Lord of the Rings Sucks

OK, I know this is going to result it hate-outrage. But Lord of the Rings pretty much sucks. The books are long winded and so up themselves you can almost smell the s**t-stains.

The Movies aren't much better (which is actually what burned me out) - and I prefer Sword and Sorcery (Conan and Thongor) over the novels, and pretty much any Fantasy/Science Fantasy over the Movies (STAR WARS RULES, the... original Trilogy comes first though).

In all the Middle Earth Stories - Tolkien's good guys are white and noble - and the bad guys are black, slanty-eyed, unattractive, inarticulate and a psychologically undeveloped horde - bigotry at its best.

In the Movies – Check the percentage of protagonists in Fellowship who are white: 100%

Meanwhile the black-skinned antagonists and their black crow spies and their black glass seeing ball inhabit their black towers and perform black magic. One would have to be blind to miss the symbolism.

Only Saruman is white, and even he is abusing the other races and treating them like slaves to reach his goal.

The Movie continuity guys are crap, In the massive Mt. Doom battle scene at the beginning of Fellowship of the Ring, a DVD pause reveals at least half a dozen of the 50,000 Orc Warrior extras are wearing modern tennis shoes.

Re – the ACTUAL PLOT of Lord of the Rings. Why TF didn't they take horses on their quest?( Or even more practically, why didn't Gandalf's giant flying bird friend haul them to Mordor if it was THAT bloody important, at the end the Giant Eagles rescued Frodo and Sam in no time flat – if its so damn important to destroy the ring why risk it ON FOOT OVER AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME) – HEY LOOK OUT FELLOWSHIP - ALL methods of transportation have been swallowed by the “Dark Lord of the Plot Hole”!

Every time Frodo or Bilbo went invisible with the ring he should have also gone BLIND. Your eyes cannot function unless light is reflected off the cornea. If light passes through it (as must be the case with invisibility) sight is no longer possible. D’OH!

I read somewhere that US students are being forced to read some novelization of the movies in their literature classes. UTTERLY Ridiculous! Hollywood wins again

OK – RANT OVER!

The Killing Joke

No, not the DC Graphic Novel - but rather a comment the way WizBro are treating Gary and Daves legacy. They are talking about a 5th Edition of D&D now, its been getting further and further away from what D&D should be to me. Less and less of a Role Playing Experience, more and more of a single model tabletop tactical wargame. What they are doing has been slowly but surely killing off the brand name.

A guy on Google+ made an interesting remark about RPG's in one of my Friends comment threads - "All This Must Evolve" - It kinda made me smile at the time, so lets look at that comment.

In Nature, if something 'works' it changes very little. Sharks and crocodiles are optimally suited for their environment - so they haven't really changed for a VERY long time.

Evolution and change isn't always necessary really, especially when it comes to games and gaming.

2nd Edition AD&D didn't really change much from 1st Edition AD&D - it added and expanded, in fact I (as a DM) merely added certain elements and  functionality from 2nd Ed to my 1st Ed Games - if it's not "broken" why fix it right.

Unfortunately, changing things in a major (and often flawed) way - is a "disease" that has penetrated the RPG industry, it's a sad truth. Not everyone has the common sense that a Publisher like Troll Lords has - in only changing things that don't work well.

The truth of the matter is, that the MAIN reason for changes in rules IS NOT JUST to "make things better" - its to actually ensure that people feel compelled to buy the newest edition!

Whilst its logical to ensure the survival of a business, its NOT always a good thing in my opinion (or in a lot of other peoples for that matter) why not bring out new and exciting products that add to the gaming experience, rather than watering down and re-hashing ideas all the damn time!

Check out this guys feelings on the possibility on there being a 5th Edition!

http://classicrpgrealms.blogspot.com/2011/07/d-5th-edition.html

Change isn't always the right way to go, just "ask" the environment how it "feels" about the changes Mankind has made, all in the name of "progress" too!

I still enjoy 1st Edition AD&D, I prefer the look and the "feel" of it. OD&D through 1st Edition AD&D was a labour of love, its obvious - 4th Edition is quite simply soulless "product", and a lackluster product at that.

What makes a Good Dungeon-Crawl Good?

If you strain, and think back to the (no doubt MANY) Dungeon Adventures you've played in and/or run down through the years - whether purchased (or indeed home grown, I've read some amazing unpublished dungeon-centric adventures).

What makes a Good Dungeon-Crawl Good? (or hopefully even Great). What makes a Dungeon an enthralling place to explore and adventure in - a suitable environment to "Fight the Good Fight" - rather than it being some boring repetitive exercise in monster bashing and door breaking . . . .

1- A Goal

The PC's need a reason to be there (outside of the obvious Treasure and Glory). A mission - often one of the three "R's" (Rescue, Retrieval, or Revenge).

2 - A "Hook" or Theme

Its important that the Creatures/Monsters have a common link - Whether it be they all work for a Villain, or come from the same (or related) families of Monsters.

