Aranor Prehistory

In The Time Before the lands were ruled by the First, the first intelligent peoples given life by the gods. The First were a divine race, being near-gods themselves. They were mighty in all things that were of the Creation. They were all warriors, wizards, bards, weaponsmiths, and artists. They were fearless and absolutely sure of their power. So sure, in fact, that in time they waged war against the gods themselves.

Of course, they were doomed. They did make an accounting of themselves before their revolution was thrown down, though. Ultimately they were defeated. Their punishment was to have their essence split. They were divided into humans, elves, dwarves, and orcs. Some of the First escaped the sentence, and bade their time, hidden from the gods.

Once the Lessers, as the First refer to the "split" races, had developed sufficiently the First came out of hiding. They very carefully assimilated themselves into Lesser society, albeit as overlords and rulers. They had carefully laid out boundaries for themselves, to prevent them gathering or coming into conflict, in order to not draw the gods' attention. They became known as the Mage-Lords.

The Mage-Lords bred, bred with, and otherwise manipulated the Lessers to create new races and/or modify the original Lessers to better fit their needs. They were ruthless and cruel, vengeance burning hot and bright in their hearts. Some descended into a madness the depth of which only godlings such as they could fathom. These became known as demons and devils.

The empires of the Mage-Lords were vast and powerful. The Mage-Lords possessed a command of magic and artifice the world has never known since. The states and provinces of their empires were interconnected by dimensional gateways and teleportation devices. Paired scrying mirrors were used for communication. Many of the greatest cities were connected by paved highways. Trade was facilitated by these paved roads, as well as by caravansary at regular intervals.

For generations the Mage-Lords were content to rule within their enclaves. Eventually, though, they turned ravenous eyes on their brethren. Their wars forever changed the world. They shared minor secrets of their magic and artifice, instructing certain talented Lessers. Some were deployed as battle mages. Some were imprisoned in magical smithies, slaves set to making magical artifacts of war.

For thousands of years these wars were waged. Eventually all of the Mage-Lords became embroiled in these conflicts. The gods were content to allow these wars to play out. They realized who the Mage-Lords were and watched as they killed each other off. Eventually, there was only one, called Zagrath. Swollen with pride, he believed that having killed all of the other Mage-Lords and assimilated their power, he was ready to vie against the gods.

He marshalled his forces and summoned great and terrible magic. He opened a gateway to the gods' realms and sallied forth. The struggle was titanic. Zagrath bested many of them before he fell. Eventually the gods, at first divided, came together and overcame the upstart. They visited every manner of suffering on him they could conceive. Finally, when they tired of their sport, they threw him down. Literally. Already broken and mad, he plummeted from unimaginable heights to crash into the world. What was left of his mind was lost in that unending fall, and what remained of his body was utterly ruined in his landing.

He landed on a peninsula extending from the southeastern shores of Calanthas, known as Fahldrag. He crashed into a mountain whose original name is lost to time. Now it is called Sloth Negaimus. It is widely believed that Zagrath lies there still, where he fell, a mad godling in a ruined body, plotting revenge and conquest.

There are whispered legends of lost prophesies that as Zagrath warred against his brethren, he kept them alive. He didn't merely assimilate their power. He kept them alive after a fashion, tapping into their living power. Some say that without Zagrath to hold them in thrall they will regenerate their former power and return to torment the world. Most of these legendary prophesies are scoffed at by sages and intellectuals as fabrications of charlatans and hustlers.

There is also the prophesy of Niamician. It is well-recorded and attributed, even if it isn't widely respected. No one knows exactly what Niamician saw in his prophetic vision, but it drove him irretrievably mad. His only writing of the prophecy was this:

"When Zagrath rises, dark and bloody,

clutch tightly your fear with one hand,

and weep your despair into the other."

The Promised Impressions

Without further ado (and in the order I received them) . . .

Monster Manual

This is simply awesome. Monster Manuals are odd beasts (sorry). They are slam full of ideas, but reading them doesn't really flow. Each monster is almost like a chapter, not always related to any other chapter. The art, and graphic design, are phenomenal. The write-ups are fantastic, giving each monster all the space it needs, and nothing more. I grew to detest the 2nd Edition Monstrous Compendium paradigm of "One creature per page". Some of them just don't need that much space. The stat blocks also appear very user-friendly. The stat-blocks in 3.x/4E intimidated me somewhat.

Bounded Accuracy is evident here, in the monster ACs and bonuses to-hit. For example, from the d20 SRD, an Ancient Red Dragon (because, why not?) has the following AC and to-hit bonus: AC 39 and Attack Bonus of +44. The 5th Edition Ancient Red Dragon has an AC of 22 and an Attack Bonus of +17. Of course, there are other points of comparison, and factors that will influence the relative hazards, but I think this is somewhat telling. When we're talking about characters gaining a class-based maximum of +6 to-hit, an AC of 22 is frightening, but not a death sentence. A character could conceivably hit such a beast without benefit of any magic weaponry or other aids. Not advisable, but conceivable.

