Retro Post: The Party Game

I kind of stumbled on this link a little while ago, and it reminded me that I'd written about the notion of making a D&D party game a couple of years ago. I posted something on the Paizo messageboard, and they did not think well of the idea (yeah, 3e grognards enbracing a simpler game).


Pathfinder RPG: The Party Game

I just got back from a low-key, work-related party, which featured a party game.  I just suddenly had the thought, "Would it be possible to make an RPG party game?"

Okay, after everyone finishes spewing their Mountain Dew on their computer screen.

Really though. I haven't thought all this out (obviously) and may post more later, but I thought throw this out now and try to get some ideas.

Please don't post, "Go play 4e!"

The party game would need really quick, easy character creation, but with plenty of choices and some character variation. Combat would also have to be really simple, quick, concise, and definitive. It would also likely need to work without miniatures and a grid map, so heavy battlefield tactics would be discouraged. There would need to be character social interaction rules, but they should be quickly resolvable with a dice roll, on the assumption that people at a party are not going to want to heavily get into character (unless they've been drinking heavily).

Actually, these rules need to be learnable and playable by people who may be half-drunk, so also all record keeping for characters, monsters, and NPC's needs to pretty simple as well. In a similar vein, characters will probably need some "fate-like" points that can be played, in case they do something dumb in the first encounter that would otherwise get them killed.

I haven't played or seen any of the Pathfinder Society scenarios, but from what I've heard, this might be the kind of adventures that might work in this kind of setting. Something that could play inside of four hours, give the players a more than reasonable chance of success, no "shopping at the bazaar" during the adventure, just straight-up adventuring (fighting, parleying, puzzle solving), and a clear objective. Consider all these games to be one-shots, no leveling up.

Characters would be created at the appropriate power level for the adventure. Perhaps the idea of levels could be dispensed with altogether in some fashion.

Bottom line. Paizo creates "Pathfinder RPG: The Party Game" edition, a small softcover book. And then sells lots of easy to run, scenario pdf's for the game on their website. They make lots of money and RPG's become a mainstream, fad rage at parties everywhere.

[Boy, was that a weak ending.  I deserved whatever derision I got just for that last paragraph.]

To be continued.

Retro Post: 4e Might Be Right Continued

Previously.

[If you're actually reading these Retro posts, you are truly hardcore.  I salute you (and question your tastes).]

3e set the tone. The D20 mechanic really is an improvement in playability over older versions. Right up until you add in a bunch of modifiers, which are very hard to keep track of. Skills and feats are the ultimate in customizability and useless time wasting in character creation, advancement, and actual play. The worst aspect is that the player now plays a China Doll. After all the time that the player has put into creation and maintenance, the DM dare not kill them out of hand.

Bang, you’re dead! That’s Old School. You know what, it’s wrong. People get into this to indulge in an heroic fantasy, not an historical one. You play dumb and get your character killed, too bad. Your character goes down in a pitched battle with the big villain or protecting the helpless from a hoard of Orcs, you can write a ballad about it. “Ooops. The random encounter with the giant rats has overwhelmed the entire party. TPK. Okay, everybody roll up new characters.” Nobody plays the game for that thrill, not even the most sadistic DM.

The reliance on minis and mats, the craftsmanship involved in making up a character, and the unwieldy nature of creating and using NPC’s and some monsters has had a largely unrecognized effect on the 3e and 4e game. DM improvisation, players taking adventures of the rails, and random encounters are almost play styles of the past. Encounters have to be set up and planned to some extent in any version. 3e and 4e encounters require so much set up, that even the players understand that if they go “rogue” in an adventure, there may not be any encounters. Both version have made some attempt at making encounters “easier” to create and more “play balanced” for the party. The amount of effort expended in following those formulas and in playing them out, ensures that there will be few of them and they will be virtually mandatory if there'’ going to be any adventure.

