I am trying to finish the posts about The Tunnel. It is a fantastic location that relies on Spelljammer mechanics. Essentially, it is Spelljammer’s version of a wormhole, but the two endpoints exist on two different planets. Despite the Spelljammer mechanics, the universe is based more on Pythagoras instead of Ptolemy. That means that the Sun is “The Central Fire” and that all planets have a twin that revolves at exactly the same velocity, but on the other side of the Central Fire.

However, there may be delays in posting. There is some extended illness in the family for the missus and I. We don’t have the same condition, but I won’t speak to her illness. For me, it is a combination of arthritis (knee) and extended flu-like symptoms (sans fever). The result feels very much like walking pneumonia wherein I have some energy at the start of the day, but I am completely exhausted by 7pm.

I barely posted a walk-through of grappling rules I posted on G+ but I don’t have the energy to follow-through beyond that. I’m not sure I’ll be able to teach my class tomorrow, either. Ugh.

So I hope things will change soon. Nothing definitive from the doctor yet, but I promise I won’t fill the blog with constant medical updates. Just wanted to say that I’m still here and I hope to finish.

Last side note: 5e has very similar goals to what I wanted for Andras. That encourages me for some reason.

If you don’t know, the RaspberryPi is an ARM-based computer about the size of a credit card with SD Card, USB and HDMI out. Cost? $35.

I look forward to the Open Playtest. I can’t wait to see the rules as presented. I read somewhere (can’t find the link again) that an early playtester reported that it plays a lot like older editions. Considering that playing like *any* edition of D&D is the stated goal, being able to play that way is an important step.

Go what do I think is important? Since WOTC wants my thoughts, here they are:

1. It’s gotta play like the old-school.

Seriously. This isn’t just because of my current preferences. This also comes from my experiences in introducing the game to others. I’ve seen new players bogged down in 2nd Edition when all the optional rules were used and strictly enforced. (Aargh! Weapon versus AC + Individual Initiative + Weapon Speed + Battlemats) I’ve also seen newer players enjoy 4th edition until a combat spanned *three* sessions. When I mentioned Savage Worlds and demonstrated how it worked, the interest was palpable. (Hey, Dragonsfoot has a Savage Worlds section!)

At the very least, it needs to be able to play like the Pathfinder Beginner’s Box. Looking around the net, there’s more than one person that is trying to make a Pathfinder “Expert” Box covering levels 6 – 10. Ideally, it will be able to play like the Swords and Wizardry Whitebox Rules. SW has arguably been to most like clone of OD&D to date (though I really like Microlite74, too.) The originals were rife with little-known rules throughout the document, but the clones have streamlined those rules into a simple to follow format. The Fifth Edition has to be simple to follow and quick to play.

But, it also has to be able to play like edition 3.5 and 4. Trust me, when the first playtest rules come out, there will be an outcry from two different camps saying the the new rules break D&D. One camp will be the 4e folks. The other camp will be the OSR folks. How can WOTC make it feel like all versions of D&D?

2. It’s gotta be modular.

I love me some subsystems. Andras was born out of my attempt to make my own modular subsystems fit into something like 2nd Edition D&D. I want a Skill subsystem to incorporate Thieves’ Skills, Bard Skills, Non-Weapon Proficiencies and other class powers. I want a class building system to be able to make custom player choices. I wanted a spell building system to come up with relatively balanced spells. Then there’s the monster building system, item creation system, dungeon crafting system, world-building system, etc. I know that some of these of player-oriented subsystems and others are GM only. Still, I want these. I also want them to be able to work with each other, not in opposition to each other.

Second edition did more to include optional rules and subsystems than any other edition. If you play 2e without using the optional rules, it feels a lot like B/X or BECMI D&D. If you add a few subsystems in, you have a game that feels like AD&D. Heaven help you if you use them all, but if you do, you have a game that feels like forever. I would say newer editions of D&D, but that’s not a fair comparison.

So now there’s rules for playing *my* edition of D&D, but how do I use all the stuff that I have already purchased? I bought this stuff and I would really like to use it. What do I do?

3. Make a conversion manual from older versions to 5e and vice versa.

The third edition Conversion Manual was really good. Step by step, it explained all the changes from 2e to 3e. In what I thought was an easy to follow layout, I found all the changes and how to convert a character to 3e. Although it wasn’t too hard to do, I could use the Conversion Manual to go the other way, but I would really like a document that walks through the conversion.

If WOTC plans on supporting every version, there should be a free Conversion Manual for each. Sound outrageous? Not really. It would prove the claim that 5e can be used as a way to play *your* version of D&D. More than that, though, I think it would spur ideas for customizing the game. I could imagine an unofficial, fan-created conversion book that goes back and forth between Pathfinder and 5e. You could even have LL to 5e and OSRIC to 5e guides. Yes, these would be fan-created.

