Well, once again, it’s been way too long since my last post. Pretend I’ve explained the usual excuses in the remainder of this paragraph.
Now check out the picture. Click to embiggen if you want.
That’s me gazing down in glee at my 386-page hardback copy of Black Blade Publishing‘s OSRIC, which stands for Old School Reference and Index Compilation. For the unwashed, OSRIC is 1E AD&D. Those 386 pages include 1E AD&D’s Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master’s Guide reborn as an Old School ruleset that’s been cleaned up, clarified, and presented anew.
There’s a lot of nifty stuff in OSRIC. For example, consider OSRIC’s take on infravision:
“Infravision is the ability to see in the dark and is common to almost all subterranean creatures.”
Notice what infravision is not: It’s not the ability to detect gradations of heat. Notice also that in dungeons and caverns, infravision is pretty much ubiquitous among the monsters the heroes will encounter. Sound great if you’re a subterranean creature, but infravision has its limits:
“Infravision cannot be used within the ambit of any light source.”
I love that it says “within the ambit”. It’s not often a gamebook sends me toward a dictionary. I know enough Latin to recognize that “ambit” is almost certainly a Latin verb, and etymonline.com confirms my thoughts. “Ambit” derives from ambire, meaning “to go around, go about”. Its modern meaning tends toward “the bounds or limits of a place or district”.
In addition to a range limit (usually 60 feet), “Infravision does not detect colours and is of little help while searching or making minute examinations, so sapient creatures such as orcs may well prefer torchlight even if they possess infravision.”
On the run from orcs through a subterranean fungus forest? Well, if the orcs are tracking you, the orcs need torchlight. Searching for traps on that sarcophagus or reading your spellbook? You need torchlight as well.
One of the unfortunate consequences of the more recent idea related to infravision as darkvision is that torchlight, et cetera, becomes unnecessary for most non-human creatures. For humans especially, the lack of darkvision turns into a huge liability as the light sources necessary for exploring otherwise lightless caverns turns into a huge warning signal for any enemies the humans might approach.
OSRIC’s simple description of infravision ameliorates that issue as well as disposing on one of my 1E AD&D pet peeves, namely players and DMs wrangling over gradations of heat and what is visible versus invisible as a result. If I never hear another discussion about whether or not lurking zombies are the same temperature as their surroundings and, therefore, invisible to infravision….
I’m still digesting OSRIC, biting off a bit here and there. So far, I really like it. It stays true to its 1E AD&D roots while at the same time appearing fresh, as if it were very much its own thing. I have a feeling running OSRIC waits somewhere in the near future, especially since the school year ends this coming Friday.
Over the past few days, I’ve tooled about a bit more with Green Ronin Publishing’s Mutants & Masterminds (M&M), which has a robust character creation system that so far has never failed to emulate whatever character concept I’ve come up with. (Caveat: Some character concepts, however, become problematic operating within a specific power point budget. If I’m like the government and just pretend budgets don’t matter, then even the sky’s not a limit.)
For example, I created Major Challenger, a Power Level 10 hero, who is an interdimensional astronaut who explored subatomic universes until his diminution device malfunctioned, trapping him on Earth as a 30-foot tall giant. Via the remaining functions of the diminution device, he can shrink down to one-sixth his normal size. Major Challenger is a “street legal” PL 10 character built with the standard budget of 150 power points. If you’d like to take a gander at Major Challenger, click here.
M&M can also be used to create specific effects that model a movie hero’s special abilities. Who can forget that time when Batman used his hypnotic dance skills to get the drop on King Tut and his goons? Don’t you wish your hero could do the Batusi? Of course you do.
The Batusi Effect: Perception-Ranged, Concentration-Duration, Cumulative Affliction; Limited to Two Degrees with Instant Recovery. Cost:2 points per rank.
You perform a stunning series of improvised but fascinating dance moves. Those able to see you get a Dodge resistance check. If successful, they suffer no effects from your dance (although that also means they can’t see you). Targets who see your dance must make a Will resistance check against your effect DC. One degree of failure renders a target entranced by your performance. Two degrees of failure makes the target helpless. In subsequent turns, if you take a standard action to continue dancing, targets who can see you must make new resistance checks. Those who watch your dance long enough likely end up defenseless due to the cumulative effects of your sweet moves. Affected targets recover at the end of the turn you stop dancing (no resistance check required).
Some games I at least think I’d enjoy playing more than I’d enjoy GMing. One of these games is Green Ronin Publishing’s Mutants & Masterminds (M&M). It has all the makings of a great game: a relatively simple system, a unified dice mechanic, point-based character creation, and (if you’re into that kind of thing) an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink core setting that clearly respects the genre. I love M&M more in theory than in practice, however.
Hero creation is M&M is a bit laborious (although pales in comparison to Champions and GURPS Supers). If one plays with folks that are either a bit spotty on their basic math skills and/or think superhero games are about building the do-it-all but never-gets-hurt character, then M&M can be frustrating. The frustration appears with players who don’t respect (or know) the genre and/or the parameters of the GM’s campaign. I’ve run into the latter more than once.
