A GREAT IDEA OR A TERRIBLE FAIL!

So, I had a somewhat clever, or extremely terrible, idea. Have two campaigns set in the same campaign world happening at the same time. Ok, ok, I know it really isn't a new or extremely clever idea...but here's the kicker: the two campaigns use different editions of DnD!

What brought this on is the discovering of older adventures and world doodlings that I recently found which I thought were lost. One of the "artifacts" was a highly detailed adventure and world doodle I made for my first 4e game...which ended abruptly...and the other was the beginnings of a mega-dungeon I had started creating for B/X. Both of these artifacts use the same campaign world, my created world of Amsmoria, and both of them happen in, roughly, the same time frame.

So...I'm wanting to run DnD again...as I always do, but rarely do it, and I'm planning on doing that Old-School game at the FLGS, how long have I been planning that?, and I'm trying to get my old gaming group back together...the one that started the 4e campaign...so, why not have both groups...or, hell, just one of them...run two different campaigns at the same time in the same campaign world using different editions of DnD!


Hell yes! Planning here I come!

VINTAGE B/X COMMERCIAL

Here's a vintage commercial for what is fast becoming my favorite version of DnD: B/X.

Enjoy!

B/X Binder

As I've mentioned in an earlier post, I created a binder that puts the Basic and Expert (B/X) versions of Dungeons & Dragons together in one place...essentially like they tell you to do in the Basic book.

To achieve this, I bought a Basic and Expert book from eBay, cut them up, and put them in page protectors.

I've included some pics to show how well it turned out.


























Now to work on a B/X Adventure binder...

CHARACTER FOCUS: KY'REE RAYNESFORD

So I decided to create a 4e ranger...a female, half-elf ranger. Why? Because I've become obsessed with the Hunger Games and wanted to create a character influenced by Katniss Everdeen. I know, I know...

Anyway, I thought I would share her backstory and a few stats. I'm not going to post all her "powers" or other crunch stats...because, frankly, I don't care about them. I'm more about story and role-playing than crunch and numbers.

 Name: Ky'Ree Raynesford
 Sex: Female
 Race: Half-Elf  
Class: Ranger (Hunter)  
Alignment: Neutral  
Deity: Melora
Age: 17  
Backstory: Ky'Ree is the daughter of Alton Raynesford who once had an ill-fated love affair with an Elven woman named Talia Silverhair. He loved her deeply, but her love was nothing more than a fleeting curiosity. After the birth of Ky'Ree, Talia lost interest and left, leaving Alton with a child to raise and the fires of anger and shame to stoke. Alton turned to drinking and lost interest in pretty much everything else. Ky'Ree had to not only raise herself, she also had to support her father. This left Ky'Ree with a fierce sense of independence and burning distrust of most people...and Elves.

Ok, so it's not the most original story, but I'm excited to try her out!

OLD-SCHOOL CHARACTERS: MAGIC-USER

As explained in earlier posts, I am rolling up 10 pre-gen characters for my B/X game. The first one I chose to do was a Magic-User. Here are his/her stats:

Name: Character 7 [heh, heh]
Class: Magic-User (1st Level/Medium)

Str: 8 (-1)
Int: 15 (+1)
Wis: 8 (-1)
Dex: 14 (+1)
Con: 13 (+1)
Cha: 12 (-) (4) (7) [the last two numbers are for retainers and their morale]

HP: 5
AC: 8
GP: 69
XP: 0 (+5% to XP gained)
Alignment: Law

Spells:

1st: Magic Missile

Languages:

Common, Alignment (Law), Medusa [chosen from random roll]

Equipment:

x1 Silver Dagger
x1 Dagger
x1 Standard Rations
x1 Sack (small)
x1 Water Skin
x1 Rope (50')

Saving Throws:

Death Ray/Poison: 13
Magic Wands: 14 (-1)
Paralysis/Turn to Stone: 13 (-1)
Dragon Breath: 16
Rods/Staves/Spells: 15 (-1)

Attack Rolls: (-1) [Due to strength]

9/10
8/11
7/12
6/13
5/14
4/15
3/16
2/17
1/18
0/19
-1/20
-2/20
-3/20


There you go, a nice little Magic-User ready for a game of B/X DnD or Labyrinth Lord.

THE SATYR

It's no secret that I've been excited about Heroes of the Feywild since it was announced. It's also not a secret that I was extremely excited when WOTC announced the book would feature the Satyr as a playable race.