3 - Style or "The Look"

When describing the environment, remain consistent. If its Medieval, keep the descriptions as such. If its Egyptian styled, don't start throwing in Renaissance Torture Chambers in - suspension of disbelief is really important during FRP games - if you break from your internal consistency, you can ruin it for your players.

4 - Pacing

DO NOT allow your players to pause for breath, keep the descriptions coming - and the encounters rapid. The minute they finish with one problem, introduce another. It seems a daft thing to mention, but the more you keep your players on their toes - the more they will enjoy it.

5 - Traps, Tricks, and Puzzles

A lot of modern DM's don't like including Traps, Tricks, or Puzzles - they find them trite or old fashioned. BUT when a Player beats/circumvents such an encounter they will be bouncing with excitement MORE than if their Character had slain the biggest of Dragons.

Resource Materials

Here is a list of some great books to pic up for reference, all are useful and are non system specific so any DM can get good use from them.

Central Casting Dungeons
A dungeon random-generation kit, with piles of very specific details. Great if you want to generate random (although illogical) dungeons. Now out of print (Originally Published by Task Force Games), if you search around you can generally find it somewhere to Download.

The Dungeon Alphabet 
Billed as an A-to-Z Reference for Classic Dungeon Design - The Dungeon Alphabet compiles twenty-six classic dungeon design elements in one place to assist the game master in creating subterranean challenges. A is for Altar, B is for Books, and C is for Caves and so on. Its one of my all time favourite books. The Dungeon Alphabet is available in both Print and PDF format - produced by Goodman Games.

Engineering Dungeons
Similar to Central Casting Dungeons, but more streamlined and logical is Engineering Dungeons from Troll Lord Games. Though formatted for Castles & Crusades its easily usable with any edition of Dungeons & Dragons (even the dreaded 4th Edition). Engineering Dungeons brings the DM the tools to entice the imagination, to create, wholesale, from scratch, a varied array of dungeoneering experiences. You will find the means to determine monsters, their treasures, their lairs - who, where, and why a dungeon exists, and even flavorful aspects of the dungeon environment, such as light, air condition, and odors. Traps, of all sorts, designed to function as a universal difficulty system, are included.

Play 4th Edition (not) D&D. It's good for WizBro and "OKAY" for you . . . . .

I really can't believe people are still defending WizBro, with all the usual Bull Shit - any role playing is good role playing is my particular favourite - not only is it puerile populist claptrap, its simply not true!

It reminds me of the segment with the Robotic Food Dispenser in the Stallone Judge Dredd Movie "Eat recycled food. It's good for the environment and okay for you".

You might get an "okay" game out of 4e, but ONLY with a lot of effort - if you played a decent system, its easier, more fun - and a longer lasting experience.

WizBro Role playing, events, merchandising - all it does is benefit WizBro, there are so many smaller companies out there who are doing it for the love of the hobby, and not out of some obscene desire to make it into big business.

You can moan at me, berate me, criticize me, slag me off - but that doesn't change the fact that I am right about this.

And all the sock puppet-like comments in the world cannot change that fact!

That WizBro is being run along the lines of any other Lucas owned company - merchandise the HELL out of a franchise and be damned. Why do you think so many new Star Wars Characters get introduced all the time - BECAUSE IT MAKES THEM MONEY!

With the (not) D&D brand, we will continue to see obscure and unnecessary products released BECAUSE IT MAKES THEM MONEY. Cash flow is what matters to WizBro, NOT the Hobby - the sooner gamers out there realize it the better. Give your hard earned cash to someone else FFS!

4e (not D&D isnt even THAT popular, check out this -

http://blackdiamondgames.blogspot.com/2010/09/our-little-rpg-experiment.html

They are trying to promote gamers getting into systems, and doing trades/buying collections to help people find the system they want -  but (and I quote) "We probably lost money on the straight trade of 4E" - because no F***ER WANTS IT THATS WHY!

PLAY ANYTHING else, Earlier editions (4e is so f***ing w**k I have a greater appreciation of 3.5 now), AD&D, Castles & Crusades, Labyrinth Lord - ANYTHING but boycott the tossers at WizBro!

Morality & Responsibility

Even though I’m no moralizer - I have commented in the past about the moral “grey area” of WizBro’s marketing. How it’s an example of corporate greed, and that I believe it’s going to be damaging to the hobby in the long run.

I’ve had my dissenters, (you know who you are Mister B) and there have been yells and whines about how they are a business and need to make money.

Whilst that is true, I don’t think it’s right dumbing it all down to the level it has been (the rumour is character sheets are going next, to be replaced by cards – another product in the line no doubt) whilst exploiting it to the level they have.

D&D T-Shirts have been around for years, worn in “geek pride” by many a gamer – but a line of Soft Drinks, even a ‘limited edition’ one is taking the p**s IMHO.

A lot of parents have been running 4e with their kids, and whilst I think it’s a good thing – the ages concern me. Getting very young kids (even in one instance a pre-schooler) taught to play D&D – feels a little more like indoctrination than a family activity. As at very young ages they hear the word “game” and are up for anything, without the ability to make a decision about wanting or not wanting to play it on their own.

