Advancement System Before Action Resoultion Mechanics

The other day, Jeremy sent me a file for a Supers RPG that he's working on. He wants to play test it, and I'm looking forward to that. He's going for a rules-lite system, so he's trying not to bog it down with too many subsystems or overly define what any particular superpower can and can't do. That's fine. 

He's got an interesting action resolution/combat system. It's 2d10 based, but you add attribute scores (your superpowers or skills) as appropriate. If you roll snake eyes, you auto fail. If you roll any other doubles, the dice explode and you keep rolling (but snake eyes on a further roll is still auto failure). That's interesting and I want to see how it plays out.

Character creation has lots of d% tables for determining things randomly, but he also says that picking and choosing to fit your idea is fine as well. The only problem I found with this is that the big list of Attributes (again, the super powers or advanced skill-sets that heroes have) is a 3d100 chart. If you're picking the abilities that you want, no problem. If you're rolling randomly, this will skew heavily into the middle of the alphabetical list of 297 options. I checked the dice probabilities, and you're 7500 times more likely to get item 151 (or 152) than to get item 3 (or 300). Of course, with nearly 300 entries, it's still only a 0.75% chance (each) to get 151 or 152.

And what do you know, when I rolled a random PC, I got Leap (entry 151) as one of my rolls.  

So there are a few things to work out there, but nothing major. 

The big problem is, there's no advancement system. No way to earn XP or additional Build Points (once you determine your powers, you can set their strength with build points, then add features or limits plus or minus more build points) after play starts. There's no goal of play other than "play out stories like in comic books" which seems like it will only be conducive to one-shots/convention play. 

I think that anyone designing an RPG should figure out what the advancement system is before trying to figure out the resolution mechanics or char-gen features. You've got to know what the players should be doing with their PCs before anything else. Otherwise, what's the point of play?

The "Your-Canon-Concerns-Me-Not" Middle-Earth Campaign

I've been re-reading Lord of the Rings the past two weeks or so, getting through a chapter some mornings, and one to three chapters in the afternoon/evening. I started on Feb. 28th (Monday) and I'm currently up to the chapter Flotsam and Jetsam. And of course it's got me thinking about how I would run a Middle-Earth campaign. 

I'm not going to do this. At least, not any time soon. My TS&R Jade game is going strong, and I've got some ideas percolating for continuing my Star Wars campaign. But maybe one day, I'll do this. 

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So, the first thing is, what rule set to use? There are plenty of "official" Middle-Earth games to choose from, and unofficial OSR games like Balrogs and Bagginses. But me being me, I'd probably stick to either BX or BECMI style D&D, just with a few house rules. Maybe this could be a TS&R Silmaril version? I'd have to file off lots of serial numbers if I did that...

I've seen ideas bandied around to modify BX/BECMI for ME gaming. Some say use the Elf class but with the Cleric (or Druid) spell list for elves (or at least the Noldor) and the Cleric minus weapon restrictions for the Wizards (Istari). Some say use the Cleric class for the Noldor and use the Elf class for the Wizards (with a curated spell list, or the Cleric spells). Some say all Men should just be Fighters, but Numenoreans might get some Cleric spells (like the BECMI Paladin/Avenger), or porting in the Ranger and/or Paladin from AD&D. I've seen debate on whether Burglars (the Thief class, but for Hobbits) should be included as its own class or not, or if a few more Thief skills should be added to the Halfling class. It seems that the only BX/BECMI class people find suitable without change is the Dwarf.  

I would probably end up doing some combination like the above, except I might still keep the MU class for the Istari, only with an edited spell list and a few more weapon options, and probably the Lore ability of my TS&R Bard class. Possibly with a custom spell list for each Wizard! This would limit player options for Wizards though, and as the title of this post says, this is a "screw canon" campaign. 

For Elves, I think probably the regular Elf class could be the Noldor (Galadriel, etc.) just with the same edited spell list for the Wizards. Sindar (like Legolas) would use the Fighter class, but with the Elf class special abilities (ghoul touch immunity, secret door finding). Some Sindar might use the Cleric class to give them some magic ability.

For Hobbits, there could be Bounders (the Shire's guard/militia/border patrol) using the regular Halfling class, and Burglars using the Thief class plus Halfling special abilities. I don't think there would need to be a difference between the different types of Hobbit. 

Dwarves? Yep, as is. 

Men -- now we need to consider a few things. Are they all just Fighters (and maybe Thieves) with some cosmetic differences for Breelanders, Numenoreans, Men of Dale, Rohirrim, Beornings, etc.? Or do we need special classes for some? I'd say most Men could be covered by the four normal BX/BECMI classes, with a few limitations to make Clerics and Magic-Users rare. 

I could modify my old Barbarian class (cut from TS&R before release) for Beornings, and make it into a werebear class with increasing transformation abilities as they level up.

Numenoreans/Dunedain are the tricky part. The Rangers of the North are all Dunedain, but not all Dunedain are/were Rangers. Also, Gondor had rangers, but while they may have been descended from Numenoreans, they don't seem to have the pure bloodline like Aragorn. I'd probably just use normal human classes for them, including Cleric and Magic-User, and give them my TS&R Human special ability of rolling twice for hit points each level and keeping the better number, but making sure they have some ability score requirements like the demi-human classes to be one. 

Nope, sorry, you can't play an Ent or Eagle. Or an Orc or Troll or Giant Spider. 

The biggest "chuck canon out the window" thing I'd do would not be related to PC options, though. It would be the campaign world itself. I'd use one of those maps that float around where 1st Age Beleriand and 2nd Age Numenor haven't sunk under the waves, along with the 3rd Age Shire, Mordor, Mirkwood, etc. most people are familiar with. I'd keep Aman on the 'straight path' while the world is bent thing, to keep all except very high level PCs (if we ever got there) from raiding the Undying Lands.

Now, to really chuck the canon out with the bathwater, Morgoth would rule over Angband, Sauron would be in Mordor, the Witch King ruling Angmar, and sure, the Necromancer in Mirkwood. Elves would have several kingdoms in Beleriand, plus in Mirkwood, Eregion, Lothlorian, and Rivendell. Hobbits would have the Shire (and share Breeland), and maybe I'd throw in Smeagol's folk in Wilderland near the Beornings. Dwarves would have isolated strongholds in Moria, the Lonely Mountain, the Iron Hills, Belegost, etc. and they would be commonly coming and going between their strongholds. Arnor would still be a kingdom, as would Gondor, Rohan, Dale, and other human lands from the 3rd Age. There would also probably be a kingdom of Men somewhere in Beleriand, for Beren, Turin, Hurin, and all those guys from the Silmarillion. Oh, and yeah, I already mentioned Numenor would be there.

Basically, it would be more D&D in Middle-Earth than Middle-Earth role-play. And in proper D&D fashion, it all goes in the blender and gets turned into what James Mal once called an "unholy goulash" of a campaign setting.

It's a Problem of Tone

 I've been reading over some of my draft of Flying Swordsmen 2E, and I'm not happy with it. 

Well, I'm happy with the d6 system, and the mechanics I'm using for the game. I'm not happy with the tone of my writing so far. 

I was hoping for a nice, friendly, guiding hand explaining the game and how to play. Similar to Frank Mentzer's tone in the old Basic Set. But reading it over, there are a lot of places where I'm slipping into "professor" mode and explaining concepts for the advanced referee and player, rather than for the new gamer. I've also got a lot of sections that are too much like 3E D&D's rules lawyery tone. 

Luckily, it's still the first draft, and I've just barely started in the section for the referee on how to create adventures and run the game. 

I feel like I need to go over what I've already written and simplify and clarify my writing. I also need to figure out the best way to explain some of the more detailed mechanics. I want martial arts battles to include strikes, parries & dodges, ripostes and reversals, just like in the wuxia source material. d6 allows for that, easily, but my explanations of the mechanics feel too technical in many areas, and over-explained in others. 

I know that good writing habits are to get that first draft done before going back to revise. But I think in this case, revising what I've already got and trying to give it a consistent tone will make writing the rest of the book much more enjoyable. And hopefully, clear and fun for the players and referees to read as well.

WinterCon 2025

 The Discord group TTRPG in Korea is in the middle of their WinterCon 2025 online gaming convention. I got late notice of this event (last Sunday) so I didn't have a lot of free time this weekend. I've got my face to face TS&R Jade game this afternoon, and due to family stuff, I only had time for the afternoon session yesterday. And that meant I got to play another game of Mausritter. 

Looking through my old posts quickly, I don't think I blogged about playing Mausritter with Justin a few months back. We tried it, and it was a lot of fun. You roll up a mouse adventurer defined by your gear rather than by a character class or a truckload of skills to choose from. Besides your gear, you have three ability scores, hit points, and pips (money) to keep track of. It's a simple game, but it really gets you into the problem solving mentality. Yes, there is combat, but it's hazardous (Into the Odd style no attack rolls, if you attack, you just roll damage). You're also a tiny mouse. So problem solving and careful investigation is in order. 

Yesterday, our game was run by a guy who goes by Fakesauce John on Discord. Four players, myself among them, gathered and John went over the rules briefly while he led us through character creation. That took about 40 minutes of our 4 hour slot, but we had quite a few technical issues to work out. 

My character was Adrian F. Cheddar, blacksmith mouse with "delicate features" (a.k.a. the pretty boy!). My mouse joined up with Clara June, a bold take-no-guff mouse (player: Elizabet), Brutus, the big but dumb bruiser (Evie), and Nibbles, the snarky message-runner (Frankie).

After characters were created, we were given our mission (rescue Lady Cheddar who had gone missing in the mine). We did a bit of shopping, then took a quick break and got the tech issues sorted. 

After that, we were off on our mission. The mine was an interesting place to explore, with multiple entrances (we ended up taking one that John didn't expect us to take of course!), interesting encounters that didn't demand combat (but could have turned into combat), and a mystery to solve on top of the mission to rescue Lady Cheddar. 

John said he didn't have much experience as a game master, but he ran the session well. He kept things going, described things in detail, answered questions, adjudicated the rules when necessary, and managed to bring four mostly strangers together to form a team that used creativity and goofiness to solve the problems put in front of us. 