Since characters are had to replace, if the dice have fated that they’ll die, it’s got to be meaningful. So no random encounters. That’s okay. As established, encounters are hard enough to make and mandated to the point that players can’t do whatever and DM’s can’t BS encounters in reaction. This sort of short circuits the current en vogue play style of Old School, the sandbox. This is where the DM does large amounts of prep work for an adventure setting and then the players immediately head straight off the map. How is this different than any other Old School game? In a larger sense, there isn’t any. For all the extra work, even if the players go along, the DM will still be improvising the whole session and each succeeding one. Over prep and under prep, the worst of both worlds. The properly run sandbox is essentially the DM playing by himself in a setting without the characters when the players aren’t looking.

As stated before, in 4e player choices amount to either engaging the DM’s planned encounters, or not having any encounters. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The typical low level, nearly helpless Old School characters getting wiped out by random encounters, while trying to figure out where to play in the sandbox, isn’t fun for anyone except the most cautious (and tedious or lucky) players. People are exhorted to be cautious in real life enough. Time to find some glory!

By contrast, low level 4e characters are nearly indestructible, assuming the recommended play balanced encounters. They’re not going to be able to take out Orcus, but it’s going to take a couple of rounds for him to kill them. The encounters and adventure will be mapped out well in advance. Player decisions will basically be all tactical. But they will look good and probably feel pretty superheroic cleaving through their opponents. Of course the trade off for this are fight scenes that play out like an epic paper cut death match. There might be a few too many hit points in 4e.

4e has also done away with having to stock the dungeon with treasure. By giving the characters whatever they want as long as it’s level appropriate. This strikes me a singularly lazy or alternately an almost complete dismissal of the DM and his role. May as well go play a board game or a computer game and finish the deal. Skill challenges essentially abrogate the role of the player, their thinking and role playing.

Collectible card gaming is slowly being worked into 4e, prototyped in Gamma World and now an optional accessory. Between that and the heavy emphasis on combat rules with battle mats and minis, official D&D seems more like a tactical strategy game than an RPG. Along with the lack of improvisation and simple character creation, little wonder fans of previous versions of the game don’t consider it real D&D. Even with some similarity to 3e, Pathfinder fans find 4e taken to too much of an extreme, without the game flexibility benefit.

But 4e gets it right in some areas. Powers and monsters are precisely defined (even if those powers all seem to involve moving pieces on a board like chess). Characters are built to heroic proportions. Adventures are designed to let them shine and eliminate nonsense and filler encounters.

Hard (not vague) rules that are easy to use. Characters that are tough and simple to create, play, and advance. Adventures that force the players to think and make decisions, but are free of fluff encounters. Settings that start small and grow via adventures played, not giant pre-made constructs. It’s hard to say if RPG’s are getting closer to something more mainstream acceptable. Or if the next official version of D&D will be a hobby fetish mess mandating minis, cards, and online content. Ooops. Already there. WOTC’s made their choice with the IP. We’ll see where Old School and Paizo take their games.

Retro Post: 4e Might Be Right

[No dancing around it.  This sucker rambles on for a while (and on to another post).  Not sure when I wrote this one either.  Again, I think it still has some (albeit dated) value.]

Notice how most people who don’t play 4e, don’t call it D&D? The brand may start to disintegrate into tribalized factions: 4e, Pathfinder, Old School. All of them D&D. None of them the true heir. What I mean is that the market has never matured. (Some of the players have, though perhaps not emotionally.) RPG’s are still more hobby than game. Meaning, you can’t just take the box down from the closet and play it on a rainy afternoon.

Players might take this as a feature rather than a bug. I would never advocate for doing away with DM’s and players producing reams of useless background material for adventures as long as people are enjoying themselves. What I’m talking about is people who don’t want to spend large amounts of their free time preparing for the game. Certainly D&D has been around long enough and been popularized by online RPG’s to the point that most non-tabletop players implicitly get the concept.

Why isn’t there a mainstream version of the game? Something along the lines of having pre-made or mix and match powers characters with pre-made adventures (with multiple options for encounters) that can be played in two to three hours. The rules would have to be rock solid and simple to learn (that is they keep the math to a minimum, like only one modifier per roll). There can still be a hobby version. More options and details, with about the same rules.

Characters can advance from adventure to adventure by a simple general enhancement or new characters could be used just for each adventure. Adventures can be modules, made up by the DM, or even randomly rolled. (Imagine a book of pre-made encounters and options.)

4e has taken D&D the closest to this possibility. The rules of the game are as clearly defined as they’ve ever been (except for skill challenges). It has only fallen down in that the game exclusively appeals to hobbyists. It is still filled with a bewildering array of character choices and options. That’s for the RPG’er, but a hard sell to the non-gamer. Would you play Monopoly if you had to spend any time rolling up and building your piece?

To play 4e you need at least three hardbacks. It is somewhat implied you need the others, along with minis, mats, and other physical pieces. Essentials trims to two softback books (maybe three), along with minis, mats, and other physical pieces. Either way it’s a substantial investment for someone who isn’t already a player.

Essentials was an attempt at building a simpler game. However, it’s still totally compatible with the full version, therefore making it functionally just as complex. While it makes characters easier to build and play, they still work and progress in the same fashion as regular characters. In short, I don’t know who this version of the game was written for. It’s less options for the gamer, while still too complex for the non-gamer.

Perhaps Essentials was only a further gouge of the hard core gamer, who is buying it for the rules update. And there are two more reasons for the non-gamer not to buy into D&D: constant mandatory updates (and the always impending threat of the new version) and having to pay for them. This segues into the worst problem of 4e in terms of new players, having to buy a subscription to the website. Oh no, it’s certainly not mandatory. You can make up a new character by hand. You don’t have to have the rules updates. Sort of. That experienced players turn to the character builder to create and advance their characters is a pretty harsh indictment. Essentials may make it easier to create, but not so much advance. The rules updates are for geeks, who you’re inevitably going to run into when you’re playing (or you are one). Since they have the rules to back them up, everyone has to go along with them.

As an aside, this is something of an improvement over 3e. You had to do your math yourself there. If there was a bunch of rules updates you’d have to buy a whole new set of books called (.5). It’s hard to fault WOTC for exploiting gamers, given their willingness to shell out for half-ass new versions of the game.

Continued.

Baseball Journal 6-9-13

The Chicago Chamber of Commerce is clearly in charge of the weather this weekend. The blimp refuses to the leave the city and continues to orbit over sporting events. Today, it was the Cubs playing the Pirates. Len and JD spent the early innings talking about New Hampshire baseball players and Edwin Jackson’s new shoes. They were wondering how long a pair of shoes lasts for a major leaguer these days. I’d say given the amount of time most players spend on the DL, probably an entire season. There was a fight in the stands between two little kids, older brother and younger brother. It seemed to end with both of them being annoyed at one another.

The other early game highlight was the commercials. There was an unexpected part two to a chip commercial from the previous day. I wonder where this is going? I already want to try the chips. Then there was an extremely glamorous Kia commercial. Great looking car (not to mention to the model driving it), but I’m standoffish on the name, Cadenza. Sounds like a piece of furniture, a piece of furniture which I will likely never own.

Around the 5th inning, the guys noticed that Pirate pitcher, Jeff Locke, had a no-hitter going. It was easy to miss that, since he’d also walked seven and was around 100 pitches, just about evenly divided between balls and strikes. In the 6th, he gave up a run without surrendering a hit. Dioneer Navarro came up with a single later in the inning and put a graceful, merciful end to Locke’s outing, as he was taken out immediately afterward.

Ah, happy totals from Toronto, as the Rangers win 6-4. None the worse for wear from yesterday’s ordeal, other than they had to put a couple more starting pitchers on the Disabled List. I listened to a couple of innings before going to watch the Cubs game. It was a little funny listening to players being announced as going 3 for 8 yesterday.

Back in Chicago, Cody Ransom went from being the goat for getting picked off Second early in the game, to taking an extra base and scoring later and then hitting a three-run homer. Nice recovery. Cubs win 4-1. Edwin Jackson’s new shoes paid off. I got to hear the victory song for what seems like the first time this season. And yet another gorgeous girl in the stands between home plate and the Cubs’ dugout. No wonder I keep thinking Cubs’ fans are better looking than White Sox fans.

The Dodgers were on the radio when I returned home. They were getting the hell beat out of them by the Braves, 8-1 final. JD was mentioning during the Cubs broadcast about the Dodgers having about $150M in payroll on the DL. The Dodgers announcers were doing the same. Unlike the Angels, I’m actually feeling somewhat sorry for the Dodgers. Even the otherwise solid, Adrian Gonzalez, is having a sub-par year at First Base. About the only good thing about the Dodgers this season has been the bumper music the broadcasts use between innings.