Well, the book is coming out next month and WOTC has begun to release preview exerpts from it...and this week, they've released the Satyr! Yes!

The race information is set like those of the other Heroes books...plenty of role-playing "fluff" mixed with the crunch. The race looks really exciting!

Here's a few stats:

Satyrs get a +2 to charisma, dexterity, or constitution which makes perfect sense to me...especially charisma...they've always been known as charmers.

All Satyrs have to be male...love it!

Satyrs can make saving throws both at the beginning and ending of their turn against fear based effects.

Bluff is always a class skill...makes perfect sense.

And Satyrs get the lure of enchantment racial ability which allows the Satyr to slide an enemy three squares and gain combat advantage against it.

There's also plenty of fluff to go along with all the mechanical rules that really gets me excited about trying out the Satyr.

Recommended classes are: Bard, Rogue, Sorcerer, and Warlock (with Fey pack).

If the rest of this book matches this excerpt, it will turn out to be a hell of a supplement and well worth my wait and excitement!

Think I may roll up a Satyr Bard/Rogue!

THE ROAD TO MERCY

Here's some more photos from the first adventure of the MERCY mini-campaign I ran last night at my FLGS.

BEHIND THE SCREEN

Here's a behind the scenes look at the 4e D&D game I ran last night.

The first adventure in the MERCY mini-campaign.


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OPEN DISCUSSION: THE DUNGEONS & DRAGONS/STAR TREK CONNECTION

As I've hinted at earlier, I've been rewatching STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, and I've begun to notice several similarities between ST races and D&D races. Now this very well could just be my nerd mind going into overdrive trying to tie together two things that I love, but I seriously doubt I'm the only person to have noticed this.

Take for instance the two-part TNG episode "Birthright:"

The main storyline of this episode centers on Worf finding out his father Mogh may not have died at the massacre of Khitomer, but, instead, was captured and placed in a camp by the Romulans. Now I won't spoil the episode for you, just in case you haven't seen it, but I bring it up for one key scene.

When Worf finds the camp, he hears an elder Klingon chanting/singing to a group of Klingons in the courtyard. One major thing struck me when I heard this: I bet that's what a Dwarf sounds like! Dwarves are known for their elaborate songs and chants, and the deep, booming voice of the Klingon sounds, to me, what I think a Dwarf should sound like. So, this got me thinking about more Dwarf/Klingon comparisons.

Here are some similarities that I came up with:

1) Both races center on a war based culture. They honor bravery, courage, and strength.
2) Both races honor ancestry and family ties.
3) Both races are often misunderstood because of their values.
4) Both races love to drink and celebrate.

Now, there is a major difference between the two races. Klingons were the main villains of Star Trek for a long time, but I can think of very few times where Dwarves are cast as major villains.

The other major connection I've found centers on the Vulcans/Romulans and the Elves/Drow. This connection centers less on racial similarities (although they are there), but on the "split" the races faced.

These racial pairs were unified at one time of their existence, but split due to philosophical differences and remain bitter enemies with each group swearing to destroy the other.

A good episode to watch regarding Vulcans/Romulans is the TNG two-part episode "Unification."

So, these are the connections I've found between D&D and Star Trek. What connections have you guys found?

A Special Magic Item

The party found a very special magic item in tonight's 4e D&D game: a +1 Pizza of Yummy!


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OLD-SCHOOL PLANNING PT. 4

Another Saturday at PJ's produced some much needed work on my B/X game.

I fleshed out three of the ten pre-gen characters that I will be using (a Magic-User, a Halfling, and a Dwarf), and...well...that's it basically. I guess I didn't do as much as needed, but it's a start.

In the next few days, I will be working on different tables that I plan to use (names and weather conditions), and try to flesh out the seven remaining pre-gens.


I don't think I will be ready to roll at the appointed date (this coming Friday), but I'm getting there.

A ROLL OF THE DICE

At PJ's Coffee working on the B/X game for my FLGS. I'm rolling up 10 characters for the players to choose from at the first game.

I'm using the standard 3d6 method, and the results came out better than I thought they would.

Out of ten characters, I only had one with a score of 3 (in Wisdom). Two of the characters have a 16 (one in Charisma, the other Dexterity), but none of the characters rolled an 18. I was surprised at this. I assumed at least one 18 would show...that's what I get for assuming.

I only had one character have all ability scores in single digits (8, 6, 8, 5, 5, and 8).

Now I have to give the characters their classes and determine their other stats.

Back to work!








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THUNDERCATS HO!