This speaks to a desire I've had for a while for my games. Characters who are butt naked badasses. They have the potential to be serious threats, sans magic items. I blogged about that in this post. It also means that creatures remain viable threats further into the campaign.

Player's Handbook

I was already familiar with most of what's in here. The system proper is in the free Basic pdf. This book has more options for characters, mainly in the form of expanded class selection, and optional Feats. I'm not trying to review anything here, or even give details, so this is very subjective. I'm just as happy with 5th as ever following this release.

I haven't really read all of the classes. I like what I have read, though. The Paths idea is awesome, and incidentally, something I postulated in this post. That post is dated from a point over a year into the playtest, and I'm not suggesting that my idea for it was original. My point is that I like the concept.

I love the power curve here, too. The max bonus a character will have to do anything, based solely upon class, is +6, and they don't reach that bonus until 17th level. Of course, there are still bonuses based on stats, and other factors.

Backgrounds are awesome, and make excellent hooks into a campaign. I even like the implementation of Feats (at least on paper). They seem to be a gateway to a more limited (and easier to manage mechanically) form of multiclassing. There are feats that allow any class to learn some magic, or cast ritual spells. Weapon and armor feats for the martially challenged. Skill feats to allow non-thieves to dabble in larceny. All in all, a convenient way to customize a character without having to go all-in with a whole new class.

On a slight tangent, I like this for another reason. I have to admit that I liked the concept of prestige classes. In practice it became a min/max holiday. A frenzy of taking a level here and a level there for the sake of a certain combination of abilities. Meh. This is much better implemented and tightly focused. Many of the feats give almost a prestige-class vibe, without the need to have a character with 4 classes just to achieve a particular vision.

Dungeon Master's Guide

This one blew me away. This book is a work of genius on every level. I don't even know where to start. It is like reading the 1st Edition AD&D DMG, if it was written in 2014. It has so many of the things from the original that screamed "DM!" It even has the old Forms of Government table and descriptions. Totally awesome.

The chief way it differs from its predecessor is that the original included tons of advice on adjudicating your campaign. This was vital when you're talking about a game that operated on the concept of DM rulings being part and parcel of every session. This DMG focuses more on conducting the campaign, rather than handling the mechanics. Set the dials and switches, and start the engine. After that, it's all about the story. The rules hum quietly in the background, always ready to smoothly rise to the fore when needed.

On my very sketchy first readings, one of the things I think is pure gold is Appendix A: Random Dungeons. Tables for generating the maps of a dungeon level, as well as "backstory" type details. My favorite tables are the ones for random environment things. Sounds, smells, room furnishings, random books and scrolls. All completely awesome.

The other part that immediately caught my eye was Chapter 9: Dungeon Master's Workshop. This chapter is loaded with optional rules, many of which have their origins in the playtest documents. So, if there was something you liked that was cut from the playtest, like Proficiency Dice, chances are it is in this chapter. The thing I really like about this chapter is that these options are fully realized. This is not a few words of vague advice, like "Rather than static proficiency bonuses, you could roll a die based on level to randomly determine your bonus." No, no. It is fully spelled out, including how it changes the feel of things. Also included in this chapter are optional rules for Honor and Sanity, both very welcome additions.

There is so much to be excited about with this new edition. I haven't even scratched the surface of what I'm excited about, and I have only begun to scratch the surface of what is offered. If you haven't picked it up yet, run, don't walk.

By the way, even if you plan to run a campaign using the free Basic pdf (which is completely viable), you should strongly consider getting the DMG, at the very least. With the advice in it a Basic campaign will seem anything but basic.

I'm Back, Bitches

Call off the search. I have escaped the clutches of the dire time-villain known as the Christmas Peak.

Quick recap: I've been working 70+ hours per week since the beginning of November, so my reading time has been highly restricted. I've read some, but more as some relaxation before collapsing into a fitful slumber. I've briefly touched on several titles. My gaming ADD has an absolute field day under these conditions. Probably the runner-up for Biggest Interest Piquer (I made that word up, it isn't misspelled, so don't look) was  . . .

I love to read and think about Burning Wheel. I also love the hack Luke Crane came up with for Mouseguard. In practice, BW is too story-oriented for me, while paradoxically, it is extremely crunchy. A lot of moving parts, which depend on each other to a (much too) large degree. Torchbearer, though seems like viewing BW through a D&D lens. I didn't read all of it, let alone play it, but I did like what I did read.

Which brings me to the current focus of my creative energies . . .