D&D has been aimed at kids before – that’s a fact I know.

Sure there have been colouring books in the past - and the Classic Animated Series (which I still adore). But if it IS to be marketed at kids, it should be done in a more appropriate and responsible way – Making a "kiddy friendly" product.

The Harvesters RPG from Troll Lord Games is a brilliant example of a game designed to be played by kids and their parents.

But, if such marketing exists – it should be tempered with a little morality and responsibility. Something WizBro seems to be lacking.

Still not convinced – then scoot over to the Virgin Casino and check out “Crystal Caverns” – a Dungeons and Dragons slot machine game (I kid you not).

“Adventure & fortune awaits in Dungeons & Dragons: Crystal Caverns. Now with Tumbling Reels® plus free spins & a scatter feature.”

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS - CRYSTAL CAVERNS

Of course, you can play for free – but to allow such an obvious abuse of the D&D brand and linking it to gambling - is despicable behaviour at best.

Well done WizBro – you really suck now!

Implied lack of Perspective

Its been "implied" in a message that I lack perspective, or possibly experience.

Even though I have had opportunites to be published in the past I haven't taken them, I'm not sure why I never did - but my choices did lead me down many different "paths" including being a Proof Reader for several UK publishing houses.

As for "systems" that I have run over an extended period of time -

OD&D
Basic D&D
Advanced D&D 1st Edition
Advanced D&D 2nd Edition
Dungeons & Dragons 3rd/3.5
4th Edition (not) DnD
Runequest (except the Avalon Hill Edition which I detest)
Call of C'thulhu (all editions up to 5th)
TORG
Lords of Creation
Hackmaster (only the 4th Edition really, I dislike Hackmaster Basic)
Castles & Crusades
Star Trek the RPG (FASA Edition)
Star Trek the RPG (Decipher Edition)
Doctor Who the RPG (FASA Edition)
Time Lord
Star Wars the RPG (West End Games)
Shadowrun (1st, 2nd, & 3rd Edition)
Earthdawn (1st Edition)
Buffy the RPG
Metascape - Guildspace
Mech Warrior the Battletech RPG
Mythus - Dangerous Journeys
Marvel Super Heros RPG
Chill
Sandman
Traveller
Traveller 2300
Twilight 2000

I have a few more RPG's in my collection that I have just read - DC Super Heros RPG, Dark Conspiracy, GURPS - the Prisoner, Hellboy, and Wild Cards, Tunnels & Trolls, Doctor Who the RPG (Cublicle 7 Edition), Stargate RPG, Starship Troopers RPG, Star Wars the RPG (D20 version, NOT the SAGA Edition), Lejendary Adventures, & Powers & Perils - there are a couple more, but I can't see that part of the book shelf from where I am sitting.

What does this go to show, possibly that I have a little more experience than certain people give me credit for.

I still firmly believe that 4th Edition (NOT) DnD - is the biggest pile of sloppy donky s**t EVER to be put in print.

A Further Nail

Well, they have FINALLY reached the lowest they can go (I hope).

They have reduced D&D to the level of a Magic the Gathering Tournament.

The 'blurb' is as follows - "Earn exclusive rewards as you gain Renown Points for accomplishments made during each season"

This happens "in store" every week, complete with Rankings!

Dungeons and Dragons Encounters

You even get "product rewards" for example - creating an adventurer using Character Builder (which of course costs money), or creating a character using a Player’s Handbook 3 Class or Race (which again costs money).

Yes, yes - the nay sayers are going to say "they are a company out to make profit"!

But is this all future RPG'ers have to look forward too - a watered down "mockery" of what D&D used to be fused with a tournament system created in the image of "Tragic the Blathering" . . .

The Death of Creativity

I know "4e Bashing" always gets the poster a certain level of attack, but has anyone considered the 4e (not) DnD Potion lists as a PRIME example of how weak the new ruleset really is.

Now we seem to have endless lists of the same types of Potion, with relatively unimaginative names, all with different "tiers".

Potion of Clarity (level 5), Potion of Clarity (level 10), Potion of Clarity (level 15), Potion of Clarity (level 10) - and so on.

This applies to all Potions and Elixirs.

OK, now I was under the impression Role-Playing required IMAGINATION . . . .

Where oh where is the Imagination in that.

Now I am fully aware that all this makes no never mind to a certain extent, and that there are probably some very talented DM's out there Running very successful games of 4e (not) DnD - but thats because the DM in question UNDOUBTEDLY is very talented and knows what he is doing.

But what about those poor guys who aren't quite as imaginative, or maybe are brand new to Fantasy Role-Playing. Surely this constant "samey-ness" about ALL of the rules in 4e (not) DnD quells and stifles creativity forcing those buying the 4e (not) DnD Books (and I know there are disenters who will disagree, but BO***CKS to those who do - they are quite obviously "fan-boys" or totally misinformed) into buying more.

Its all about the alimighty Dollar for WizBro these days - they produce product, pure and simple. I have no doubt in my mind there are some talented designers working for WizBro - but they are being pushed and forced into a corporate mold to produce a corporate product.