Fan-created stuff? How will that work with the reality of the current GSL?

4. 5e must have something like the OGL.

Not only that, they’re going to have to eventually open up 4e stuff. More on that in a minute.

Without an OGL, there will be no reason for players of older editions to buy 5e. There are more than one OD&D clones. There is a 1e clone, a 2e clone and a BECMI clone. There’s even a B/X Clone with its own separate Companion volume. In fact, with Basic Fantasy, you already have something that is a version of 3e that plays like B/X D&D. In some ways, Chris’s labor of love could be a window into what *your* version of D&D, a version that isn’t purely 1e,2e,0e or Alphabet Soup, would look like. The point is, that without an OGL, not only will OSR folks like me have no need to buy 5e, any interest in 5e will stop with the playtests. I say OSR folks, but this would include Pathfinder folks, too.

So what about the 4e thing I said earlier? Well, if there is a new OGL, but nothing for 4e, then 4e folks have no reason to invest in 5e. All 4e users will have been orphaned with no ability to create fan-created material. Fourthcore could have been something great, but the lawyers found a way to mess it all up. For some folks, Fourthcore *is* their version of D&D. If 4e is not opened up, the opportunity to created a Fourthcore-like system will be lost.

More than that, opening 4e material brings in fans to stuff that is otherwise unavailable. How will they retroactively make some of the 4e stuff OGL?

5. WOTC has to sell the entire D&D product line again.

If you’re going to let me play *my* version of D&D, I have to have access to all the stuff created for it. I want *my* version of Spelljammer, release the PDFs. I want *my* version of Mystara, release the PDFs. Someone out there wants *their* version of the Amazing Engine, release the PDFs. Take advantage of the Long Tail. Really. Add the OGL to *some* of the core products from earlier editions so that they can be used to make *my* version of D&D.

With many clones already in existence, it can be argued that a gamer doesn’t really need 5e at all. I certainly wouldn’t need it at all to play. However, even if folks like me don’t get the 5e PHB, DM Guide and MM, I would get the old PDFs if I could. The reason is that the only two ways I can get the old books is eBay and Demonoid.

WOTC doesn’t like PDFs? Fine, make an app. But if you make an app, the old stuff has got to be free or 99 cents. Make sure you make an Android app and an HTML5 app for the folks like me that don’t have a tablet device. Whatever you do, please don’t keep the DDI. Nothing will drive away non-4e players more than forcing a subscription model on us. The unscrupulous will simply continue to pirate the PDFs. All the pirating goes away, if *my* version of D&D has rules that are easy to access for me.

Will this all happen?

Probably not, but I really hope so. Good luck Mike and Monte.

I wrote a short story called Two Friends in an attempt to kickstart my brain into writing more for the Shayakand setting. At the time, my goal was to generate generic PDFs for Southeastern Asian flavor that a Savage World GM could drop into their game. The idea was that after writing six of these smaller PDFs, the entirety of them could come together for a Shayakand Sourcebook.

The races were created with no big issue, but I was unable to finish the others. So, in March I started writing back here. Work began again on a 2e clone.

Most of this year has been the evolution of this game, now called Andras. Along the way, it has evolved from a clone to a 2e inspired game. Since my early groups all played an amalgam of B/X,BECMI,AD&D and 2E, that only makes sense. I never played D&D with just one player’s handbook. Heck, I didn’t play Marvel with just one, either.

Outside of that, I have discovered a lot of fans of the football game called Statis-Pro Football. This Avalon Hill game was one of my favorites back in the 80s. I loved playing it and I still do. I have all the cards I can find that were created by Lee Harris. I also have the formulas used in the 6th edition of the game.

This year I have two writing goals:

• Finish Andras.
• Make Statis-Pro Football Cards

When it comes to Andras, the finished project will be like the Introductory Box post. In other words, it will have a separate guides to help people to just sit down and play. Considering that another goal is a multitude of options for the player, that could be a very tall order.

When it comes to Statis-Pro Football, I plan on making 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 cards. I also plan on making a separate set of cards that are modified in a way to eliminate the dreaded rest rules. If I get a chance, I’ll try to make some historic teams, UFL teams and others.

I only have one gaming goal this year. I want to have a regular Google+ game.

I wish everyone a happy 2012. I hope you have a great time gaming!

What follows may not be the ultimate answer to an issue raised so many times, that it would take a week to link to ten percent of the conversations about it.  It’s more of an idea presented in an interrogative mood.

