a beginning, middle and end.
MHR is about your hero and their story, their struggles and stress.  What makes them get up and keep fighting.  To me it is no wonder that the unofficial mascot of MHR is Captain America.  In fact I think I "get " Cap a little bit better now thanks to this game.

I normally would put a "Which Game Should I Buy" section here, but I won't.   I think you know already which one is right for you.  I say that you take the time to look at the other game too.

Please expect more detail on each game in the next week.

Friday, February 10, 2012

ACKS B/XC Or How I commit heresy with Adventurer Conqueror King

I just picked up Adventurer Conqueror King last night and sat down to read it just a bit ago.

I like it.  It is a solid Retro-clone, near-clone and actually does a better job than some of the other "core rules" clones on the market now.  I will get a proper review out later.

One of the things that people are drawing attention to is the fact that this is an "End Game" system.  Characters grow, mature and then move out of the dungeon into rulerships of their own.  It is not unique in that respect, it is in fact often compared to Mentzer BECMI but the comparison can also be made of it and D&D4.  All three have end games and all three have rules for how those end games can play out.

ACKS though caps most progress at 14th level.

This of course got me thinking.  At a hard stop of 14th level...it makes B/X Companion a perfect "expansion" kit!  Yeah, yeah I know, I am totally violating the spirit and intent of the game.  Won't be the first time or the last time.

I did some quick checks and while things don't line up perfectly, they are damn close. Obviously pulling from the same source material.

Both rulesets deal with the idea of creating a life outside of the dungeon, the oft-sited "now you can play like Conan!"  Well Conan can retire, I have characters and a multi-plane universe to explore!

Others though have mentioned that it meshes nicely with Labyrinth Lord.  I have not checked that out for myself yet.

Is ACKS worth it at $10?  I don't know yet.  It is nice. The art is great. AND this might be the most important one, of all the clones out right now (S&W, LL, BFRPG, DD, LotFP, S&S) this is the only one I feel is good for a new player; one that has never played an RPG before.  The rest assume some level of knowledge.  No surprise, they were written by gamers for gamers.  ACKS I feel was written by gamers for non-gamers or even near-gamers.  Gamers too, but I think we have demonstrated that we will buy anything.

So who is up for an ACKS + B/X Companion campaign?

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Sir Gannon, the Gold Knight

I normally don't mix my professional day-to-day job with my gaming or blog writing,  but I was on campus recently and this thought came to me.

So here is a character you can steal for your game.

Sir Gannon, the Gold Knight
There is a small hamlet on the shores of a large lake in the Land of Penn that has known peace for nearly three generations.  The land has had a history of great war, the Burg of Getty in east still sees the ghosts of long dead warriors from their bloody battles there. Even the home of the King in the Burg of Harris is constantly prepared for war and many of the best warriors come to this town to learn the arts of combat.   But these towns do not have the one thing that has insured peace of small village of Erie.
They are not the home of Sir Gannon, the Gold Knight.

Gannon began, and many say remain to this day, a modest man of simple means.  He inherited his father's castle at a young age.  While he could have been content with the life of a land-owner he instead began his trainning for the priesthood.  He spent long hours in quiet meditation, prayer and scholarship.  His studies began early as a child and continued long past what others had done into his manhood.  He turned his father's castle to a place where all could come and learn as he had done to make their lives better or just to satisfy an intellectual hunger.  He only asked that help contribute to the town, and embrace his values of good over evil, charity over greed, and lawfulness over chaos.  Some said he was naïve of the world and even old-fashioned, but Gannon knew better, he simply wished for a peaceful, quiet life.
Gannon would have been at peace, but peace was not offered to him.  His land was plagued by foul undead, goblins and fell spellcasters.  Reluctantly he took up the sword and defended the people that had come to learn from him.
He doned the only armor he had available to him, his father's magical gilded platemail and he met the challenges.  For years Sir Gannon defended his lands.  He always meant to exchange his armor for something less ostentatious, but his renown had grown.  While not vain, he knew that the stories of "The Golden Knight" were often enough to persuade evil men and creatures to find spoils elsewhere. Plus the sight of his gilded armor on horseback was a welcomed and reassuring sight to those he defended.

Though now the great Sir Gannon is old and there are few willing, or able, to take up his cause.

Here is the great Sir Gannon as a Spellcraft & Swordplay Paladin (Warrior Elite-path).