Cartoon Network's new Thundercats series is not only one of the best animated series in recent history, it's also a great inspiration for Dungeons & Dragons. Take the episode "Journey to the Tower of Omens." In this episode, the party sets off to find the Book of Omens, but must first traverse a trap filled temple. This episode, to me, really felt like a well-structured, exciting DnD adventure. The traps the characters must overcome were highly inspirational, and I plan to incorporate them into some of my future adventures.

The traps:

1) In the first trap, the characters find themselves on a bridge stretched across a very large pit trap. There's a locked door on the other side of the bridge and hundreds, if not thousands, of keys hanging from the ceiling on strings.

Cheetara knocks several keys off of the ceiling in a effort to find one that works, but when she tries the first key, the bridge begins to retract!

The solution ended up having to do with lock picks...which I thought was a bit "boring," but it was an interesting trap nonetheless.

2) The party then found themselves in a long hallway with a locked door at the other end. Now, any DnD veteran would instinctively know that something was wrong with this situation, but, apparently, the Thundercats aren't as knowledgeable about traps...because Panthro starts heading towards the door only to step on a pressure plate not two steps out! As soon as he steps on the plate, spinning blades erupt from the walls, ceiling, and floor!

The solution to this problem was lackluster as well with Cheetara using her super speed to dodge the blades and make it to the end of the hallway.

3) The third trap, and probably most creative, involved a small pool filled with coins. Of course, the two "rogues" of the bunch, Wily-Kit and Wily-Kat run to the pool to gather all the coins they can! As soon as they do, the light reflecting off the water changes and sets off a sensor in a statue on the wall which then begins to spew water into the room!

The solution to this problem wasn't as boring, but was kind of lame, in my opinion. Panthro, who can't swim, finds a way out at the bottom of the room.

As can be seen, the new Thundercats series can offer some excellent ideas for DMs! I know I will try at least one of these traps in the near future...although I will change the solution to it.

OLD-SCHOOL PLANNING PT. 3

As far as adventures go, I am starting out with a simple, basic dungeon just to get all the players familiar with old-school styled play. It shouldn't take more than one session to complete (hopefully). Then I'm planning on running a "horror dungeon" I created called Karamore Abbey...since it will be around Halloween when I run it. Then I will move on to the actual "first" adventure: Keep on the Borderlands. From there, I am planning to do one or two adventures of my own, then move to Isle of Dread.

Of course, in true old-school play, there is no clear indication of where the players will go or will want to go. After the first two games, I will make a small hex map for the players to explore, and they may, more than likely, not get to Keep on the Borderlands until much later than I have planned...since it will be up to them to actually find the keep and the "adventure."

All in all, it should be very exciting!

OLD-SCHOOL PLANNING

Today begins my official planning for the old-school game at my FLGS. My first step is to make a set of pre-gen characters. I'm doing this just for the introduction game. If I gather a big enough following for the game, then I'll allow the players to create their own characters for the next adventure...if they want to, of course.

I'm going to be using the B/X rules (w. Labyrinth Lord for ease of use).

THE ART OF THE "RED BOX"

It's not secret that I'm in love with Larry Elmore's artwork, especially his cover to the classic Dungeons & Dragons "red box," but there's an alternate "red box" cover out there that I think deserves as much respect as the original Elmore design.

When WOTC decided to update the original 1983 basic set as part of their new Essentials line, I was excited because it was the first time in many, many years that the classic Elmore print I so loved would be back on store shelves, but when I opened the box, I was surprised to see that Elmore's artwork no longer donned the actual books! What greeted me was a new print by Ralph Horsley that paid homage to the Elmore classic. I was a little ticked off at first, but as I studied the artwork I became more and more enamored over it. The print not only pays homage to the original Elmore classic, it takes the idea of a single man battling a force of great evil and presents it to a new generation. I think that is why I have always loved this particular image, it, to me, showcases what DnD is all about: a lowly adventurer overcoming great odds.

Old-School Role-Playing Tips (A Three Step Method)

Since many of the people who will be playing my old-school game at the FLGS are "new" gamers (i.e. either started with 3e or 4e), I have decided to provide a short "how to" guide for old-school styled play. Now, I realize many of these tips are standard guidelines for basic role-playing, but I feel they will be useful as an "overview" of old-school styled play.

1. Think before fighting and exploring.

The adventurer’s life is a difficult one. Not only are the monsters difficult, but the dungeons themselves can be death traps.