Keith commented on my post with this:

So, in D&D 3.x terms you might implement different character archetypes (‘knight’, ‘archer’, ‘healer’, ‘holy warrior’, ‘fire wizard’). I’m thinking about four pages each, for as many levels as can fit (including feat selections and descriptions, and possibly even spells — so it might be only 3-5 levels). Enough to get them started, then point them at the core book for more. Include selection criteria and build suggestions (the knight probably wants a fair bit of Strength, for example, so “description of archetype” and “what it takes to be good at this” should probably be near the top)

Let me expand this a little with the contents of a ‘perfect’ newbie DM kit assembled at The Yaqqothl Grimoire:

• Small dice, pencil and eraser;
• Swords & Wizardry White Box (First Print, Gorgonmilk’s awesome cover);
• (Possibly) Rob Conely’s Blackmarsh setting;
• James Raggi’s Tower Of The Stargazer introductory adventure;
• Matthew Finch’s Quick Primer For Old School Gaming;
• A4 sheet of (numbered) hex paper.

So let’s breakdown all of this preface. Here’s a generalization of both comments:

• A core rulebook – (for example the players information in the S&W Whitebox and Matthew Finch’s Quick Primer for Old School Gaming)
• A GM rulebook – (for example the GM information in the S&W Whitebox)
• Player Kits – (Four page documents with information about class as well as ‘how to play’ information. Provide some material to make the character customizable.)
• An Introductory Adventure – (for example, Tower of the Stargazer)
• An Introductory Campaign – (For example, Rob Conley’s Blackmarsh)
• All the tools needed to play – (Graph Paper, Hex Paper, Pencils and Dice.)

Why use S&W Whitebox as an example? In part because the Pathfinder beginner box has a 64 page rulebook. Mostly, though, it’s because I think the Intro Box should contain the entire game.

Blasphemy? Not really. Outside of an RPG, who else buys a game that is incomplete from the beginning? M:TW? No, you don’t need the expansion packs to play. Axis and Allies? UNO? Trivial Pursuit? Settlers of Catan? It seems to be typical in the RPG world that the only way to get a complete set of the rules is the buy every book made for the previous edition. Otherwise, you are sold something that is already incomplete and experienced gamers know it.

Don’t get me wrong, a good RPG should be expandable. Most of it should come from people actually playing the game. What better way to engage customers than to help them with their customizations?

Sorry, off-topic. Different rant, different day.

Back to the idea of an intro box, the addition of something like Blackmarsh is a useful tool to new GMs. Providing Blackmarsh not only provides part of a world to play in, it also provides an example of how to make your own worlds. The mini-setting is the perfect counterpoint to an example introductory adventure. The adventure is focused on the microlevel, how to structure enough material for one or more sessions of fun with friends. The mini-setting provides the tools to help tell a continuing story, or at least a place to expand beyond the introductory adventure.

I know, I know. RPG publishers are out to make money. The Pathfinder Beginner’s Box is doing really, really well and it doesn’t follow my formula. However, the Beginner Box site offers some of these things for free. Despite not being able to go past level 5, there’s lots of support for this game so far. In fact, more than one person has talked about making a PF “Expert” set that covers options for characters above level 5. I believe that they could make something like PF Lite and really make a good amount of money.

Before closing out this post, I’ve been trying to think about how other RPG publishers outside of Paizo and WOTC could make a box like I’m describing. Could there ever be a Warhammer 40K intro box?

Enough of me, though. What do you think?

Andras crawls as it is a busy time of year. I hope to have an alpha level PDF soon for Om Magike.

Meanwhile, if you follow me on Twitter, you’ll see that I’ve become more of a curator of things geek and RPG. If you enjoy the links, let me know. One day, I hope to be a human on Twitter as I miss the interaction.

As far as gaming goes, I tend to be behind. I just discovered that Paizo is licensing a MMO game.

This is hardly news to anyone. Personally, I wish Paizo well. I hope folks really like it.

Seeing that this happens from time to time, I keep hoping that someone will license Labyrinth Lord or Swords and Wizardry into a MUD. I wish it would be as simple as downloading Pennmush and creating rooms. I imagine it would take a bit of programming to get the standard classes.

Still, it’s a frontier untouched by the OSR so far…

I still remember the unofficial MUD list circulated in college. Once I got XWindows running on my Amiga in my dorm room, I could rely on a bit of good gaming, especially during finals when the brain was fried.

I know that the OSR is more than just nostalgia. It’s just that the idea of an LL MUD MUSH would be the ultimate in retro.

Then again, maybe putting all the rules in an HTML Help file is the ultimate retro.

I promise to have something more useful next time.

Oddly enough, there has been criticism in the past where Labyrinth Lord called itself the Rosetta Stone of Old School Fantasy. Truth be told, it is the platform that created Original Edition and Advanced Edition. It also spawned Mutant Future and Humanspace Empires. All that’s left is Alternity and Boot Hill and we got the whole shooting match. (Maybe if you’re a completist, you’ll want the Amazing Engine, too.)

