2019 RPGaDay 6: Ancient

In most RPGs, especially fantasy, the idea of ancient things affecting the current time of play is pretty common. Ancient civilizations, cultures, myths, legends, artifacts...these all can create a central focus to any fantasy (sci-fi, horror, etc.) game. But there is one element about that that recently struck me as odd. And it's something I had never thought of before.

As a History major, I am well aware of two things. One, that history has a direct effect on today. There is a reason that the phrase "History repeats itself" is a common saying. The other thing I learned is that History is not always accurate. This is particularly true about ancient history.

In Ancient Greece for instance, historians performed a very different role than they do in the modern age. When we think of historians, we generally think of people who record and document facts, statistics, and biographies in order to preserve that knowledge for future generations. And for the most part, that's true. But, in ancient times, the people who documented events like wars and battles, and even political lives, were often motivated by more imperfect goals.

A good example of this is the Battle of Thermopylae. Most people today can give you the basic nuts and bolts of it: That 300 Spartans held a narrow pass against thousands of invading Persians for several days. That version is based mainly on the Spartan retelling of the events. But, as we have read by other, non-Spartan writers of the relative periods, there was MUCH more to it. The 300 Spartans were accompanied by a thousand or more helots (Spartan slaves) who most likely also took part in some degree. Plus there is evidence that there were Thespians (no, not the actors), Thebans, Arcadians, and members of several other Greek nations present as well.

So, why does the Spartan version concentrate so much on only the Spartans, to the point of baring falsehoods about the rest of 4000+ Greek army? Because they needed to. Sparta was a relatively small nation. They had good, fertile lands, and an enviable physical position. But they were surrounded by people who invaded them and raided their resources. So, the Spartans developed a very militaristic society in response. And part of that was fomenting their reputation as the ultimate warrior nation, to be feared and avoided.

Now, there are whole volumes of debate about the veracity of these Spartan claims to military superiority. But that's not the point here. The point is that whether factual or not, the reputation of Sparta has lasted for centuries, and crossed continents to influence cultures that have never encountered any element of them directly. How many US high schools have the Spartan as their mascot, for example?

Ok, so how does this relate to your fantasy RPG? Well, maybe that ancient myth that is the center of your latest quest revolves around an event that didn't happen the way the scholars say it did. Or maybe that legendary warrior wasn't actually a real person, but an amalgamation of warriors who each performed the heroic deeds attributed to the legend. Imagine how such a revelation would effect the player characters. Or how it would effect the politics of the nation whose power rests on the shoulders of a lie.

That sounds like it would make for some interesting gaming, IMHO.

2019 RPGaDay 5: Space

Like many have noted, geeks hear that word and they almost always want to say "...the final frontier" immediately afterwards. However, unlike those who noted that during this challenge, I'm not going avoid that topic. I'm going to go with it.

Space is not only the final frontier, it's also a cool place to play D&D. Now, when I say that, most people think of Spelljammer. And that is 100% legit. But, aside from a con game or two, and a couple of aborted attempts back in the day, I never really got into that setting. No, my preferred "D&D in space" game was Dragon*Star.

For those who may not know (or remember), Dragon*Star was a setting published by Fantasy Flight Games. You can read all about the setting itself on the Wiki page, so I won't detail that. Suffice it to say, this setting blended the standard pseudo-medieval, magic-infused fantasy of classic D&D with the expansive, high-tech, galaxy-hopping space opera.

I ran a campaign in the setting for my group back in San Diego, and it was a hoot. In fact, to this day, echoes of that campaign still linger in my mind, and sometimes find their way into my fiction-writing attempts.

What made Dragon*Star cool was that it was based on 3rd Edition D&D. This made it compatible with all sorts of official and third-party products. You could easily pull in races, classes, spells, and equipment from dozens of supplements and setting books in order to make it the science-fantasy game you want.

I would love to see Fantasy Flight do a 5e update for it. But, I don't think that will happen, as they are focused more on non-RPG products right now, if I recall. Still, I'm sure if I looked I could find plenty of fan material to run it using 5e. If only I could convince others to play it with me...

2019 RPGaDay 4: Share

Taking a que from a friend who is also doing this challenge, today I will SHARE another of my creations.

One of the few things I don't really like about 5e is the Find Familiar spell. I'm not a fan of it summoning a magical being that can be whatever you need it to be. For me, that takes the challenge out of having a familiar. I always liked the idea of having to figure out what your familiar should do based on what it can do.

But, since some players like it, I decided to make a simplified variation that can be inserted, and, in the spirit of older versions, brings in a real animal. I call it Animal Helper. As always, I'd be interested in your thoughts.

Animal Helper:

New Cantrip for 5e

By Tom Doolan

Quickview: Animal Helper is a cantrip that immediately attracts a random small animal to your service until the next sunset. Casting this cantrip using higher level spell slots will bind the helper for a longer period.