Tips on how to evade fights:

a. Sneak. If you can sneak around a monster or group of monsters, do it!

b. Negotiate. If you are dealing with an intelligent (or semi-intelligent monster), negotiate with it. If you are dealing with an unintelligent monster (animal), throw food at it. You’ll be surprised at the results of a good attempt at negotiation.

c. Run. When all else fails: run! Remember, XP is gained more from acquiring treasure than killing monsters!

-Tips on how to evade traps and other hazards:

a. Investigate. If you think something may be trapped, then it probably is! Investigate it thoroughly!

b. Test. Always test a suspected trapped object or surface. Remember to stand some distance away when testing! …use your 10’ pole!

c. Avoid. If you lack the skill to effectively spring or remove a trap, avoid it!

2. Explore everything in detail.

a. While in a dungeon, or the wild, take time to explore every little thing.

b. Imagine the room as if it were a real room. If your DM doesn’t give you many details about the room, ask! Ask what type of furniture is in the room, what the room smells like, what sounds are in the room, what is the lighting like, etc.

c. Explore every detail of a wilderness setting. What type of landscape is it? Are there any landmarks? Are there any hidden caves or other adventure sites?

3. Imagine the campaign world or adventure site as a living, breathing environment.

a. What would you do if you actually lived in this world?

b. The key to great role-playing is to imagine yourself as an actual person living in the campaign world. If you can do something in the real world, you can also do it in the campaign world your character lives in.

"OLD-SCHOOL"

So, before I start posting ad nauseam about "old-school" Dungeons & Dragons, I supose it would be beneficial to explain what "old-school" actually is...or at least how I view it. Some would say it constitutes games that pre-date WOTC’s release of Dungeons & Dragons 3e. Some would say it has nothing to do with the release date of a game, but, rather, how it is played. Still, others argue that “old-school” is nothing more than a group of old, grumbling men who have nothing better to do with their time.

Although all these definitions may hold particular “truths,” I take “old-school” to mean a certain style of play that was inherent in older role-playing games. Does that mean that newer RPGs such as Dungeons & Dragons 4e or Pathfinder can’t be played in the “old-school” fashion? Not necessarily. It would be harder, in my opinion, since the rules are geared towards a different style of play…but impossible? No.

So, I suppose the best way to explain what I mean by “old-school” is by providing a list of three examples:

1) Exploration not Story. Adventures should be about players exploring and interacting with the environment not following some pre-determined story.
Does that mean the adventure should be nothing more than a random dungeon with no story tied to it? Not at all. There should be a reason the dungeon, or wilderness/city encounter exists, but it should not have to sacrifice its own individuality by being part of some greater storyline.

In other words: Old-School adventures should be about players exploring a living, breathing environment that is part of a living, breathing world. Not a set piece for a mega-drama that hopes to be the next Lord of the Rings.


2) Players not characters. Most modern games are entirely too focused on skills, feats, and charting every single little thing a player’s character can do. Although this method may make it easier to determine certain things giving the game’s gargantuan amount of game mechanics, who is it really helping: the player or the character?

Yes, I do realize that the purpose of a RPG is for a player to assume the “role” of a character, but a RPG adventure should always test the player not the character.


In other words: An old-school adventure should focus on the skills of a player and not the skills of a character.

3) Imagination not products. Although maps, miniatures, and other gaming materials have been with the hobby since its genesis, they are not needed in order to enjoy the game. A few simple pieces of graph paper, miniatures to represent player characters, and perhaps some counters for monsters are all you really need.

In other words: Although gaming materials are great to have, they should not be a replacement for imagination.

So, there it is: my definition of what “old-school” gaming is. Is it the correct way to play? Well, that’s up to you, but it’s a tried and true method that has continued to see play for almost 40 years.

THE OLD-SCHOOL

I'm in talks with my FLGS about running an "old-school" game once a month, so you can expect old-school geared posts in the next few days as I start planning the game.

WHAT IS DUNGEONS & DRAGONS?

Dungeons & Dragons produces many images in the minds of its fans. Some may wish to recall the illustrations of Erol Otus, David A. Trampier, Bill Willingham, David C. Sutherland III, Jeff Easley, or more modern artists like Wayne Reynolds and Ralph Horsley when they think of the game that inspires their imaginations, but I assign one man to that task: Larry Elmore.

Now, there are some people in the community, especially those of the "old-school" variety, who are vehemently anti-Elmore, and I can understand their opinions. Many of his paintings do look "staged" and some of his models look "stiff," but to me, nothing inspires my imagination like these paintings: