Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Class Struggles: The Invoker (4e)

Taking an odd turn today and looking at a 4th Edition class.

One of the nice things about 4e was the number of class choices. There were dozens, if not not scores, of classes.  4e popularized the notion that each class has a role; Leader, Controller, Defender and Striker to roughly correspond to the classic four classes of Cleric, Wizard, Fighter and Thief respectively.  There are also areas of power, Divine, Arcane, Martial, Primal and Psychic.  For the game it worked well and there was a lot of interesting class choices that were based on role and power choice.

The Invoker has no precedent and no update (so far).  It first appeared in Player's Handbook 2 for the 4th edition and it is described as a Divine controller than channels raw divine power.  In a way this makes them the divine counterpart to the Wizard; an arcane controller.
It could be described as the "Fist of the Gods".

What makes the Invoker an interesting choice is not just it's role, but the fluff text that goes along with it.  So an Invoker would worship or honor a god as part of the whole pantheon.  The examples given state an Invoker of Bahamut would also likely honor Tiamat.  Invokers are all shown worshipping older gods; not Old Gods or even Old Ones...but the first gods that are still worshipped today.

In fact most invokers would be the tireless enemy of any "Old Ones".  In the 4e fluff they are described as the human/mortal agents of the Godswar vs the Primordials.  Replace that with Titans, or Old Ones or even demons and you get the idea.

What strikes me most about this class is how well it could be added to any old-school or 5e game.
In 1st/2nd Ed it would be a sub-class of the cleric.  The invoker can turn/rebuke undead like a cleric and it also has access to divine spells.  Of course you could make an invoker easy enough with good role-playing and a conscious choice to take damage dealing spells and limit yourself on the healing magic.  Since invokers are much more of a "kill them all and let the gods sort them out" type of holy warrior I would also say that Raise Dead, Resurrection and Reincarnate are out of the question.

For their spell lists. Well the powers/spells in the 4e PHB2 are very colorful; Blades of Astral Fire, Glyph of Imprisonment, Cascade of Five Suns.  Most do damage based on Wisdom modifiers (which in 4e includes level).  If I were to create an old-school Invoker I would give them some invocation spells from the wizard's list.  Not more than 1 or 2 per level though.  I would make sure they had plenty of damage causing spells they can do from a distance.   Plus the spells all need to have very grandiose names, such as "Righteous Fury of 10000 Blazing Suns" or "Wrathful Vengeance of the Plough God" (Plough god?  Yeah, think about how important agriculture, growing and food was/is to people).  These are not hippy clerics of the "God is Love" type, these are the Old Testament, destroying people in a genocidal flood types.

The closest thing Pathfinder has to this concept is the Inquisitor. While their missions are the same, the invoker is believed to have a piece of divine power instilled in them while the inquisitor is all too mortal.  Still though there are some good ideas for some more spells on the inquisitor spell lists.

I think the reason I like the invoker so much is that it really is how I always liked to play to some clerics.  I have played several clerics over the years. First first character was a cleric of the "investigate and destroy evil" type.  I have played a number of paladins as well.  In fact my 3.x edition one was known as "The Fist of Pelor".
This class appeals to me as another sort of cleric. One that is more action and dealing damage than one that is contemplative and healing damage.

Plus I forgot how much fun some of the 4e stuff really is.  There is a lot going on in this game and it is a shame it will be tossed aside as a failed experiment.

BTW +Jonathan Becker has been running a series of posts on his thoughts of 4e. If you have played the game it is interesting to see it through the eyes of someone experiencing it for the first time.  If you have never played it then it is worth your time.  He has not gotten around to the invoker yet, but I am curious to see what he has to say.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

2015 October Horror Movie Challenge

I so look forward to this every year, but this year I think I am going to fall a little short of my goals.
Busy time at work and with projects means less time to enjoy some horror.

So this years theme will be "Attacks of Opportunity".  That is, I will watch movies as the come on or as I get access to them.  The nice thing is this year I have Netflix in addition to my Amazon Prime.  So I do have many more choices.  Plus I have a stack of DVDs laying here that need to be watched.

Normally hosted by Krell Laboratories I think offical hosting is now covered by the Facebook group.



Monday, September 28, 2015

What Is Your Holy Grail Item?

As gamers I think there is a little bit of a collector in us all as well.
After all we all came into this hobby at different points so different things were "rare" or "must have" to us at different times.

Well I finally picked up one of those items I have been searching for for a while.
The AD&D 1st Ed Monster Cards.


I know these have been on eBay many times.   BUT these were still in their shrink wrap.


Yes I opened them.  I am still much more of a gamer than a collector.