But that’s all changed this week. The Dodgers didn’t need to add hundreds of millions to their payroll, they just needed a rookie Cuban defector, Yasiel Puig. In addition to his video game-like accomplishments this week (supersonic speed, great fielding, hitting .464, four home runs with a grand slam), he went 3 for 5 today (batting about .445) in an otherwise futile effort by the team. If this kid’s going to be a star, the first mandatory thing that must happen is, he’s got to get a nickname. “Puiggggg!” is just not a great rallying cry. However the name thing goes, we’ll keep an eye on him.

Retro Post: In the Beginning

[While I was frustrated and locked out of the blog, I kept writing anyway.  So this is dated (not quite sure when), but perhaps somewhat interesting.] 


Old School D&D: The characters are all generic and fragile. Environments are big dungeons filled with monsters and treasure. Characters survived by caution, wits, and luck. The rules were vague and houseruled for each group. Player choices involved picking which dungeon passage to go down next. It’s the DM’s world. Role-playing happened, even though unsupported by the rules.

Around Second Edition: Characters are more personalized. The rules were better organized, more concise, with more options. The environment consists of pre-plotted story adventures. There is heavy Role-playing, though still unsupported by the rules. (Even Gygax penned an article in Dungeon once about “pushing the pendulum the other way” on getting too into character.) Characters survived by following the script. Not a whole lot of player choices as it’s even more the DM’s world.

Third Edition: The rules are now really detailed and complex in practice. Characters are no longer rolled, but built. Complex, highly personalized, and tougher. Of course, so are the monsters and NPC’s. Characters survived by being built well. Role-playing happened between encounters, with story linking the encounters. Player choices are very involved insofar as character creation and advancement. In game, either face the DM’s pre-planned encounters or get railroaded into them. It’s still the DM’s world, but he seems terribly overworked building encounters. Random encounters and improvisation are a thing of the past.

Indy games: Perhaps in reaction, or as an alternative, or perhaps finally to create an RPG where the Role-playing is supported by the rules, non-D&D games flourish (critically, not financially). Highly character centered. Conflict is more personality oriented than martially. The motivations, build up, and hype is more important than the fight itself. The players dictate the adventure.

Fourth Edition: Characters have more options than ever and are now indestructible. It is a computer encouraged (if not demanded) environment for creation. The game centers on tactical combat encounters. Survival is not really a problem. The rules are precise. Houserules are dead. Role-playing is there solely to kill time while setting up the next combat encounter. Players now willingly submit to the DM’s world, otherwise there’s no adventure. The DM is now more of an observer and a programmer of sorts.

Pathfinder: It’s Third Edition with better grappling rules. Cool default game world with interesting Adventure Paths, though.

OSR: Much like Old School, but the rules are better organized and streamlined. Sandbox play is encouraged to give players the maximum choice in adventuring. (Though I suspect this is not really used in practice. Settings are actually built through improvisation and actual play.)

The Future?: Fifth Edition features Pokemon-style gladiator-like tournaments in game stores using computers, minis, and collectible cards. The D&D name may even be scrapped at some point, since it has so much negative baggage attached to it. Pathfinder’s rules will crush under their own weight due to too many supplements. They will be forced to come out with a new edition and death spiral will begin. Indy? Are they still publishing? OSR fades into the background until it is rediscovered again. Perhaps the D&D name is bought by some company who comes out with a nice, simple, open-ended fantasy game that everyone, hobbyist and casual player, can enjoy.

[Don't laugh about that Fifth Edition prediction crack.  It came damn close to coming true.  4th edition (and even Pathfinder) were experimenting with making collectible cards and on-line content part of the game just before the new edition was announced.  I don't know what brought them back from the edge, but thank heavens.]

