Spes Magna Games

Ever hang out with a child that has learned that he too can say, “No!”? Delightful, isn’t he? Ever play with a GM that has the same propensity? Fun, huh?

Fortunately, most GMs, like most children, outgrow the “No!” stage. Those that don’t, GMs and children, end up being rather unpleasant as adults, which has its own consequences, such as a lack of players (for GMs) or a lack of friends (for adults in general). Oh, sure, there’re probably players who tolerate Negative GMs, but probably more out of a wrong-headed sense of gamer solidarity than a genuine desire to put up with such nonsense.

I’ve encountered Negative GMs a few times over the years. How about some examples to better illustrate what I’m talking about?

Example the First

Many years ago, I was playing in a Forgotten Realms adventure. The GM described how monsters approached rapidly from a distance, obviously intending to attack us.

“How far away are they?” asked a player.

“Do you have the Estimate Distance nonweapon proficiency?” asked the GM.

None of us had that nonweapon proficiency. I’m pretty sure none of us even knew there was such a nonweapon proficiency.

“No, you can’t tell how far away the monsters are,” the GM said.

Example the Second

Even more years ago, I was playing a 1E game, running my paladin Karras the Damned. We were defending a fort from a horde of evil humanoids, ogres, and giants. We were seriously outclassed, but at least we had the advantage of the fort’s defenses. Even still, the horde eventually battered down the gates and flooded into the yard.

“Karras ducks into that narrow hall and attacks the hill giant after it passes him,” I said.

“No,” said the GM.

“Huh?”

“You’re a paladin. You can’t attack by surprise.”

Example the Third

Just to show that the problem isn’t always the GM, I offer up an example of the Negative Player. I was running a D&D game. The PCs were fighting a pitched battle on the topmost storey of a large tower. Flying monsters were setting fire to the roof over their heads.

“My character wants to get out onto the roof to fight the flying monsters,” said a player.

“Okay,” said I. “How?”

“Um, he could lean out a window, swing his rope and grappling hook up, and try to latch onto the roof. Then, he could climb up.”

“No,” said the Negative Player. “That won’t work.”

“Really?” said I. “How come?”

The Negative Player launched into a pedantic monologue about gravity, arcs, and roofing materials. I felt sorry for asking.

Jim Butcher Weighs In

At the last Space City Con here in Houston, Texas, author Jim Butcher offered a couple of sessions about writing. When deciding the outcome of a conflict in a story, Mr. Butcher opined that there are only four options available to the writer:

1. Yes
2. Yes, But
3. No
4. No, and Furthermore

Since roleplaying games are a form of shared storytelling, it stands to reason that these four options ought to be available to GMs and the other players. Notice how the possibility of three options other than “No!” could apply to each situation above. For example, in the first example, the GM could’ve said, “Yes, you can estimate the distance to the monsters, but your estimation won’t be as accurate as if you had the Estimate Distance nonweapon proficiency.”

So, you might be wondering, what’s the point, Mark?

Skill Checks for Swords & Wizardry

I like Swords & Wizardry. I also like systems for resolving skill checks, such as determining if a PC can jump across a chasm, identify a monster by its tracks, or repair a suit of armor. On the other hand, I don’t like skill lists. Lists, by their very nature, limit options because no list can account for every possibility. The list’s limitations may end up being the PC’s limitations as well (“Sorry, you can’t tell how far away something is because you don’t have the right skill.”).

On the same other hand, I don’t like skill systems that melt a class’s special snowflakeness. Thieves get to be sneaky, pick locks, and find traps. A skill system that lets other classes do those things steps on thieves’ toes. But, that doesn’t mean a fighter or a wizard can’t be sneaky. A GM ought not simply declare, “Your fighter cannot hide in the shadows or move quietly. Those are thief abilities, and fighters don’t have thief abilities.”

Ergo, what I want for Swords & Wizardry is a skill system that:

1. Doesn’t involve skill lists
2. Doesn’t melt special snowflakes
3. Doesn’t say “No!” as the default answer
4. Doesn’t require modifying Swords & Wizardry any more than minimally necessary

Swords & Wizardry, Meet Barbarians of Lemuria

BoL uses a single dice mechanic for all action resolution. For skill-type checks, the player rolls 2d6 + the PC’s relevant ability score + the PC’s relevant career ranks. Any result of 9 or higher is a success. For example, a PC wants to appraise a gem. The player rolls 2d6 and adds the PC’s Mind and merchant career ranks. (BoL includes possibilities for really bad failures as well as really good successes, but I’m not worried about critical results at the moment.)

A PC may also have boons or flaws. These present situations in which a PC is particularly good or noticeably bad at certain tasks. Either way, the player rolls 3d6 instead of 2d6. For a boon, the player picks the two best dice. For a flaw, he picks the two worst dice. Everything else stays the same.