But Swords&Wizardry has generated its own progeny as well. There’s Ruins & Ronins, Ultima, and Battlemech (can’t find the link). This isn’t even mentioning the number of versions of the core rules and Brave Halfling’s new rules in development.

Are there more clones that operate like platforms? Looking at other old school games, S&W and LL appear to be the two largest platforms. Microlite20 is a strong third, there are so many add-ons for it, that compiling them all generates a 600+ page document. Openquest is a great rules system, but no one that I know of is working on a space-based game with OQ as the foundation. The D6 game spawned all sorts of games in West End Games’ hey day, but only one publisher is actively building on it. Both of these systems could be great for making all sorts of games. That’s why I use part of the spell building system in D6 Fantasy and a variation of the OQ skill system in Andras.

So, what does this prove except the fact that I can add a boatload of links to a post? There a platform out there for whatever game you want to make and it is broader than the legacy of TSR.

Did you know that the STRength scale in the Action! System is setup so that the STR of a horse will scale to units of horsepower?  Give a STR value to a vehicle and you have the power rating for its engine. It also scales in powers of 10 so that you don’t have to have a space craft with a STR 4200.

But I digress.

I don’t believe that Andras will become *the* platform for gamers everywhere. What I do know is that I like a game that can help me define just about anything I want. Mechs? Sure. Interdimensional Self-Replicating Bismuth Golems? You betcha. Greyhawk? Not a problem. A Spelljammer version of Tekumel? Yes, but the rest of the internet will hate you for it.

I hope that with the fair number of systems presented, folks can find something to use for their game. Skill-based wizard? Roll d20+d10 under the INT score for a rules-lite game and a roll under Spell skill for a more nuanced approach. Spell Creation System? Here’s a short version and a detailed version complete with an expandable table assigning effects to point values. Vancian Spell Name Generator? How about Hastra’s Delicate Surfeit. Monster Builder? Here’s some tables and an XP Chart.

More than that, I also want to provide spreadsheets. If someone wants to make their own spreadsheet based generators, lots of useful data will already exist in spreadsheet format. Better yet, convert the files into csv and build database apps. Go for it. I am intentionally building the various spell lists in a spreadsheet for this reason. Monsters will exist in a spreadsheet as well as the class builder. It’s one thing to provide a text version of the rules, it’s another to provide a dataset for folks to build with.

The ideal system for me would be 48 pages of rules and another408 of magic item tables, classes, spell lists, price lists, etc. The GM’s guide would have a bunch of tools to make just about anything from a monster to a class to a demi-plane and everything in-between. A person could basically ditch everything after page 48 and use the GM guide to recreate anything needed.

Work continues very slowly in October – with birthdays, anniversaries and non-profit events, it’s a very busy time. But I have the XP tables for monsters ready as well as the SRD versions of spells in the 2e PHB in a spreadsheet. This winter, I hope to get quite a bit of work done and have a playtest document before March.

Thanks for the six people that indulged me a bit of commentary.

When I generate a post, I’m not going for something free from errors. In fact, I welcome any comment about glaring omissions, bad ideas, or kindly inquires about my sources. I even look forward to non-abusive-dude-what-were-you-smoking rants. The point is, many posts are a way to write down ideas in a public place. Some of these half-baked ideas may be developed further, some will not. A series of posts may contradict each other. Take for example the development of the Arcanist. It began with a nod to OpenQuest and will end with a new skill/proficiency mechanic, nods to OpenD6, and the ability to give cantrips to NPCs. Following the threads may be an unholy mess…

Downloads (mostly pdfs and odf files) are intended to be higher quality. I want it to be a finished product suitable for including in a game if anyone wants to use it. So when the Arcanist PDF comes out, it will be the result of effort in layout, ODF template creation, Scribus work, and editing by one or more of my non-gaming friends.

I haven’t done any downloadable stuff  since I began regularly posting again this March except for the first draft of the Arcanist. I didn’t take it down, but I did make an apology for it’s poor execution. In the big scheme of things, it’s no big deal, but it did bother me for a long time that I got this idea in my head that I had to publish something, even if it was bad.

Posts will come streaming along like the text of Finnegan’s Wake, but when an idea is finalized, I hope the resulting download will be something worthy of your consideration.

Without any suitable way to end this, here’s a poll that relates to the previous post about a creature similar to a fire elemental. If the Elemental Plane of Fire doesn’t exist, what would you call the plane of origin where one of the species that lived there was pretty much the same as a fire elemental?

[poll id="1"]

Created by OnePlusYou

There goes my module proposal for LoTFP.