Years and years ago with people whom I no longer game with, I tried running an urban, four-color hero game. The hero’s were expected to be heroic. I thought I’d made this clear, but that didn’t stop one player from showing up with a murderous speedster who acquired and maintained his powers by stealing crack cocaine from the drug dealers that he killed. Another player showed with a teen-angst loner that frequently insisted on being a team of one.
Ug.
M&M’s first edition was a bit wonky, and much of this wonkiness was fixed with the second edition. M&M’s third edition, however, is even better. It retains the vestiges of its d20 System roots, even going so far as to change the standard six ability scores (STR, INT, WIS, DEX, CON, and CHA) to eight ability scores (Strength, Agility, Fighting, Awareness, Stamina, Dexterity, Intellect, and Presence). Green Ronin also tips their hat to TSR’s iconic Marvel Super Heroes (MSH) with color-coded Damage Resistance Matrix that evokes nicely MSH’s Universal Table.
Since it’s been a while since I made up a M&M villain, here’s a new one inspired by Boris Karloff. I used the Crime Lord from the M&M Gamemaster’s Guide as the base for the Monster.
Francis Stein, also known as the Monster, claims to have been created by the Doctor Victor Von Frankenstein in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. Abused and neglected for years, Stein escaped his evil creator and lived as a fugitive either in the wilderness or on the outskirts of society. Over the decades, Stein accumulated a remarkable education and impressive skills. Stein leveraged his education and skills, along with his superhuman physical abilities, into a career as a mob enforcer, rising through the ranks by a combination of cunning, violence, and longevity. Today, Stein dominates a criminal empire involved in extortion, gambling, and smuggling.
Francis Nathan Stein aka The Monster Power Level 8
It’s April the first, which means ballyhoo and shenanigans!
Meireule “Lord of Misrule” Demigod
Armor Class: 1 Move: 15” Hit Points: 95 No. of Attacks: 3/2 Damage/Attack: By weapon type Special Attacks: See below Special Defenses: Immune to enchantment/charm, and see below Magic Resistance: 35% Size: M (5-1/2′ tall) Alignment: Chaotic neutral Worshiper’s Align: Any chaotic, plus revelers, children, lunatics, and entertainers Symbol: Six-pointed star with a heart in its center Plane: Prime Material Plane Cleric/Druid: Nil Fighter: 7th-level fighter Magic-User/Illusionist: 10th-level illusionist Thief/Assassin: 8th-level thief Monk/Bard: 13th-level bard Psionic Ability: IV S: 16, I: 19, W: 12, D: 19, C: 18, CH: 20
Meireule, the Lord of Misrule, is a minor deity concerned with festivals, revels, the rowdier side of childhood, and overthrowing the established social order in favor of whimsy and anarchy. He appears as an outrageously dressed man with a large nose, neatly trimmed mustache and beard, and invariably carrying a ridiculously slender staff and a rapier.
In battle, Meireule fights with his staff or his rapier. The former strikes as a +3 quarterstaff. On any hit, the target must make a saving throw versus spell or be struck silly (as confusion, but treating results of 61 or better as “reduced to helpless laughter for 1 round”). This silliness lasts for 5-10 melee rounds. His blade strikes a +3 long sword. On any hit, the target must make a saving throw versus spell or pass out in a drunken stupor from which he cannot be stirred for 2-5 hours. Lawful creatures suffer a -4 penalty on their saving throws to resist not only Meireule’s weapons but also any of his spells.
Furthermore, no mortal that has consumed alcohol within the past hour can attempt to harm Meireule in any way (no saving throw permitted, but this effect is negated if Meireule attacks the drinker). Of course, Meireule, while not objecting to a light-hearted brawl, prefers to not engage in combat. He enjoys using his illusionist, thief, and bard abilities to sow confusion and merriment.
Like all divine beings, Meireule has the following special abilities, all of which function instantaneously and at will, but not continuously: command (no saving throw), comprehend languages (including the ability to speak or write the language as well), detect alignment, gate (3-18 leprechauns), geas (with a range of 9”), quest (with a range of 9” and no saving throw), teleport with no error, and true seeing.
Last post, I talked a bit about the ad-hoc superhero game of which I’ve run one session with a second session scheduled for this coming Wednesday. One of the superhero games I have but have seldom played is TSR’s Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game (MSHAG) published in 1998 with primary game design credit going to Mike Selinker, who based his work on the Saga rules largely engineered by William W. Connors. Unusually for TSR’s games, MSHAG doesn’t use dice for anything. The Fate Deck, consisting of 96 cards divided into five suits, governs character creation and action resolution in much the same way dice do in other games.