Where is the fun, the excitement, the imagination. Just LOOK at some of the Potion entries from AD&D 1st Edition Dungeon Masters Guide -

• Animal Control
• Clairaudience
• Clairvoyonce
• Climbing
• Delusion
• Diminution
• Dragon Control
• ESP
• Extra-Healing
• Fire Resistance
• Flying
• Gaseous Form
• Giant Control
• GiantStrength
• Growth
• Healing
• Heroism
• Human Control
• Invisibility
• lnvulnerability
• Levitation
• Longevity
• Oil of Etherealness
• Oil of Slipperiness
• Philter of Love
• Philter of Persuasiveness
• Plant Control
• Polymorph
• Poison
• Speed
• Super-Heroism
• Sweet Water
• Treasure Finding
• Undead Control
• Water Breathing

Not a Rank or Tier in sight, just Descriptive names - THAT encourages Roleplaying and Imagination in my Humble opinion.

I ran a game of Castles & Crusades recently, for a Group who have only ever played 4th Edition (not) DnD (except for one player, who dabbled in 3.5) - they were so revved and excited by the end it was untrue.

Their regular DM is switching over to C&C now, they have seen how easy it is to immerse yourself in a fantasy world given the right tools.

Sorry WizBro - you are taking D&D down a Role-Playing dead end. I'm hoping someone working for you realizes before its too late.

Gaming, Music, and Lighting

Who else uses music and lighting during their games, I've used everything from Rainbow (the "Rainbow Rising" Album) to Movie soundtracks for the music; and Oil Lamps to Candles for the lighting.

I had an interesting experience while back, and it involved music.

The scenario was a fairly simple city based adventure, involving a kidnapped nobles daughter and a death cult dedicated to Orcus.

I had played some Monks Plainsong as background noise during the chase through the temple and into the sewers.

The next section of the scenario involved them exploring caves under the city, and rather than turning off the cd player as I had thought - I had turned it right down instead.

The Plainsong CD was playing, almost inaudibly - and that combined with the lighting (which was candle-light at the time - I find it evocative during spooky scenarios) really started to agitate the players. The were becoming more and more twitchy and nervous as the explored the caves.

All I can attest it to was the music - though they couldn't hear it consciously I think it was was affecting them on some subconscious level and combined with the lighting and the mood of the scenario was "stressing them out".

When we finished the session, they all commented how scared they were feeling and said it was the most fun they have had in ages - better than a scary movie!

SO if you really want to create some atmosphere during games, don't forget the Music and the Candles!

Smiles

I'd been sitting there writing some new Myths & Monsters notes for some time, and I realized Linda (my partner) had been standing behind me as I worked. "I never knew Gary" she said "But I'm sure he would have been impressed at all your effort" - she smiled at me, and I smiled back.

I'd like to think that might have brought a smile to Gary's face too . . . . .

Time to Upset the new Kids

I was recently asked WHY I don't like the new Hackmaster. Hackmaster Basic (and thereby the new Advanced Hackmaster 5e) is too different from the 4th Edition for me to enjoy it.

I know the changes were made for a reason (because of WotC) - but they are too many and ant they are a little too dramatic for my liking compared to 4e Hackmaster.

I quite like the “Building Points” - you can offset bad character generation rolls (and there are a LOT of rolls when generating a Hackmaster Basic Character) and you can even use them to play a class against “type” for your race (something I am not a fan of normally, but HMB does this quite well) - so there are a couple of things at least.

But there is quite a list of what I DON’T like -

The fractional scores on the attributes.

Quirks and Flaws – IMHO such things should be part of the characterization of a character, not a points driven way of min/maxing during character generation (which is what the munchkins will use it for).

Skills, Talents, AND Proficiences WTF! Why all three, as a DM of some experience I find it more freeing to let the Characters develop things as they go along.

The Honour system, to me its quite simply a heavy-handed way to enforce "proper" roleplaying - surely an Alignment system should be enough.

Combat (which is time-consuming and overly complex) has too many sub-rules, special cases, and exceptions etc, etc . . . .

I’ve never liked Spell Points either, I much prefer the way Mr Gygax did it.

They’ve done something I’ve done in the past, making starting hit points equal to their Constitution + Hit Dice. So that’s kinda cool – BUT with Hit Dice only gained every other level, with "dead" levels granting a re-roll of current hit points in order to improve the score – its to fiddly, too much faffing about for me (and my group tbh).

I ran it once, I wasn’t keen – my group REALLY didn’t enjoy it tbh. It’s a bad sigh when your group starts “noticing the time”.

BUT when I ran Castles and Crusades for the first time, we finished in the wee-small hours – and everyone complained because we had to stop . . . . . .

The Internet makes for a Lazy DM and Argumentative Players

Here's an evocative statement, that no doubt will bring cries of abuse and disagreement -

"the Internet makes for a Lazy DM and Argumentative Players"

I believe that, I really do - I've seen it come about since the RPG's started having a stronger internet presence. When the RPG Forums first started, it was all about general chat and ideas - now more and more its about people being confused about rules and asking really REALLY dumb questions.