In order start grafting this sort of system onto Swords & Wizardry, it seems as if I need some careers, a dice mechanic (I’m leaning toward 2d10 with a target number of 15+), and perhaps some sort of boon/flaw mechanic. I’ve got some basic ideas, but I need to put some more thought into them before I take this concept any further.

Until then, good gaming!

Tags: Barbarians of Lemuria, game play, Swords & Wizardry

At long last, I purchased Simon Washbourne’s Barbarians of Lemuria. I first encountered this game as its free version. I first played BoL at OwlCon 2013, and I really enjoyed the convention scenario and the system itself.

BoL includes a magic system that is both flexible and customizable. While most magicians appear in sword & sorcery fiction as villains, BoL does offer magician as a heroic career for player characters. Spells cost Arcane Power, which starts equal to the character’s magician rank plus 10. Spells fall into four categories: Cantrips, First Magnitude, Second Magnitude, and Third Magnitude.

A magician casts a spell by deciding on the effect, which determines the spell’s category. The higher the category, the more Arcane Power the spell costs and higher the difficulty of casting the spell (success determined by rolling 2d6 + Mind + magician rank – difficulty modifier and trying to equal to beat a 9).

Cantrips accomplish minor tasks, such as making a coin vanish or causing a rope to slither up a wall. First Magnitude spells are utility spells “that allow the sorcerer to perform activities that anyone with the right training and equipment could manage.” These spells can inflict damage, such as a blast of flame, or let the magician climb like a spider. Cantrip and First Magnitude spells are likely the only types of spells that will commonly see use in the game. Second and Third Magnitude spells are capable of truly mighty effects, such as mind control, destroying a building, or causing a volcano to rise out of the earth and erupt.

All spells except Cantrips require additional casting requirements, such as possession of a special item (like an ancient tome), rare ingredients (like the tongue of a mythical beast), or a ritual sacrifice (including even human sacrifice for Third Magnitude spells). The magician can pile on additional casting requirements to lower the spell’s Arcane Power cost, but each category of spell has a minimum Arcane Power cost regardless of how many additional casting requirements are applied. For example, a First Magnitude spell cost a minimum of 1 Arcane Power, whereas a Third Magntitude spell costs at least 11 Arcane Power.

Here’s a sample Third Magnitude spell to go along with the creepy pictures of spiders taking over the countryside in Australia:

Plague of Spiders
Cost: 15
Requirements: Personal ordeal. The caster must immerse himself in a pit full of biting spiders, crushing and eating hundreds of the spiders as they bite him, in order to achieve the right frame of mind for casting.
Minimum Cost: 11
Difficulty: Demanding (-6)

This horrible spell summons forth millions of spiders that swarm across the land for miles, blanketing everything in their path with webs. Individually, the spiders prove little threat (Size Tiny, Damage 1, Lifeblood 1, Move 15 ft.). They are, however, extremely venomous. The spider’s venom forces a Tricky task roll using Strength to resist or else suffer 1 LB each round until unconscious at 0 LB. This unconscious victim must then make a Hard task roll using Strength to avoid death. A physician can treat the poison, but doing so is Tricky.

Tags: Barbarians of Lemuria, spells

The holidays are often a time that mess with my gaming schedule, which kind of bugs me. Back when I didn’t have a wife, children, a mortgage, et cetera, the holidays were a time when there was more rather than less gaming. To help remedy this situation, I’m hosting two games in the next couple of weeks, more or less open to whomever RSVPs before I end up with a group larger than will fit in my house.

On November 29, we’re going to play 3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars, which is published by Box Ninja Games. Here’s the exciting hook text for “Stormbringer Coming!”:

“Lissen up, troopers! We’re headin’ from the fryin’ pan into the biggest, hottest [expletive deleted] fire you’ve ever seen. The bugs got us by the [expletive deleted], but, [expletive deleted] it, we’ve got one chance to pull our [expletive deleted] out of the grinder. Squad Alpha, you’re going to steal a shuttle, ride it up to Stormbringer, and then nuke the bugs from orbit. The rest of us are going to run interference. We’re all dead anyways, but we’re sure as [expletive deleted] gonna take these [expletive deleted] down with us! Hoo-ah!”

About a week later, on December 7, we’re going to play Barbarians of Lemuria, which is published by Beyond Belief Games. Here’s the exciting hook text for “Battle Axis”:

You’ve faced the horrific hordes of evil before, but never like this. Thunder sticks? Rolling golems? Metal wagons hauling away women and children? You might not understand much about what’s going on, but it’s time to cleave some skulls and send some of these “Not Zees” screaming into the pits of hell!

So, how does your gaming play out over the holidays?

P.S. Speaking of holidays and gaming, did you know that you can get my A Medieval Holiday for $0.75 with this special discount code (which expires after December 15)?

Tags: 3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars, Barbarians of Lemuria, Holidays