Spes Magna Games

Well, that’s it. The month is over. This post is actually two days late. I lost my rhythm, and just couldn’t get caught back up, especially what with me falling asleep at about eight or each evening.

Speaking of sleep, one of the things that has bugged me a little bit about the sleep spell in the d20 System is this line: “Slapping or wounding awakens an affected creature, but normal noise does not.” When I think about it, I cannot help but think that this sentence pretty much ruins the spell’s effectiveness much of the time.

If slapping a target of sleep wakes them up, then wouldn’t the targets wake up when they collapse and hit the ground, especially if they were running, jumping, fighting, et cetera, before the spell took effect?

GM: “The orcs charge.”

Player: “I cast sleep.”

GM: “The orcs fall asleep instantly. They tumble roughly to the ground, landing on each other, smacking their heads on the ground, and what not. Of course, this wakes them up.”

I’ve never adjudicated sleep that way, but it kind of makes sense.

Tags: A to Z 2015, spells

The island of Yondral with its collection of some half dozen buildings floats on invisible, eldritch currents, perpetually surrounded in mist. Once upon a time, an order of mystics called Yondral home. Peaceful, contemplative, and erudite, these mystics practiced arcane meditative arts, seeking to divine the mysteries of reality for no other purpose than the pure joy of learning. Life on Yondral was peaceful, even idyllic.

That is until one of the mystics named Blaise turned his mind toward darkness. A malignant force wormed its way into Blaise’s psyche, and slowly the mystic became more wicked while the force became stronger. Before the other mystics could figure out what was wrong with Blaise and take steps to heal him, the force lashed out. Yondral was sundered, but not into pieces. Instead, beneath the floating island, there appeared a demon-haunted mirror image of Yondral.

Today, Yondral and its twisted opposite drift about, abandoned but not abandoned, perhaps still home to ancient wisdom but certainly home to ineffable evil.

Tags: A to Z 2015, place of power

(See what I did there?)

Took advantage of some extra time this morning while my students were in computer to start writing Unenägu. First step: Start to clarify how these new rules differ from that on which they are based. Here’s a sample:

Unenägu, like Swords & Wizardry: WhiteBox, requires two sets of players who differ in kind. The first is the Referee, and the second are the Players. The bulk of the first part of what follows aims primarily at the Players, who each must create a Player Character (PC), who becomes one of the characters in the shared story played out at the table during a game session.

What’s the Same?
If you’re reading these words, I’m assuming you have your own copy of Swords & Wizardry: WhiteBox. You’ll need to refer to it. Unenägu doesn’t repeat information from Swords & Wizardry: WhiteBox any more than necessary. For example, you’ll not find much in the way of items and equipment in what follows. Those guidelines are in Swords & Wizardry: WhiteBox, and I didn’t feel the need to retype them. Still, I do want to point out briefly what Unenägu doesn’t change, so here goes.

Rule Number One is still rule number one. This is your game now. Feel free to change it, add to it, subtract from it, et cetera. One of the beautiful things about old-school games is that they are about rulings not rules. This is especially important for the Referee. When something happens in the game that the rules don’t cover, make a ruling and move on.

Unenägu also uses all the same dice as Swords & Wizardry: WhiteBox. Attribute scores remain the same, and experience point (XP) calculations are unchanged. Likewise, hit points, starting gold, and alignment remain the same (unless, of course, you want to change them).

What’s more, the three basic character classes — the Cleric, the Fighter, and the Magic-User — work in Unenägu just like they do in Swords & Wizardry: WhiteBox. So, too, do Dwarves, Elves, and Halflings.

What’s Different?
Unenägu adds new class options related to PCs who are Visitors, those special children who have left behind the real world and entered the Realm of Dream. As Visitors, these children are aware that they now live in a dream, and they can manipulate reality, which, in game terms, is reflected in the use of Oneiric Points.

In addition to Humans, Dwaves, Elves, and Halflings, PCs who are not Visitors may be Talking Animals. The fables and fairy tales from which Unenägu draws inspiration often include animals with human intelligence and characteristics. Some Talking Animals appear very much like normal animals, while others are more anthropomorphic (such as Puss-in-Boots).

Lastly, a few non-Visitors PCs who have exceptionally high ability scores (14+) may perform Legendary Feats. A Fighter with an exceptional Strength might be able to twist iron chains asunder, whereas a Halfling with an exceptional Dexterity may be able to race up a wall.

Tags: A to Z 2015, Swords & Wizardry, Unenägu, WhiteBox

Well, I think I’m done blogging about The Boogie Knights of the Round Table (BKotRT) for now. I’ve got some vague ideas (which could’ve worked for yesterday’s post, what with hindsight and all that), but I’ve got the big picture down on virtual paper.

I can soon start to cut-and-paste, revise-and-edit, and format into an acceptable BKotRT PDF. That’ll take some time, and I’ll want to get some playtesting done as well. The school year is coming to an end in about a month, and I’m not teaching summer school this year, so with luck I’ll have the time and motivation to get some serious writing done.

I’m also considering finally pulling the trigger on another OSR idea I’ve had kicking around my brain for some time. That explains the charming possible cover depicted to the right.

Unenägu, at least right now in my mind, combines the Brothers Grimm (the storytellers, not the movie), Charles Perrault, the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon, and elements of horror films like The Babadook to create a world of dark fantasy in the heroes are talking animals, children from our world yanked into another realm, and more standard character types such as clerics, fighters, and magic-users. If possible, I’d like to have a working draft of Unenägu before I go back to in August.

Also, I’m thinking I should collect some of the maps I’ve drawn into a document and upload that to DriveThruRPG. Response to my maps when I’ve posted them on the Interwebz has been pretty positive. Draw up a few more, format them into a PDF, and it might be worth putting out for people to download. We shall see.

Tags: A to Z 2015, Unenägu

Musical Interlude

Sheesh. Where’d the time go? It’s Sunday, and I’m doing Saturday’s post (but I am cheating my backdating the post; shh, don’t tell anyone). Worse than that, I’ve got nothing. My brain is fried. Grading, progress reports, typing a newsletter, and next up essays to proofread for my son Christopher. Perhaps a little W. B. Yeats is apropos?

What Was Lost

I sing what was lost and dread what was won,
I walk in a battle fought over again,
My king a lost king, and lost soldiers my men;
Feet to the Rising and Setting may run,
They always beat on the same small stone.

Tags: A to Z 2015, W. B. Yeats