These are my copies, and not some pic of someone else's I snagged.
Go me!

So, I am fully, firmly, and committedly in the 5E camp. I haven't dug too deeply into my hardbacks yet, but I have previously been reading the basic rules pdf. I want to give my initial impressions, though. Let's get started, shall we?

Nostalgia

Don't rally the villagers and dole out torches and pitchforks here, but I ordered these off Amazon. I don't have a local FLGS. There is a comic shop that probably carries it, as well as a shop that caters almost exclusively to Games Workshop miniature guys. They are both rather tightly focused on their core market (read: elitist), so I don't frequent them very much (read: not ever since the first time). My only other options were Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble, which are every bit the chain-store giants that Amazon is, and they don't discount shit. How does this equate to the "Nostalgia" heading?

Well, as a younger man, I had to save allowance for D&D swag. I also had to either wrangle a ride to a game store, or order by mail. (Incidentally, I acquired a set of those old soft plastic dice by mail, as well as Eldritch Wizardry) That meant time spent in sweet, maddening anticipation. Waiting for my shipments from Amazon (they were all shipped separately), was very reminiscent of that anticipation. It was an awesome way to get into these books.

Taken as a Whole

My feeling at this time is that this really is a melding of all that has gone before.

It has the obvious roots in the LBBs, shared by all editions, in the concepts of the six stats, hit points, classes and levels.

Philosophically, it has the smoothness of B/X in its operation, ease of play, and ease of DMing.

  Its debt to AD&D I will discuss in the DMG heading.



From 2nd Edition we get kits, streamlined, balanced, and standardized in the form of Backgrounds. This new edition seems to evoke 2nd Edition to me somehow. The move from the baroque language of 1st Edition to the smooth, easy-reading of language of 2nd Edition is mirrored here. 5th Edition is much more pleasing to read than either the law-tome known as 3.5 or the tech manual of 4th Edition. It also uses the concept of colleges of magic and clerical domains, first appearing here.

From 3rd and 4th it draws concepts that unify and streamline. Ascending AC allows a much more unified mechanic. In a real way, the to-hit roll simply becomes another skill roll. The three saves being based on stats, found in 3.x, became the six stat-based saves of 5th. The idea of Feats was born in 3.x. Their appearance in 5th is much better implemented, and entirely optional.

4th even offers useful tidbits. The "rest" structure is alive and well, which I do like (blasphemy? Perhaps). One of the most irritating disconnects in D&D, for me, has always concerned hit points. On the one hand we're told the bulk of the damage a character takes represents minor nicks, close calls, and general fatigue. Yet, if depending on natural healing, it could take weeks to recover from a couple of fights. I have always liked the idea of regaining a chunk of hit points following a chance to catch your breath, take a pull from a wine flask, and slap on a bandage or two.

So, that is my thumbnail sketch of what got us here. I think I'm going to split my initial impressions into another post. I'm going to do it right now, so this isn't going to be one of those time I tease you with something I never deliver. Promise.

Circular Logic

The draw and appeal of LBB D&D is undeniable to me. Every single time I read a post from Delta's D&D Hotspot or any of the other old schoolers I read regularly I want to put everything else on the bookshelf and never look back. In fact, I seriously considered doing that this past week.

I was reading the new rules booklet in the Starter Set. It occurred to me that I really don't enjoy reading rules that much anymore. I think the problem is with patience. A lot of rules these days are written to be very friendly. I get this. Our hobby needs new blood, plus it is not populated merely by people that get off on reading rules. I prefer rules that are written in a conversational, yet very straight-forward manner. Delving Deeper and Lamentations of the Flame Princess are two examples, though they have quite dissimilar "voices". One of the reasons I never really make the leap with Alternity is the excessively nurturing writing.

But, I digress. So, I had decided to just pass on 5E, even though I really like its direction, because I just want to stick with something I've been intimately familiar with for almost 40 years. No muss, no worries. No rules that are almost like they used to be, but you need to read them again like you've never read them before, lest you miss a significant detail. OK, good, so that's what I'll do. I think, though, I'll incorporate some house rules I've been knocking around a while now. Such as:

• This one which makes each of the four main classes the "starting point" for what your character will ultimately become
• All my many ideas for making fighters Fighters
• My ideas for bringing some variety to magic-users, including such things as increasing spell efficacy based on ability, forcing mages to be more focused, and making them more combat-survivable

Plus, I do like the way 5E handles Feats (at least in the playtest) and I like the idea of Advantage/Disadvantage.

It then became evident to me that all my house rules have been implemented into 5E to some degree or another. That, along with the things I would drop into any old school house tules I cook up, brought me full circle. Honestly, I don't like house rule documents all that much. I love cooking them up, but at the table, I think it can be a pain to get everyone on the same page (pardon the pun). Plus, for me, I have an easier time trusting a DM (and claiming DM authority) when working as closely as possible with the RAW. Personal limitation, I suppose, but there it is.