Now either the rules are getting more complicated or people are getting dumber - logically speaking it has to be one or the other - or does it . . . . .

"Back in the Day" (Linda my Mrs hates that saying LoL) there was no Internet, the only way of getting questions answered was to write to White Dwarf (when it was an RPG magazine, not a gorram miniatures catalogue), Imagine Magazine, or Dragon Dragon Magazine. They took the pertinent questions and published responses. But - for the most Part DM's would read the rules thoroughly and properly to gain a more full understanding of them.

THESE DAYS I really do believe its a matter of laziness. Why waste a couple of hours actually reading the rules properly, when I can post my question/problem on a Forum and have someone "spoon feed" me the answer I need - seems to be the norm.

I've NEVER had a set of RPG rules I haven't understood - now I am not making that statement out of ego or to try and make myself out to be some form of genius. I'm no Einstein, but when somethings written in plain English - I really REALLY don't see what the problem is. UNLESS (as I pointed out) people are being lazy . . . .

As for Argumentative Players, I blame Forums (and Blogs) for this to a certain extent too.

My DM's does things THIS way, I see from the Forum/Your Blog (delete as appropriate) that you do things THAT way. I prefer your way of doing things, so therefore I'm going to be an ass for my DM from now on!

Now I know thats a non-specific example, but I think its clear what I mean. Now for the most part I've been lucky with players - I've only ever had one really argumentative player, and thats because he was a DM himself and saw things a little differently to myself. But after a chat and a Pint, we were able to reach a middle ground and the disruptions ceased.

I know for a fact some DM's have the hardest of times from some players (I get a LOT of Emails from fellow DM's who just find it hard to cope with such players), and to those players I have the following to say.

THE TITLE IS DUNGEON MASTER - Y'KNOW. "MASTER" - AS IN HE'S THE FREAKING BOSS!

Your DM/GM/CC is the Boss - Period! It's his game, his world, his way of doing things. I don't CARE what issues you might have with him or the way he runs his games - HE'S IN CHARGE.

Grow a Pair, be a Grown-Up, & Play Nice!

Wizards of the Cost

This is a True Story, which given my recent rantings about WizBro I found quite funny.

Back when my friend Chris used to get involved with science fiction conventions, there was one where Wizards of the Coast wanted an advertisement in the programme book.

Someone at Wizards of the Coast had fouled up and the ad called them ‘Wizards of the COST’ (which is more than appropriate LMAO).

The editor of the programme wrote back to them pointing out the mistake, and after some time waiting they still hadn’t replied, so the add got published as written.

I think they should change their name LoL!

Simpler - I DON'T THINK SO!

A lot of people accuse Old School RPG's of being too simple, an accusation I think is wrong and without foundation. When the people are challenged, they can offer no real tangible evidence as to why they think its so.

Upon reading the Posts of the 4th Edition Group over at Various RPG Groups (Including Facebook and the Wizbro Forums), a lot of them are along the lines of (and these are direct qoutes) these -

Quote:

I just started playing with my 4 year old Son this week

Quote:

I gm, my wife plays a mage, my 10 year old son plays a warlock rogue, and my 4 year old daughter plays a cleric.

Quote:

My 7 yr-old son and 9 yr-old daughter have played

Those are but three comments out of many, these are spread around the 4e (not) DnD community - for the most part the very people who lay the accusations about OS Games being so simple.

The message there to me is that they have DUMBED DOWN the 4e (not) DnD rules so much that a Kindergardener can play them!

I have spent a considerable amount of time defending my hobbies and passions - people taking the "michael", saying "its for kids" I FINALLY after umpteen years get the respect for the hobby it deserves from my Family and Non-Gamer friends - when gorram WizBro make 4th Edition (not) DnD so damn simple and childish little kids can play it!

It might be a Game/Hobby that appeals to all age-groups, but its NOT supposed to be a Kiddyfied Family Hobby!

Whilst I am not against youngsters playing RPG's (see my Harvesters post) I feel the rules should be appropriate to the age group in question - you wouldn't let an 8 year old play full contact Rugby for (an extreme) example.

This sort of "Teach my 5 year old to play (not) DnD" is going to be damaging to the hobby for us older gamers - just wait and see.

Interesting . . . .

I was looking at the various releases for D&D, I found this interesing -

To play AD&D 1st Edition - you needed the following to play it fully (I've inlcuded EVERYTHING in this list, including "side" books - not essential, but useful) - and I've included publishing dates . . . .