All in all, it’s an interesting system. It’s attractively illustrated and written in that “Hail, True Believers!” style that helped put Marvel Comics on the map more than half a century ago. The last time I GMed (or, to use in-game terminology, narrated) MSHAG, I made up a team of Mexican luchadores who used their sweet wrestling moves and superhuman powers to defeat a wicked plot to take control of the Southwestern U.S. by means of black-magically altered cabrito, the consumption of which reduced one’s resistance to external control. It was a hoot of a game, even if we all found the system a bit clumsy at times. I’m almost certain that this systemic clumsiness had more to do with our unfamiliarity with the rules than the rules themselves.
Like a licensed superhero games, the core assumption is very much that the players will run Marvel Comics heroes as their characters against Marvel Comics villains controlled by the GM. TSR’s Marvel games, however, have always included rules that let players create their own heroes. This is pretty much the way we always played TSR’s classic FASERIP Marvel Super Heroes, although comic book characters did make appearances, usually as villains or at least adversaries. For example, back in high school, one of my characters was the Gray Fox, a reformed super-mercenary with a bloody past, who went toe to toe against Captain America atop a skyscraper. The Gray Fox won the fight by managing to hurl Cap off the skyscraper. While Cap fell, the Gray Fox escaped.
Ah, good times.
Anyway, I’ve had the adjacent picture of the incomparable Vincent Price sitting in a Pics folder on my desktop for months. I figure it’s about time I did something with it, so here’s an MSHAG villain created using MSHAG’s character creation rules.
Step 1: Concept: I’ve got one.
Step 2: Draw Cards: I draw 10 cards from the Fate Deck. I discard the 1s, 2s, and 3s, and redraw (because I’m using the powerhouse option). I sort the cards by suit: 5 and 6 of Strength; 4, 6, and 8 of Intellect; 5, 6, 6, and 7 of Willpower; and the 10 of Doom. I have no Agility suit cards.
Step 3: Ability Scores. Ability scores are determined by assigning up to three cards to each of the four abilities. The lowest ability permitted is 2. The highest is 20. The sum of the cards gives the ability its score. I assign the 6 of Strength to Strength, the Doom card to Agility, the 8 of Intellect to Intellect, and the two 6s of Willpower to Willpower. The number of cards assigned to ability (excluding Doom cards) that match that ability’s suit determine skill codes. Doom cards never grant skills, so my villain has no Agility skills.
Step 4: Skills. My villain gets two Strength skills (Climbing and Martial Arts); two Intellect skills (Law and Occult), and three Willpower skills (Intimidation, Manipulation, and Mesmerism).
Step 5: Hand and Edge Size. Since the game uses cards, these stats relate to how many cards a villain gets (Hand Size) and how easy it is to get more than one card into play at a time (Edge). Hand Size also determines how much damage a villain can take. I’ve got four cards left, one of them the 7 of Willpower. I use it to raise my villain’s Hand Size and Edge by +1 each.
Step 6-7: Powers and Stunts. The remaining cards are used for powers and calling (see below). Powers are divided by suit like ability scores are. I put the Willpower card into Ability Boost and the two Intellect cards into Alchemy. Since one Willpower card has been put into a Willpower power, my villain gets one stunt. Likewise, with two Intellect cards in an Intellect power, the villain gets two more stunts. Each stunt is specific to its power.
Steps 8-9: Limits and Hindrances. I skip these, but if I hadn’t, I might have drawn cards that would boost my villain’s abilities.
Step 10: Calling. I choose the Greed calling, discard the 6 of Strength, and draw a new card, getting a 2 of Intellect with the Soldier calling. This does not match my villain’s calling, so I’m done. If it had matched, the drawn card would get assigned to further raise one of my villain’s qualities.
Calling: Greed Personality: Cunning, revels in causing fear, boastful of his abilities, considers himself a lady’s man
History: Vincent Wilcox has always been both brilliant and unpleasant. His brilliance made him a successful lawyer, but his unpleasantness kept him isolated and friendless. He turned to the study of the occult and hypnosis, and these obsessive pursuits resulted him using his mesmerism to influence witnesses and judges. When the truth of his activities came out, Wilcox faced serious criminal and civil penalties. Disbarred with little to look forward to but a long prison sentence, Wilcox fled the U.S. for former Soviet Bloc countries, lured there by his occult studies into alchemy giving him hope of finding the fabled philosopher’s stone. Wilcox did find the philosopher’s stone, and he used an ancient ritual to absorb its properties, granting him remarkable powers, but not the immortality that he most craved. Wilcox adopted the pseudonym of the Devil’s Advocate and returned to the U.S., taking up a life of crime to finance his occult studies.
In Marvel comic book terms (circa 1998), the Devil’s Advocate has Strength equal to Cyclops or Black Widow, Agility equal to Captain America or Iron Fist, Intellect equal to Green Goblin or Arcade, and Willpower equal to Captain America or Professor X. With his Ability Boost power, his Strength rises to Beast or Tigra levels and his Agility to better than Spider-Man. The Devil’s Advocate is no slouch when it comes to a physical confrontation.