Each one of these is a little work of art, it would be a shame to not enjoy them.

This collection was always one of my "Holy Grail" items.  Not because of it's significance to the game or even my own games, but because of the rarity.

I would pass by these little decks in the bookstores back in the 80s and think to myself "oh I'll get those next time."  then there wasn't a "next time" (lessoned learned there kiddies).

For the longest time I never could find these.  Plus I wanted to get a complete set of all four and I wanted to make sure they were in good shape.

Well these came along and I couldn't say no. Not after all this time.

What is your "must have" item? What have you been searching for to complete your collection?

Friday, September 25, 2015

Friday Night Videos: Long Live the Queen!

Not really 100% yet, but I am sitting here at home reading through some witch material for Strange Brew. Which also has me thinking of my War of the Witch Queens adventures.

So I think then is a very good night for one of my favorite groups ever.  Queen!

Queen might not be the first band you think of when you think about RPGs, but I played the hell out my Queen tapes back in the day.  So lets start with some good game-mood setting songs.

Not a lot of talk tonight. Just music.

Since this is a Queen mix I always begin with "Let Me Entertain You" from Jazz.



Here is "Dragon Attack" from their first 80s album, The Game.
Ok I am pretty sure the song is about heroin and not actual dragons.




"Ogre Battle" was always one of those songs that painted a very cool picture for me.  So much so that when it came time to do an epic battle in my game the army was full of ogres.  From 1974's Queen II. If you really want some music, listen to the first three Queen albums.  Freddie was a lyrical god.




From the same Album is the short, but mystical, "Seven Seas of Rhye".  Both songs were later sampled on Queen's own The Works album 10 years later.




Speaking of The Works, one of the best songs on the album is "Hammer to Fall".  Played at the first Live Aid nobody had ever heard it before and Freddie got everyone to sing along.  That's showmanship.




A Kind of Magic might have been one of their biggest albums.  At least in terms of over the top theatrics.  "Princes of the Universe" was something a of D&D anthem or least for our characters.  Yes, this is the song from Highlander.




"I Want it All" is another anthem from a now dying Freddie. I am not trying to be maudlin here, Freddie's death really shook me.  Another "character" anthem it is easy to relate to the "adventure seeker, on an empty street."  From The Miracle or as friends of mine working at EMI at the time used to say "it will be a miracle if it sells".




The connection to gaming and this next song is thin at best.  But I don't care. The album Innuendo was Freddie's good-bye to us all. Who else gets to write their own Requiem?   The title track is epic as anything he ever wrote in the 70s or the 80s.  Musically it is the flip side of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and it is as good as a send of as anyone should hope for.   Plus a ground breaking video from a bad that HATED doing videos.  You can see clips from previous videos in this one as well.



Long live the Queen!

Another Sick Day....

Still not 100% so I am taking another sick day today.

Hopefully I will be up for Friday Night Videos.  Unless of course someone wants to "Guest VJ" for me tonight!


Thursday, September 24, 2015

Question of the Day: Anyone run/play a fight against Orcus

Still feeling pretty sick today.

But I was looking over some of my adventures I have laying around and I noticed a theme.

For 1st Ed I have the Bloodstone Wars modules.
For 3rd Ed I have a bunch of stuff from Necromancer Games.
For 4th Ed I have the HPE series of nine modules.
And now for 5th ed I have Into the Abyss.

What do they all have in common?

Looking pretty damn scary in his new 5e form.

Well, in the broadest terms they all deal with destroying the Demon Prince Orcus.
(ok 5e is about all demons)
Or at the very least stopping his machinations.

I mean, I get it. Orcus is the most metal of all the demon lords.

Back in the day we gleefully killed him in H4 Throne of Bloodstone.  I was looking forward to doing it again under 4e in E3 Prince of Undeath.   So there is an allure.

So how about you all?
Did you ever run/play a game where the PCs went after Orcus?

If yes, what adventure did you use?
If no, would it be something you would consider?

Bonus question.  Why doesn't Demogorgon get any of this attention?

Orcus Links (I have talked about this before)

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Class Struggles: The Bard

Spend any time here and you will know I am very fond of music.  So it should also come as no shock that one of my favorite classes is the Bard.   I loved the old 1st Edition Bard. It's wonky class structure and having to be a fighter then a thief (or was it the other way around).  Then finally top it all of with druid magic.

The Bard was the class I was also looking most forward to in 2nd Edition.  It also was one of the biggest disappointments of 2nd edition for me.  The class seemed to have lost some of it's charm, sure it was still fun to play but not the same.  I doubt that I was alone in that feeling, the Bard seems to be the one class that keeps coming up in various OSR games in one form or another.