1977
2009 Monster Manual (Note that in 1980 the MM1 was reprinted with another cover)

1978
2010 Player's Handbook (Note that in 1980 the PB was reprinted with another cover)

1979
2011 Dungeon Master's Guide (Note that in 1980 the DMG was reprinted with another cover

1980
2013 Deities & Demigods (Note there are 2 versions, the older one having the Cthulhu and Melnibonean Mythos, the other omitting them - the earlier edition was the best

1981
2012 Fiend Folio

1983
2016 Monster Manual 2

1985
2017 Unearthed Arcana
2013 Legends & Lore
2018 Oriental Adventures

1986
2019 Dungeoneer's Survival Guide
2020 Wilderness Survival Guide

1987
2022 Manual of the Planes)

So, for AD&D 1st Edition - a total of 12 Core Books published over a period of 10 years. Gary and TSR were in it for the long haul with AD&D 1st Ed. Then disaster struck, and Gary left TSR . . . .

So, on to AD&D 2nd Edition - still a nice set of rules (at its root it was basically the same as AD&D 1st Ed) the then (NOT) TSR had tidied it up - BUT they had ADDED the "Complete" Character Books to the lineup of books needed to play the game fully as the new TSR envisoned it.

1989
2100 Dungeon Master's Guide
2101 Player's Handbook
2102 Monstrous Compendium, Vol. 1
2103 Monstrous Compendium, Vol. 2
2110 PHBR1 The Complete Fighter's Handbook
2111 PHBR2 The Complete Thief's Handbook

1990
2108 Legends & Lore
2113 PHBR3 The Complete Priest's Handbook
2115 PHBR4 The Complete Wizards's Handbook
2114 DMGR1 Campaign Sourcebook & Catacomb Guide
2112 DMGR2 Castle Guide

1991
2118 MC 8, Monstrous Compendium, Outer Planes Appendix
2117 PHBR5 The Complete Book of Psionics
2124 PHBR6 The Complete Book of Dwarves
2123 DMGR3 Arms and Equipment Guide
2121 Tome of Magic

1992
2129 MC 14, Monstrous Compendium, Fiend Folio Appendix
2127 PHBR7 The Complete Bard's Handbook
2131 PHBR8 The Complete Book of Elves
2128 DMGR4 Monster Mythology

1993
2140 Monstrous Manual
2138 Book of Artifacts
2134 PHBR9 The Complete Book of Gnomes & Halflings
2135 PHBR10 The Complete Book of Humanoids
2136 PHBR11 The Complete Ranger's Handbook
2133 DMGR5 Creative Campaigning

1994
2145 Monstrous Compendium Annual Vol. 1
2147 PHBR12 The Complete Paladin's Handbook
2150 PHBR13 The Complete Druid's Handbook
2144 DMGR6 The Complete Book of Villains

1995
2159 Player's Handbook, revised
2160 Dungeon Master's Guide, revised
2149 Player's Option: Combat & Tactics
2154 Player's Option: Skills & Powers
2156 Dungeon Master's Options: High Level Campaign
9504 Dungeon Master's Screen and Master Index
2158 Monstrous Compendium Annual Vol. 2
2148 PHBR14 The Complete Barbarian's Handbook
2155 PHBR15 The Complete Ninja's Handbook
2151 DMGR7 The Complete Book of Necromancers

1996
2163 Player's Option: Spells & Magic
2164 Sages and Specialists
2167 AD&D CD-ROM: Core Rules
9532 World Builder's Guidebook
2166 Monstrous Compendium Annual, Vol. 3

1997
2170 Of Ships and the Sea

1998
2167 AD&D CD-ROM Core Rules Version 2.0
2140 Monstrous Manual
9556 Dungeon Builder's Guidebook
2173 Monstrous Compendium Annual, Vol. 4

1999
11349 Priest's Spell Compendium, Vol 1
11383 AD&D Campaign Option: Council of Wyrms
11453 AD&D CD-ROM Core Rules Version 2.0 (Re-release)

I HAVE NOT INCLUDED in this list, because they weren't really needed, the variant Historical Books, the Spell Compendiums, or the various Card Decks released.

So, for AD&D 2nd Edition - a total of 53 Core Books published over a period of 10 years.

So, since Gary leaving TSR you have gone from 12 Books to play to a whopping 53! FFS! Talking about over-egging the pudding (Black, or course).

Now, onto the WizBro years - I never really got into Wizards (not) DnD - I bought the books, read them - even ran a couple of games - then went back to 1st Ed (with a little 2nd) when 3.5 Came out!

28 'essential' Books released for 3rd Ed in four years making it (on average) the most expensive edition so far.

That was until (also in 2003) 3.5 started pouring out . . . . .

42 Books (correct me if I have fallen short, again I've left out compendiums and such) in just 5 years - putting 3.5 on the top of the expense list.

I have a question for WizkBro - how come thier version of 3.5 (not) DnD needed so many Books to run the game properly. Whereas Pathfinder needs less than a quarter as many books to be up and running properly.

GREED thats why, WizBro and TSR 2 were greedy - Gary made a good living out of AD&D - he did it by producing good, solid product - not by "blanket bombing" the market . . . . .

Right, onto 4th (not) DnD . . . .

In just 3 years, WizBro have released 42 "essential" products for (not) DnD (I've included the Power Cards etc - because they are now essential for smooth play) - FORTY TWO - now thats NOT including the now important Miniature Releases - If you include them the grand total becomes silly (including the 5 Floorplan sets that you will need to go with your miniatures).