The final solution here, which is probably obvious, is for me to stop reading the Starter Set rules document. It is specifically targeted at people that need their hands held by a friendly presentation. Moving forward, I'll be sticking to the Basic pdf for my rules needs. At least until the Big Three drop. After that, all bets are off.

Are DMs or Are We Mice?

There's a lot being said around the interwebs about 5E. Some of it good, some not. Some sensible, some not. Some reasoned, and some reactionary nonsense. I want to touch on something I'm seeing a lot, but I want it known here and now: this isn't endemic merely to 5E as it relates to any older edition. This is equally relevant to any two editions, or entirely different games, for that matter. 5E is just the most current topic of this sort.

After that preamble, my point is quite simple. Old school DMs are imaginative and independent thinkers. We blaze our own way through our own worlds, even if "our own world" is our own version of a published world. We take it all and make it our own. So, why, then, do detractors want to cite certain aspects of 5E as "robbing" us of our self-determination? They report the following:

• The Standard Array takes the dice out of the players' hands from the outset of character generation
• There is a lot of grumbling that the default hit points per level is just a little too attractive to pass up
• The equipment by class and background limits player choice further
• The Traits, Ideals, Bonds, and Flaws tables with each Background totally restrict player creativity

 This brings me to the point of this post. All of those points would be among the easiest houseruled things to work with. Most of them simply aren't even true. Observe:

• 4d6, drop the low roll and arrange to suit is given as the first method of generating ability scores, standard array and point-buy are given as options to that
• We all know that the average roll on a given die is 1/2 that die, plus .5, so the average of a d10 is 5.5, for example. The default hit points for each class simply use this, rounded up. This causes some concern, since it means there is no risk with taking the default value. I say "So what?" If you want your character to be average, knock yourself out. But, seriously, we're old school DMs here. Can't we just reduce that default hp value by 1 on the fly, and move the hell on?
• The equipment packages are offered simply to speed things up when no one wants to take a lot of time hand-selecting equipment that is likely in the packages anyway. Generating starting funds and purchasing equipment piece-by-piece is fully supported in the equipment chapter. And if it wasn't, So What? Prices are given and we all know how to roll for starting gold
• The Traits, Ideals, Bonds, and Flaws tables are there for either players that don't have a firm idea in mind, or NPCs. Now, the RAW don't exactly spell that out, but c'mon, they do say we're not bound to use these options (pg 35, second paragraph). If you're an old school DM and feel absolutely shackled to those tables, maybe you should step outside the box. One of the oft-overlooked aspects of roleplaying old-style was discovering your character through play. It was a process with a certain degree of randomness to it. I like these tables for that reason

The last thing I want to pontificate about is the quick leveling up to 3rd level. It is an established design paradigm that characters are essentially "apprentices" during the first three levels, finding their way in their chosen profession. Some old-schoolers complain about losing the white-knuckle excitement of those low level adventures. Posh! For me, with 37 years at the dice, those levels are tedious as hell. In fact, in every campaign I've played in for almost 20 years, if we started at 1st, we were given either a hp "kicker" of up to 20 hps, a supply of healing potions, or both. And this doesn't even consider the poor wizard, who has but 2 options once a fight breaks out 1) Cast, 2) Pray to not be attacked.

If it sounds like I'm edition warring, please accept my sincerest apologies. I stated in a post a long time ago, I don't mind criticism, as long as it is reasonable. I don't like it when something is picked apart and/or held to the strictest possible interpretation just to make it look bad compared to a liberal and generous interpretation of someone's favorite something.

I like 5E, not just because it looks like a good system. I like it, too, for what it means to the game that has been a steady and constant friend to me, telling stories together lo these many years.

5E Basic: Rambling About Fighters

I've read up through the Classes chapter. I don't really want to discuss races (sorry) except to say that for some reason the 5E dwarf speaks to me more than any dwarf ever has. In fact, the elf is appealing to me as well. I've been human-centric for a long time, mainly because I felt like the other races had become nothing more than optimization options (and this feeling goes back to 2nd Edition). With viable bonuses for all races, plus the old-school vibe (and please don't hate me for wanting an old-school vibe; I am old), I want to play dwarves and elves again.

One of the things I always look for, no matter the system, is to see if I can make a fighter to be feared. This shouldn't be news by now. Well, I believe the answer is yes, but can I make a fighter that is more fearful than one of the other classes? That's always the lurking question, isn't it? So, I'm going to jump the order and look at the fighter first.