So many in fact that I am not going to try to tackle them all.  But here is a glimpse of what I know has been done.  Let's start with +Richard LeBlanc who has had a lot to say on Bards recently.

Richard LeBlanc, over at Save vs. Dragon
http://savevsdragon.blogspot.com/2015/08/new-bx-character-class-bard-version-i.html
http://savevsdragon.blogspot.com/2015/08/new-bx-character-class-bard-version-ii.html
http://savevsdragon.blogspot.com/search/label/bard
and to be featured in the Character Class Codex.
http://savevsdragon.blogspot.com/2015/08/cx1-character-class-codex-update.html

Richard LeBlanc has given this class a lot of thought and energy.  His Version I has more thief skills, his version II has more magic.  I think in the end I prefer his version II Bard.  I tend to like a magical flair in my Bards.
This bard switches between lead, rhythm and bass guitar.

Adventurer Conqueror King System
A Basic-era sort of Bard. This is a "campaign class" or something beyond the "Basic 4".  This particular bard takes advantage of ACKs skill system, but lacks any spell power.  It's a good class, but I would see it a more of a wandering Loremaster.

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea
Quick note. I love the spiral bound AS&SH books.  Makes it very to have the book open and lay it flat.
The Bard of Hyperborea is a subclass of the Thief and has a number of interesting things going for it.  For example like LeBlanc's Version II, it can cast both Druid and Illusionist spells. A really nice touch.  It has the countersong of 3.x's Bard. Like most bards it also has a folklore ability.  What might be the neatest addition to the bard is it's ability to Mesmerize.  So there is you Pied Piper and Erich Zahn right there.  The bard of ACKS plays a well crafted lute. The Hyperborean bard plays a flute carved from the legbone of his former master.  He didn't kill his master, but he was there when he died.

Barrel Rider Games
James over at BRG has given us a number of Bard-like classes.
The Bard - This Bard is a full 20 level class. Like the Bards in other games they have the ability to perform with musical instruments and they have some thief abilities as well. These bards though do not have magical spell abilities. This bard plays acoustic guitar.
The War Chanter - What the Bard is to humans and the Greensinger is to Elves the War Chanter is to Dwarves. In addition to being fighters the war chanter also has some powers "Songs" that they can use to aid others. If you are playing a Basic-era game and have more than one player that wants to play a dwarf, have one choose this. It is a pretty interesting class and one that would make good use out a larger group of characters.  This one obviously plays the drums.
The Greensinger - The Greensinger is something akin to an elvish Bard/Druid. Greensingers get some special abilities and can cast spells like that of a cleric/druid. The idea is a rather cool one and frankly I wanted more. This is the lead singer of the group.

The Complete B/X Adventurer
This Bard is of the "loremaster" type with some magical effects to his music.  This bard is interesting since it also allows for the bard to learn more languages as part of his leveling up.  I rather like that.  This bard plays second hand string instrument that he bought with the first few coppers he ever saved.  He can now afford better instruments, but there is too much love in that old one for him to ever let it go.

A Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore
Again, this might be the closest we will ever know of an official Gygaxian 2nd Ed Bard.  Having reread a lot of material on the Bard from Dragon magazine back issues I am confident that this is very much like what we would have gotten.  These bards use their own spell lists and have their skills in addition to Verbal Patter.  They also have a Lore ability.  So this one covers all the bases pretty well.
This bard plays a complicated 12 string guitar; hard to master but beautiful to listen to.

Fantastic Heroes & Witchery
This is a Loremaster type of bard with plenty of skills and the ability to play a counter song to disrupt magic.  With their legend-lore, gather information, persuasion and stealth skills this bard also makes for an excellent spy.  This bard can also inspire allie and bolster troops.  No spells, but the ability to read scrolls is nice. This bard plays a violin, viola, or a lyre.  Actually this bard plays them all.

Spellcraft & Swordplay: Monstrous Mayhem
While for the Spellcraft & Swordplay game this Bard will work with any rules that also has a thief class.  The bard is an "elite path" of the thief. Something like a subclass.  This bard has singing/performing ability that has some magic associated with it. Thief skills and lore.
This bard plays the bass.

In any case whatever bard you choose for your games they need to be cool. They are the face  of the party. The sly silver tongued devil that gets the party the best room in the inn, the best food and finds out where the real adventures are.

Conceivably you could run a party with nothing but bards. Load up on heal potions, some scrolls and send them on their way.  Hopefully they don't end up looking like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96A0uyFWQHs

And just because I have a lame excuse to post a Lindsey Stirling video.