Chatting with the organizer Amae, I'd mentioned that when they do it again, with more advance notice, I'd be happy to run a game (or two?) the next time they do this. He said this has been a challenge, and he's not sure he will. But people seem to have had fun yesterday, and hopefully the games that happen today will also be fun, and they will make this a tradition. Amae did invite me to run games through their Discord at any time. So even if they don't do another online convention, I may take him up on his offer.

Movie Review -- Captain America: Brave New World

Steven (my 10yo) and I went and saw the new Marvel movie yesterday. It's the fourth Captain America movie, but of course following the events of Avengers Endgame (where Steve Rogers retired) and the Disney+ show Falcon and the Winter Soldier, where Sam Wilson becomes the new Captain America, it's got Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson in the title role. So maybe the start of a new Cap trilogy? We'll see.

I'll try to avoid spoilers here, since the movie just released this week. 

Overall, it was a solid political/espionage thriller with superheroes involved. Much like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, while it had its superhero action scenes, it was really a story about solving a mystery and preventing political ramifications from damaging the status quo. In that sense, I really liked it. It didn't need to be a "big damn movie" to tell its story. It used the political and espionage angles to inform us about the characters, rather than setting up a mystical MacGuffin to prevent the end of the world/multiverse. 

Most of the characters had clear motives, and most of the principle characters had a satisfactory story arch within the movie. 

The action scenes were well shot and well edited, so I never felt confused, or that I was just watching a big CGI puke vomited all over the screen. 

The dialogue could have been snappier at times. There were a few funny bits, but not as much as in previous Cap films or in the FatWS series. 

There were a couple of well-placed cameos of characters from previous films/shows that made sense within the narrative, not just as "member-berries."

Was it great? I wouldn't say that. I enjoyed it, and I think people who don't really care about superheroes or science fiction but like espionage thrillers (Bourne movies, etc.) would enjoy it despite the supersoldiers and gamma-fied people and whatnot. And it's got just enough of that comic book goodness to keep the comics nerds in their seats. 

I think it could have been improved if they had not spoiled a few things in their own promotional materials. If they had kept people wondering "will he? won't he?" about Thunderbolt Ross turning into Red Hulk, for example, that might have been better. But that might have been an impossibility in today's social media spoiler age. 

So again, a solid movie. Worth the price of admission, but probably not one to set up among the best of the MCU. But in comparison to the MCU movies of the past two years, it's nice to see them putting out something small, contained, and decently crafted.

Designing a Card Game

My older son and I have been working on ideas for card games recently. Our first foray is now available for sale. We've played the game quite a bit here at home, and I've also tried it a few times with some local board gamer friends, who really enjoyed it. 

Castles: A Game of Medieval Rivalries 

That's a link to DriveThruCards. 

The game is designed to be quick to learn, easy to play, and fun. Each player is trying to build castles. Castle cards are played in front of you, and each has points, from 1 to 5. Action cards can help you or hinder your opponents. On your turn, draw a card and play a card. Simple. 

 

 

Once one player has five Castle cards in front of them, each other player takes one more turn. The player with the most points (not necessarily the most Castle cards) is the winner. 

A game takes around 15 minutes to play, and with 60 cards in the deck, it should suit games with 2 to 6 players. The most we've had is four players, so far, but that went well. Played/discarded cards get shuffled and made into a new deck when the draw deck is empty, so 6-person games (or more?) don't need to worry about running through all the cards. 

The proceeds will go to Flynn, to help him save up for university expenses. 

I'll post updates with other ideas when we get them worked out.

Some Board Gamin'

In the first two weeks of January, I taught my Speaking English with Boardgames class at the elementary English camp I usually do every summer and winter break. 

This time, I didn't change much, other than to bring in some of my miniatures to use as character markers for the Dungeon! games. And the kids loved it! 

Each class is only 50 minutes long, so in order to explain the game, set it up, and have enough time to give the kids a chance to have a winner, I have to simplify the game a bit. 

First, I cut all the treasure requirements in half, and don't require the group with that much gold to return to the entrance. 

Second, monsters don't fight back. If a group fails to kill a monster on the first die roll, they can try again next turn (or run away). Other players can come in and fight that monster, though, and possibly steal the treasure. 

Third, Wizards get a set of 3 fireballs, 3 lightning bolts, and two teleports, rather than rolling and selecting spells. 

Fourth, this time, I made a small change to the Thief (elf in the original). In addition to the increased chance to find a secret door, I decided that the Thief ignores traps and just gets the treasure. I also decided the original Hero/Superhero names were easier to explain than trying to explain what a cleric is.

Fifth, the Chambers only have one monster each, and also provide a treasure. The only thing different about them is that the Wizards can only teleport to/from Chambers. 

These rules make the game play quickly, and the kids really got into it. 

The first time I used Dungeon! at a camp, a kid mangled one of the treasure cards, so now I keep all information about each team on the white board. This includes what type of hero they are playing, how much gold they have/need to win, spells for the Wizards, and any magic items they pick up.