With the Proficiency bonus anyone proficient with a given weapon has the same "to hit" bonus as a fighter of equal level. That's a bit unsettling, if considered in a vacuum. In truth, it is just a part of Bounded Accuracy, which basically means that a character's ability to emerge from a fight victorious isn't tied primarily to his ability to lay steel on an opponent once. Fighters get truly nasty starting at 5th level (unless I'm reading something wrong, chime in if I am). See, at 2nd level fighters get Action Surge, which they can use once per rest (until 17th level). This allows them to take an extra action on their turn. Then, at 5th level, they get an extra attack, when they take the Attack action. So, one action (Attack) and they get two attacks. I guess you see where I'm going with this. Use the Action Surge for an Attack action and make four attack rolls. Now, if we couple all this with the Champion Archetype, it gets even more nasty. See, at 3rd level a Champion scores a critical hit on a 19 or 20. Suppose a Champion with Great Weapon Fighting is involved. In a nutshell, he can roll 4 attacks in one round, with a 10% of doing a critical with each, rolling 4d6 if he does crit AND re-rolling any of those that come up a 1 or 2.

Ok, so that could seem a bit contrived, maybe borderline min-maxing, but I don't think so. It isn't twisting up some weird combination that has zero roleplaying verisimilitude. It's pretty much a natural progression along a path set upon during character generation.

Here's my take on the new fighter.

• He is proficient with all weapons, which is something of an advantage, but no class is really screwed concerning weapon choice, so it isn't a great big deal.
• He is the only class proficient with heavy armor (the mountain dwarf has such proficiency)
• Fighting Styles will make him marginally better than any other class in a narrowly-defined area
• The Action Surge/Extra Attack dynamic will be what really sets them apart as death-dealers
• Martial Archetypes will further distance them as Not-to-be-Trifled-With

One other thing: the cleric and wizard gain five Ability Score Improvements at levels 4, 8, 12, 16, and 19. The rogue gains six, at 4, 8, 10, 12, 16, and 19. The fighter gains a whopping seven, at 4, 6, 8, 12,14, 16, and 19. So, when the other classes are getting their second, the fighter will be getting his third. This essentially means that any fighter can easily have his primary combat ability maxed out by 6th level, if his starting score is decent and the player concentrated the improvements there.

I think the new fighter should rightly be feared as he advances. I'm looking forward to seeing the other archetypes on offer in the upcoming PHB. It seems like it would be a simple matter to homebrew some as well.

By the way, the cover I posted earlier is not the one I went with. Here is the cover I ultimately made and went with:

So, This Is the New Basic

I haven't printed it yet. I needed to whip up a cover first. I've skimmed over it, and I dig what I see. There is a printer-friendly version, too. As far as I can tell, though, the "friendly" comes from doing away with a (very light) marbling texture background.There's still a light green background to the sidebars and alternating lines on tables. There is a tan-ish accent at the bottom edge, incorporating the page numbers. I'm not entirely sure how much of a toner issue the marble effect will cause, but I plan to print mine in glorious color.

A note for you OCDers out there: The way the pdf is set up, the page numbers will end up close to the spine. I personally prefer my page numbers in the outer corners. I simply inserted a blank page following the title page (or leave the "back" of the title page blank).

Anyway, here's my cover:

Hopefully I'll have it printed by this time tomorrow. If I have time, I'll post some thoughts.

D-36 (or D-25 Depending on Your Reckoning)

So, here we are at 36 days and counting. And yet it isn't really 36 days. As it turns out, there are certain outlets that will be going live with the Starter Set on July 3rd. That isn't really an issue for me, here in the beautiful Tennessee Valley, as there are none of the uber-special stores convenient to me (at least that I know about). Of real interest to me, though, are the Basic Rules. I'm sure you all know by now that the basic core of the rules will be available free (more on that in a moment). What I learned only today is that the free Basic pdf will be released also on July 3rd, coinciding with the Starter Set pre-release. Hence, he D-25.

Free Basic

I'm ridiculously happy that they are doing this. There are two aspects of my gaming nature that suffer serious compatibility issues:

• I'm an open-source kind of guy and I like my games to embrace that philosophy
• I'm a D&D whore. Period. No matter what other games I look at, post about, or fawn over, D&D is my THING. With the exception of Moldvay/Cook B/X, I have snapped up every edition as soon as availability and finances allowed. It's who I am, it's what I do.

So, releasing the Basic rules free (at least as in beer, not much word about an OGL at this point) is a bold stride toward being able to resolve these opposing forces in my gaming psyche.

By the way, I also pre-ordered the PHB. Unfortunately, I am at my math limit for the weekend, so a countdown to that release is currently unavailable.