Congratulations to WizBro - they have out done themselves this time.

Compare that to Castles & Crusades wich will be 6 essential Products when the Castle Keepers guide finally comes out, Labyrinth Lord which requires but two books (and can be gotten for free), and Pathfinder (if you have a 3.5 leaning) needs only 8 Books (including the Screen) - 9 if you need the conversion guide to bring Characters over from 3.5!

So, to all the 4th Edition (not) DnD fans out there - WHAT A BUNCH OF SUCKERS . . . . . . . . .

New Forum

A friend and I thought it was about time there was a Forum that DIDN'T have to talk about 4th Edition (not) DnD with any respect or manners whatsoever LMAO!

On a more serious note, why yet ANOTHER Forum dedicated to RPG's.

Because I think the current climate warrants it!

Let me explain, in my humble opinion there is too little respect for what Gary Gygax did for our hobby - its only been two years since he passed and on another forum I posted a quick mention of the anniversary of Garys death - and only Warduke had the common decency to respond.

After I had a rant about this, the Forum owner gave some platitudes about people remembering Gary in their own way, with no need to make their feeling public - I felt that was a load of crap to be perfectly frank - and a total lack of respect for the great man

The Realm of Dungeons and Dragons - http://dnd-realm.simplygaming.org/forum.htm it is a place not only to discuss AD&D/Basic D&D, Retro-Clones, and Conversions - but a place to honour Gary's legacy and celebrate what he left behind for all of us.

Please feel free to Join in!

Bad DM's, Horse Plagues, and Relationships

A Friend of mine, who I shall call "Biffo" (Warduke knows who I am on about) 'pinched' my Game World and faffed around with it.

Guildstown became an Oligarchy - run by the heads of each Guild (I wonder what happened to Duke Osric whilst all that happened) and any real 'flavour' to the world started to leech away under his strict and slight unimaginative boot-heel - he 'pinched' almost ALL his plots from other sources, mashing them together as he went along, I kept trying to convince him to run pre-written scenarios (more as a learning experience for him than anything else) but he simply wouldn't. Whether he thought his ideas were brilliant and his games were great I don't know.

My personal problem was this, I was a DM who also enjoyed playing - so when the group Biffo was running for started to fall apart (the couple who used to host the game got divorced, I only got to play a couple of sessions with them - it was a shame, they were nice) and the game shifted to my good friend Chris's house (which was easier for me to travel too).

My previous group (which Biffo had played in) had started to fragment as well, one of the Players had taken the other Guys Girlfriend off him and yet another Player was at the start of a serious illness.

So I became the "Co-DM" for the Group at Chris's House.

Now my attitude to being a DM comes from Gary Gygax himself, you have to be "the Master of the Game" - never needed to refer to the Books whilst running a game, unless something unexpected happened (which to me is as it should be, your notes as a DM should be thorough enough) - one of the reasons I don't like random tables whilst running a game is because they can make you dependant on the books.

Biffo's was somewhat different. His word is law (fair enough IMHO) HOWEVER, that wasn't tempered with any sort of fairness or balance. If he didn't like someones character for any reason - he picked on them. Not good eh'.

But the worst came, when he took offence at the PC's getting around too easily and started the "Horse Plague" . . . . .

He had no thought as to what such a thing could do to a campaign world, MY Campaign World at that. Both myself and Biffo set the Games on Lemuria, and the implications for a Horse Plague on Aerth (and before anyone thinks to ask - I was using Aerth in 1976 some 16 years before it was used for Dangerous Journeys LoL).

No Horses = Less Trading = Increased Prices = Struggling Economy = Poverty

THEN you have the possiblity of War (you have Horses and we don't, you won't share - so we have to take etc, etc)

Something that never came into play when I was running games - but was always there in the back of my mind was the idea of Ferrets. Ferrets were meant to be (sort of) like the Fagins kids of Guildstown, young boys who WANTED to be part of the Thieves Guild but weren't old enough or lacked the Dexterity to join. If Biffo was bothered by PC's getting around to quickly, why not have their Horses stolen. Of course, the PC's would then have just bought more Horses - except, with the constant spate of Horse Thefts - they would not only be in short supply, but really REALLY expensive too (meaning the Party would have to adventure to get more money to buy the Horses).

That way, we have you more localized games - with lots of plot potential - c'mon Biffo - surely its not that hard to figure out!

How to end the Horse Plague - as the Greek Gods are worshipped on Lemuria (along with the Norse Gods, when Christianity took over on our world - the Gods migrated to Aerth - the two exist together in paralel universes), simply have Athena end the Horse plague and put things right. She was supposed to have shown man how to domesticate the Horse AND was supposed to be the inventor of the chariot - I can't see her ALLOWING a Horse Plague to continue!

I think all the above illustrate how hard it can be for two DM to co-run games within the same Milieu.

Chris (for example) sets his games on Aerth, but they are set on an Island off the Coast of Lemuria - Lemoy. Other than PC's sometime having to travel between Lemuria and Lemoy there is no real hassles!