Baseball Journal 6-8-13

On Friday, Len and JD were calling the Cubs-Pirate game from the Budweiser Bleacher section of Wrigley Field. I know management is trying to promote these like they’re Green Monster seats at Fenway, but frankly they’re the worst seats in the ballpark that aren’t obstructed by a girder. They’re tucked in the corner in the deepest part of the stadium in the well in Right Field. I doubt anybody in that section is there for baseball. (I assume you get a deal on the beer there.) The guys made the best of it. JD did briefly heckle the Pirate outfielders. The blimp provided beautiful aerial shots of Wrigleyville and probably had a closer view of the field than the announcers. The Pirates won and unfortunately that’s all I know about the game as I was only able to watch a couple of innings.

Saturday morning, I caught a very quick and crisply played game between the Rangers and Blue Jays. In the top of the 9th, the Rangers tied the score at 3-3. With an odd sense of prescience, I decided to go ahead and go to my parents’ apartment to watch the White Sox-A’s game. I just had a bad feeling.

Another lovely day in Chicago. The blimp relocated to the Southside and provided excellent views of the parking lots and freeways surrounding the ballpark. The game settled into a 1-1 tie for most of the afternoon. It wasn’t a good sign that Hawk and Stone kept giving updates of the Rangers-Jays game, which had yet to be resolved. In the bottom of the 9th, after the Sox took a 4-1 lead in the top of the frame on the way to the win, they finally announced that the Blue Jays had just won, 4-3 in the 18th. Damn. Let’s play two the hard way. Thank goodness I didn’t stay till the end of that one.

Meanwhile in New York City, the Marlins and Mets laughed, “You lazy bums,” and kept playing in their 20-inning game. 2-1 Marlins in the end. It’s funny that earlier in the week, my dad had called me as he watching that White Sox-Mariners game last week that went scoreless for 14 innings. He was determined to see the end of it, sort of an endurance contest. I know that the otherwise reliable Addison Reed blew a five-run lead that extended the game another two innings. He was out there for three innings and got the win in 16, 7-5 Sox. He may have also been the only pitcher left for the Sox in the bullpen. In his appearance Saturday, Addison hadn’t seemed to have suffered any ill effects.

Right before the end of the game, we caught the horse race. One of those big ones. I forgot which one it was. I’ve been to a horse race once and enjoyed it (translation: I won money). In my mind, if you’re going to bet on sports, do it with the ponies. It’s entertaining without getting you emotionally involved in a team. While the horses were parading before the race, one of the commentators was going on about how one of the jockeys had been arrested for domestic abuse and was in court-mandated counseling. First, waaaay too much information there, for either entertainment or betting purposes. Second, what kind of home life do expect out of a guy who whips horses for a living?

My regional Fox game of the week that evening was yet another Angels game. Yay. I’m almost beyond questioning their scheduling now and am resigned to my fate this season. “Big Game” CJ Wilson was on the mound again for the loser Halos. Yes, he’s handsome and personable, and is generally a good pitcher, but he’s a marshmallow. All he needs is some chocolate and a graham cracker, and I’ll upgrade him to Smore. My biggest irritation with him is his constant throws to bases with runners on. Not only is it OCD, he couldn’t pick off a runner that’s fallen down with his move. While I’m on a roll, if the Right Fielder wasn’t named Josh Hamilton and owed tens of millions of dollars, he’d be playing in Triple-A by now. And Al? He’s bravely playing through an injury to his foot. He tripped over a pile of money lying around his mansion and hasn’t been the same since. At least I got the satisfaction of watching them lose to the Red Sox, 7-2.

Expedition to the Doomed Peaks--Original Maps

Fantasy Core RPG
© Jerry Harris 2013
Published here as Open Game Content.
(This link will take you to the Fantasy Core Index.)

Adventure Index

ORIGINAL MAPS

These are the original, unaltered maps I got from the unknown book

UPDATE: Found the book: The Handbook for Space Pioneers.

Residential Deck

Residential Apt First Level

Residential Apt Second Level

Crew Deck

Crew Deck Apt

Computer Deck

Command Deck

Hope you enjoyed this little mash up.  While it's a dangerous adventure in places, I'd definitely play up most of the encounters for laughs.  The setting certainly lends itself to humor.

Up next, they're out of date, they're old, they're musty, they never should have seen the light of day, but here they are: the Retro-Blogs. 

Fear.