50 Days and Counting

I pre-ordered on Amazon. They have that lowest price guarantee going on. Last week the price was $12 and some change. So, I decided to wait for the weekend, after payday, cause, you know, I'm not made of money. Well, Saturday it was back at $17+. I passed on that, not knowing for sure what the price would do. I felt pretty safe in the idea it would come back down, but didn't know it for a fact. And since a hold will be put on my account, I wanted to hit that price at a low point. Cause, you know, I'm not made of money.

Happily, the price today was $12.65 (or so), and I was a go. Green light. Execute. Now the waiting begins.

There is something I want to mention, 'ere I go. I've seen a lot of hubbub about there being no character generation rules in this set. It comes with 5 pregens, with canned progressions thru level 5. I'm mostly ambivalent about it. I'm getting this for two reasons:

• I want to get a real sense of what the new edition should be. Art, layout, etc.
• I'm a fanboy. Even though 4E turned out not to be my cup o' tea, I always wished I would have entered it with it's red basic box.

As far as what I can and can't do with it in the interim until the "big books" come out, that seems like much ado about nothing. There will be a 48-page pdf (free) containing the meat of character generation from the PHB. If that isn't enough, I have the final playtest pack printed and spiraled (booklet sized, no less). So, I think most of us should have enough of our bases covered to survive until the DMG finally hits in November.

By the way, this will be the last post carrying the "Next" label. From here on, posts relating to the new edition will have the "5E" label.

D&DWhatever

I was thinking yesterday. I can't remember what the original thought was (I have some sort of sinus infection, so my brain is like mud). Anyway, whatever I was thinking about brought me to the realization that things aren't changed for the benefit of existing customers. They are changed to bring new customers into the fold. That's understandable, from a certain perspective. A business can't remain a business if it isn't making money. I have issues with the notion, though, when it is applied to D&D.

I've refrained from posting about D&DWhatever, aside from some initial optimism. There are plenty of blogs and forum posts for those interested. I highly recommend Eric's insightful analyses at Tenkar's Tavern. He breaks down posts by the development team from the perspective of a guy that's been in the hobby a while and seen edition wars.

This is a little different, though. I'm not worrying about mechanics and the like. I'm really not worrying over that aspect. If they fuck it up (again), I'll always have OD&D. No, this is more about doing business and insulting my intelligence.

Isn't it ironic that in the oddest circumstances we can find moments of great clarity and lucidity? If only we could express them as clearly and eloquently as we experience them. Somewhere in my mud-brain a stunningly brilliant insight just formed, but I can't seem to grasp it.

The evil Wizard of the Coast casts Confusion, make a saving throw.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I find it insulting that TSR/WotC/Hasbro stopped caring about me a long time ago. Now, they're trying to "bring me back to the fold". The very fold they caused me to leave, because they needed "new blood" in the hobby. All of a sudden my old blood is just the ticket to revitalize the game. They abandoned us to our own devices and we've formed a thriving community of outcasts, our own little Island of Misfit Toys. Now, they want to tap into us. I guess they figuring we've been feasting on free OSR games for so long we must have some gaming-budget-surplus.

I say we install some shore batteries and meet them on the beach. We'll throw their D&DFrankenstein invasion back into the sea and get back to our misfit toys.


PS> I know this post isn't typical, but I'm posting it as-is. I'm not a professional writer and this isn't a professional blog. I'm just a guy sitting at home at a desk, beating my gums about gaming. I'm hoping this is entertaining, if nothing else.

Add-Vance or Sub-Vance?

Allow me to preface this by saying that I have not read any of the D&DNext development releases in detail.

Having said that, I am abreast of the development trends, thanks mostly to Tavernmaster Tenkar and his regular updates. The latest brouhaha is swirling around the inclusion of At-Will Powers for Magic Users Wizards. This is but one of many Bones of Contention the designers will be faced with. They are trying to merge disparate systems. Some of the subsystems are going to be mutually exclusive. What 4E player is going to want to have his At-Will Blaster Ray watered down so his Wizard will be balanced next to the old geezer's Vancian Magic User? What old geezer will be content to blow his wad on memorizing nothing but Magic Missiles, when the 4E rock star wizard can toss them out like Mardi Gras beads?

I'm developing a certain detached cynicism with this whole "Next" development. I may end up eating those words if they do succeed in rolling out the best thing since . . . well, since D&D. Until then I view this entire episode with a certain smug detachment.

Something about this particular point struck me, though. Ever since the words "house rules" were first uttered, Vancian magic has been under the gun. I have no scientific proof to back this up, but I would bet the farm that making combat more realistic and Vancian magic are the top two house rule categories. Spell points, casting rolls, lumping all the caster's available spell levels into one enormous pool, fatigue, it goes on and on. In the callous inexperience of my youth, I, too, railed against it. I still like alternatives, although I can now appreciate the intricacies of it. For years I preferred point-based casting. Now I like something a little more unpredictable, but I digress.