Miniatures or Not Miniatures

Do you use Miniatures with your Games, being "Old Skool" I do - even though WotC have pretty much made it mandatory to run games effectively now that you HAVE to use a battle grid and miniatures making combat more like a tactical wargame - I don't really use them in that way.

They are there (at least from my own perspective) to -

Add Flavour.
Its a far more evocative scene in a Tavern (for example) if the Players know where their characters are standing in the room, where all the exits are, and exactly where the "Mysterious Stranger" is standing - and (hopefully) exactly what he looks like.

Stop Arguments.
How many times has a player argued his character wasn't standing there when a trap went off, or he wasn't "at the back" when those Orcs attacked. If the PC's miniatures are lined up in "marching order" there can be no arguments of that sort.

Scare the CRAP out of your Players.
You are attacked by 10 rampaging Ogres" is no where NEAR as scary as actually putting out 10 Ogre Miniatures, then telling them to roll for initiative. Likewise a Beholder looks scarier "in the flesh" on the table, indimidating the party!

Resolve Combat.
But not in a move your miniature and roll your attack sort of a way, in a broader more role-playing friendly manner. Who has line of sight to what, can the Thief get near enough to attempt that Back_Stab, or is everyone too close together for the Wizard to attempt that Fireball.

There are most likely to be many MANY more reasons than the four I have listed above, Miniatures should be treated as a tool to enable your Role Playing - they should't be allowed to take away from it (I'm pointing at you Wizards).

REALLY?

I've had a couple of messages recently, from people moaning about me "mixing and matching" Castles and Crusades with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st Edition.

They either believe that AD&D is sacred and should be left alone or the CC& is great as is!

I would simply like to point out a remark Gary Gygax once made over at the Dragonsfoot Forums -

YOU can decide for yourself, because what you decide is as valid as anything I might opine, doubly so in the case of your own campaign

Cheers, Gary

Alignments in Castles and Crusades

Its common knowledge that (with a few adjustments LoL) Castles & Crusades is my system of choice.

Its quick, clean playing, and fun - and for the most part has gotten things 'right' (for me at least).

However, there are a couple of things I don't like - the biggest 'bugbear' being the alignments available to certain classes.

Fighters can be of any Alignment, which makes perfect sense - every army, clan, or tribe whether good or evil needs its Fighters - no argument there from me.

Then with Rangers, it breaks down a little. Rangers to my mind should be good aligned, look at Ranger-Types from Literature and Legend - Aragorn and Robin Hood (though the latter is a little rogue-ish) were both Good and the Ranger class should be no different. They should be restricted to Good Alignments only IMHO.

Rogues (why oh why can't they be called Thieves, this post-modern PC naming of things REALLY gets my Goat - I might design a Rogue class, a hybrid Class that cherry picks its areas of expertise), like I said THIEVES for some reason can be of ANY Alignment - WTF, ANY -SERIOUSLY! Thieves/Rogues should be restricted in some way, surely a Lawful Good Thief/Rogue is not only ridiculous its a contradiction! So, Thieves/Rogues can be any Alignment except Lawful Good.

Assasins are restricted to any non-Good Alignment. Now this is spot on, I have always allowed Neutral Assassins - those who consider themselves to be "just doing a job" with no Evil or Malice in what they are doing - Assassin Alignments stay 'as-is'.

Barbarians are also "Any" - SERIOUSLY LoL! The idea of a Lawful Barbarian seems Daft to me, mind you my Favourite Barbarian is Thongor - and Lawful he ain't! So, Barbarians can be any non-Lawful Alignment.

Monks are also Any, there seems to be a pattern here - like the writers are trying to break down the barriers between the Classes. One of the strengths of a Class/Level based system is it gives players (and Dm's/CK's) a good grasp of the way a game world works. Its strengths and weaknesses - and where everybody 'stands' in relation to the world at large. By levying these restrictions a milieu can rapidly degenerate into Chaos creating a lot more work for the DM/CK in the long run. Monks should be restricted to Lawful Alignments only IMHO, this represents thier strong and discplined nature and sets them apart from the other Classes.

Wizards, Clerics, & Illusionists - Any, again like the Fighter - makes perfect sense.

Druids are now any Neutral Alignment. Knowing a little about Historical Druids, and Druidic Characters and Cults in Fantasy Literature - this makes perfect sense. There would be those who lean towards Good just as those who used their powers for Evil.

Knights are allowed any Alignment too, whilst I understand the need for such Evil Knightly characters as NPC's I think they should be restricted to NPC's. In addition to this, how could you have a Chaotic Neutral Knight - he would be incapable, by the sheer nature of his Alignment - of following the Knightly Code. Its illogical IMHO. So Player Character Knights should be restricted to any non-Evil Alignment, and Chaotic Neutral should be off limits as well.

Paladins remain restricted to Lawful Good, so everythings fine there.

Bards - Once again any, like the Fighter - again this makes perfect sense.

Ok, Rant over LoL!