Sir Gannon, The Gold Knight
Paladin 10th level
Strength: 16
Dexterity: 13
Constitution: 11
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 17
Charisma: 18
HD: 10+7 (60 hp)
AC: 12 (magical Field Plate and shield)
Attacks: 8+6
Special: +2 to Con-based saves (+4 total), Combat Style Mastery: Mounted Combat +2, Healing touch 20hp per day, +2 to all saves, disease immunity, detect and dispel evil, Holy Sword +3 ("Aggredior"), Holy Mount ("Charger").

Sir Gannon has recently taken on a young squire to aid him.  Del is not a knight, but he will to aid the Gold Knight and that makes up for his lack of combat skill.
Bards are an elite path found in Monstrous Mayhem.

Del, his squire
3rd level Bard
Strength: 11
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 12
Charisma: 16
HD: 2+2 (11 hp)
AC: 3 (magic leather)
Attacks: 2+1
Special: Favored Abilities (Indigence, Charisma) +1, Open Locks +3, Trapsmith +3, Pick Pockets +4, Stealth +4, Perception +2, Expert Linguist, Climb, Vital Strike, Uncanny Dodge, Lore +1,  Prestidigitation

Currently Sir Gannon and Del are perusing what they believe to be a coven of evil witches.  They are in fact Succubi.  The Succubi though have no greater plans than to stir up some trouble and maybe claim a couple of souls, or at least enough gold to move on to the next town.  They were summoned by an old warlock that died before he could send them back and now they are running free.  They have taken false names to hide their True Names.

Succubi, witches and warlocks all appear in Eldritch Witchery.

"Sabrina", "Raven" and "Destiny"

AL: E
SZ: M
AC: 7
Move: 90' / Fly: 120'
HD: 6 (25)
Attacks: Claw/Claw/Special (2 dagger-2)
Special: Fly 120', Energy Drain (kiss), Darkvision, Dominate, Magic Resistance (fire), Immune to mundane weapons
Treasure: 6
XP: 345

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Going back to School with Spellcraft & Swordplay

I was over at my regular DM's house this weekend helping get his new router up and running.  He mentioned that he wants a new fantasy game to run at the high school.  He is a high school football coach and he runs the D&D group.

I had just gotten a couple of copies of the Spellcraft & Swordplay core rules from Drivethru's Print on Demand service and I gave him a copy to try out.  Well he came back to me says he going to give it a try with his group.



You can read his blog here, http://rhoninsramblings.blogspot.com/2011/10/kids-in-agc-have-requested-fantasy-game.html, and check on his group's progress.

I am glad to see this game getting some more love!


OSR Publisher's List, Graphical Guide

There is a rather impressive list of many of the Old School products over at Dargon's Foot.

http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=51024

I suggest having a look!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Dracula: Spellcraft & Swordplay

I think it would be awesome to run a total old school dungeon crawl in Castle Dracula.  Not Castle Ravenloft, with it's puzzles and puns.  Castle Dracula.  It would be a blast.
And what better system to do it with than Spellcaft and Swordplay?

Anytime I stat up a character for S&S I have to ask myself the question, could this guy go toe to toe with Conan?  Sort of like what I did with Red Sonja.

Vlad Dracula
Warrior Vampire Lord

AL: E
SZ: M
AC: 4
Move: 90'
HD: 15 (54 hp)
Attacks: 2 claws (short sword), 1 bite OR 1 weapon as a 15th level warrior (8 + 6)
Special: Fly 40', Climb 40', Blood Drain, Animal Empathy (Improved; Rats, bats, wolves), Dominate, Spawn (Blood or Energy drain), Energy Drain (bite), Alternate Form (bat, wolf, incorporeal gas, improved), Resist electricity, Immune mundane weapons, Vulnerable sun, fire, holy water (treat as 2d6 acid), +2 to all Con based saves.
Treasure: 9
XP: 2400
S: 24 D: 18 C: 18 I: 15 W: 15 Ch: 17

This incarnation of Dracula is the Transylvanian warlord with vampire powers to make him far more brutal than he ever was in life.  He will be surrounded by an army completely loyal to him, though only human, not vampire.

As per the Vampire, Dracula is immune to sleep, charm and hold spells. He may summon 10-100 rats (5-20 giant rats), 10-100 bats (3-18 giant bats) or 3-18 wolves (2-8 dire wolves). Dracula may shapechange into a large bat or wolf, but his hit points remain unchanged. Dracula may also regenerate 5 hit points per round as long as he has fed.