Now that Monte has forwarded the notion of some sort of 4E-style At-Will powers for Wizards, there is no shortage of champions for Vancian magic. All of a sudden it is one of the gilded chestnuts, a virtual cornerstone of the foundation, of what is D&D. I'm not accusing anyone of vacillating, just observing how polarizing events brings out the masses. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that many of those rallying behind Vancian casters have house ruled that system out to some degree. Maybe they even play with a different magic system even now. I fall into that camp, since I am currently mostly working with the M74 Swords & Sorcery Edition. Yet, even those in that camp recognize the value of Vancian magic to D&D. My snide comments aside (made only in fun, btw), Vancian magic is one of the underpinnings that makes D&D D&D. In any sort of "Edition to Rule Them All" it has to take center stage, and it has to be the standard against which any other included magic methods, no matter how "modular", are balanced.

D&D #5

I'm burning out on this. Already. How much longer til the projected release date?

I'll admit to being very hopeful and optimistic when I first read the news. Now I'm basically indifferent. There is something about this whole circus that rubs me the wrong way. This may be confusing, and if it is, I apologize. I'll also go ahead and apologize for any coarse language. I'm frustrated.

So, first WotC buys TSR, saving it from becoming a distant memory. Their first play is to roll out a new edition, something designed to make the game relevant in the then-modern market. That was the first degree of separation. Then, Hasbro buys WotC, and wrought their changes upon the system. A lot can be speculated about their design philosophy, but it's all speculation.

Whatever they were thinking, or why, doesn't matter at this point. What they produced only barely resembled D&D. Now, we have three disparate systems all claiming to be the same game, all claiming the same heritage and pedigree. Now, we have another edition on the horizon that is destined to unite the bloodlines, as it were.

Here is my main problem (at least for today). It seems like there are those in the OSR camp that can't wait to return to the fold. They think it's going to be a glorious day when they can play a shiny new and fully supported D&D again. They seem to think WotC is doing us all a huge favor by making all versions of D&D coexist peacefully. It is my impression that there are many who will completely abandon their dog-eared copies of 1st Edition, or their Lulu copies of Dark Dungeons for this new D&D.

I say that before we line up to sing WotC's praises for a new D&D to rule them all, that we pause to remember that it was WotC that fucked it up in the first place. There really wasn't that much wrong with AD&D when they took over. Sure it needed some clarification and reorganizing. A new edition was in order, but not a wholesale redesign. I'm no MBA, but it is my sense, especially when you look at all the people still playing the older editions, that TSR's problems were not related to an outdated game. Their problems were with their business model, not their product. There's that old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". WotC fixed the wrong thing.

I may chime in from time to time on 5E, but I am no longer going to be following the development of it very closely. I have my older editions and my clones to keep me happy. I don't need a new edition from WotC/Hasbro to legitimize the way I learned to play and have been playing for over 35 years. I'm not worried about DMing a game with classes from x number of different editions. I'm not worried about paying top dollar for a laundry list of options that I can switch on and off at will, and will only end up switching on about seven. It's silly when you think about it: Why pay out the ass for a new set of books that will "allow" me to play the way I always have when I can do that with the books I already have?

Oil and Water

I have been pondering 5E these last few days. Now comes the news that AD&D 1E will be available for a limited time starting this April. This started me to thinking.

D&D was born as a hobby, not a business. It is blatantly obvious that the LBBs were written for hobbyists. There was virtually no attempt to explain the terminology. It was assumed that anyone reading D&D also owned Chainmail. It was like your buddy's house rules. You got a copy of his house rules knowing full well that you were getting, basically, a shortcut and guidepost to creating your own game. The LBBs were sparse to the point of being terse because they were simply one way to do it. It was like they were saying, "This is how we use Chainmail to play out fantasy adventures in Lake Geneva. YMMV."

It occurred to me today: You can not market a hobby. You market products, not hobbies. Or, I guess, more to the point, hobbyists can't market their own hobby. But, corporations can market support for the hobby. At least while there's money in it.

I'm a creative person by nature. I can tell you that it is my belief that it is in the nature of human creativity that we want to create things of interest to us. For example, I have absolutely zero interest in working up Vive Liberte: The RPG of the French Revolution. No offense to anyone interested in the French Revolution, it's just not my thing. It doesn't matter to me if there was a media wave of interest that could capsize the Poseidon, I'm not writing that game. I'm a hobbyist and I do what interests me.

I think that's where TSR started to unravel. They had passionate people writing things that no one else cared much about, and they had people dispassionately developing things simply because they decided that was where the money was. They were completely out of touch with their audience. There is an article by Ryan Dancey here which discusses the WotC acquisition of TSR. In it he notes the disconnect between corporation and consumer that almost meant the end of D&D. In the end, it did mean the end of D&D, I guess, at least as we had known it.

From that article it is clear that Mr. Dancey is a passionate hobbyist with a heartfelt and emotional desire to save the company that meant so much to him as a youth. Which of us wouldn't feel the same way, if put in a position to save D&D circa 1997? It was, I believe, his hobbyist's heart that created the OGL. In the halcyon days of D&D's youth companies like Judge's Guild created wonderful supplements, setting, adventures, and play aids. They were heady times, exciting times, to be a gamer. I miss those days of wonder, of exploring just how far we could push this limitless hobby. I miss those days to the core of my soul.

Then, history repeated itself, and into the garden a serpent did come. 3E, and 3.5E, trod the same ruinous path as its forebears. Too many "splatbooks", too many supplements touted as necessary, too much crap. After 35 + years in this hobby, watching it grow and evolve, I can assure you of one thing: Nothing will erode gamer trust as fast as treating us like a bottomless pocket. The attitude "They'll buy it because they're geeks and we'll tell them they have to have it" is extremely alienating. So, WotC took D&D to the same precipice TSR did, and once again, it took a corporation to save it.

Here at last we come to the point of my metaphoric title. Hasbro is a corporation, dedicated to making money. They came in and remade D&D. I personally believe that it was done to distance their product (4E) from the WotC product that existed under the OGL. Hasbro repeated another mistake of the past. TSR eventually became extremely restrictive about out-of-house products, which was perhaps the first tolling of the death-bell. Now, Hasbro did the same thing. Release a new edition that is free from the OGL. Reestablish control. Then, they did the unthinkable: they released a bazillion splatbooks, supplements, settings, and adventures. They tried to apply the same peer-pressure bullshit "All the other geeks are doing it. You won't be playing D&D if you don't." Was there really any question how that would play out?

Now comes 5E. I was optimistic at first, hopeful even. The more I think about it, though, the more it seems too ambitious to me. That means that either they are telling us what they think we want to hear, or they really do plan on trying to blend all editions and playstyles, which is as doomed as the Tower of Babel. I'm sorry to be so pessimistic about it, but I think if a fifth edition ever does see release, it will be a big box of goodies and cards, like the Hasbro Gamma World. Hasbro is a toy company run by lawyers and MBAs. They will operate under the old baseball adage "Dance with the one that brung you".

Lastly, I believe the pending re-release of the AD&D 1E core is a bone being thrown to us by some hobbyist still in the ranks at WotC. It is the great beast spewing up one last piece of treasure before it breathes its last. This events lead me to a sad contention: We are living in the last days of D&D as a living, vibrant product line. I hope I'm wrong about this, I really do.

All that was old . . .

Good morning, friends,

I have news of some portent for you this morning. A new edition of D&D is in the pipe. You can learn more from the wizard's mouth here.

There is also an articles in The New York Times.

It is evident from reading the articles that WotC is taking a page from the open playtest playbook, used to such great affect by Pathfinder. It also seems evident that they intend to go back to the "toolkit" roots of the game. Love 3E and 4E or hate them, there are certain unavoidable truths about them. 3E attempted to enable diversity among characters with an idea that looked good on paper. That edition's rules for multi classing and prestige classes originally struck me as very cool. In play, however, they battered the gates of reason allowing a flood of munchkins. I also believe that such a tightly woven rules set, where virtually every contingency is spelled out, further opens the doors for munchkins. Because, really, what is a rules lawyer, but a munchkin with a better vocabulary?

4E was awesome, IF you played its game. Stray too far from the RAW at your own peril. One of my chief issues with 4E was the herculean effort it took to create new classes. As you may know, I'm a fan of a small number of basic classes, role-played as "ranger", "illusionist", whatever. But, that was rendered almost impossible in both editions. So, creating new classes along the new model, in order to personalize the game to the world, was almost impossible in 4E. It wasn't nearly so difficult in 3.x. There were numerous examples of using prestige classes to good effect to bring certain aspects of a campaign to life.

There was another thing that I took away from the article. It seems that with 3E and 4E the keys to the game were given to the players. Sure, there were improved stat blocks and new encounter paradigms, but the players were the clear focus. The DM became less of a Master and more of a Moderator. The game didn't belong to him anymore, it belonged to the rules, and to the players' interface with those rules, the characters. It became less an exercise in collective story telling and more about the DM entertaining a table full of players. Players, by the way, that were empowered to tell the DM he wasn't entertaining them properly if they caught him in a rules faux-pas.

I'm cautiously optimistic. I always look forward to a new edition, at least on the run-up, I'm an edition whore, after all. If they can put more of the game back into the DM's hands, and make it more of a toolkit, it should be pretty exciting. By the way, if you follow the Wizard's link above, you can sign up for the open playtest. Make your voice heard. Power to the people.