Animal Helper

Cantrip

Casting Time: 1 round

Range: 100 feet

Components: V S

Duration: Special

Classes: Wizard, Sorcerer

The cantrip Animal Helper was originally developed to teach young wizards how to use their power in harmony with nature. It has since gained popularity as a useful utility spell. When cast as a cantrip, this spell sends out a magical call into the immediate area. The following round, on your initiative, a Small or Tiny creature (cr 1/4 or less) will answer that call and be magically bound to you for the duration of the spell. To determine the type of animal that answers, roll on the table appropriate to the environs in which you cast the spell (forest, desert, urban, etc.). The animal will have the typical abilities found in the MM, with maximum hit points. Your helper is bound to you until the following sunset. If you wish to retain the same helper for a longer period, you can either recast the cantrip before sunset, which will extend the time until the next sunset, or you can cast the cantrip using a higher-level spell slot (see below). You can dismiss your helper at any time as an action. A dismissed helper will revert to its instincts and react accordingly (most often running away).

Your helper acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. In combat it acts on your turn. A helper can attack, using whatever natural weapons it has. Due to their size, helpers do negligible damage to a target. However, if they successfully hit, the target will have Disadvantage on any d20 roll for the next full round (attacks, saves, etc.).

While your helper is within 100 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as an action, you can use any or all of your helper’s senses until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the helper has. During this time, your own senses are “blinded.”

When you cast a spell with a range of touch, your helper can deliver the spell as if it had cast the spell. Your helper must be within 100 feet of you, and it must use its reaction to deliver the spell when you cast it. If the spell requires an attack roll, you use your attack modifier for the roll.

Casting this cantrip using a higher-level spell slot will bind the animal to you for a longer period of time, as follows:

1^st level: 10 Days, ending at sunset on the tenth day;

2^nd Level: One month (or moon cycle), ending at sunset on the last day of the current cycle;

3^rd Level: One year, ending at sunset on the same date of the following year;

4^th Level: Permanent. The helper is bound to you until it dies, you die, you dismiss it, or you cast the spell (at any level) again. Casting the spell again will immediately dismiss the helper who will flee from you, making way for a new helper who arrives per the standard rules.

2019 RPGaDay 3: Engage

A lot of people talk about "player engagement" as being very important. And while I agree with that, I'd like to point out that the other side of that coin is just as important. That is, DM/GM engagement.

As a DM/GM, I like to interpret this as catering to my players, and specifically their characters. This is why, when setting out the parameters for character generation, I usually ask the players to tell me what their character's goals and dreams are. Are they bent on vengeance? Atonement? Fulfilling a promise? Is their goal a secret, or do they share it with their companions? Does it cause them internal strife because it goes against their moral compass?

I then take those nuggets of player creativity, and try to work them into the narrative of the story. And I usually try to make it an integral part of the over all campaign, where they have to deal with that element directly, with their party's help.

In this way, each character gets their moment to shine. To be the center of the story. And I usually let the players know up front that each of them will have this kind of focus at some point. I like to think it adds to their investment in the game. The anticipation of seeing their creativity given a spotlight.

2019 RPGaDay 2: Unique

Every character is unique. Even if it's only in a small way. Your fighter may have typical stats, use a longsword and shield, and come from a soldierly background. But, the fact that he has a penchant for rescuing small animals, and gets mad at senseless violence makes him somewhat unique.

Uniqueness is both overrated and easy to do in RPG's, in my opinion. All you have to do is put some thought into it. The great thing is that the thing that makes your character unique doesn't need to come into play in every scene. It may not even come into play every session. But, when it does, it can make for a memorable scene that will make an impression.

And sometimes, that unique trait shows itself to you when you least expect it. That one time you did something that didn't work out quite like you wanted, can lead you into something else that will work better than expected and suddenly define your character.

Case in point, a friend was using our group to playtest a couple of sessions he is running at Gamehole Con this year. As such, we were all playing pregens. I decided to go against type and not pick the half-orc barbarian, but instead play the tiefling warlock.

At one point we were in a fight, and I Eldritch Blasted a guy a few feet away. As you can imagine, this was probably a mistake, as that spell is rarely a "one-shot, one-kill" spell. So, when he turned around to confront my scrawny little butt, I panicked. I decided that I would try to convince him it wasn't me. "I didn't do it. Someone shot you then ran off out the front door!"

The DM made me roll, just to see how long he would hesitate before splitting my skull.  And what did I roll?

A natural 20.

The guy absolutely believed me, and ran off after someone that didn't exist (with a bit more egging on by me).

And that became my unique shtick. Making people believe something that contradicts what they see. It hasn't come up much since, but if I play that character again, I know how he's going to handle such a situation in the future.

2019 RPGaDay 1: First

In an effort to get back into blogging (yet again), and to dust off my writing skills a bit, I’m going to attempt the 2019 RPGaDay challenge.

Doing the math, it had to have been 1981 when it started. It actually began that summer, when my stepdad had decided to go back into the Air Force, and he convinced my mom to join up too. We lived in Coffeeville, KS at the time, and I had just finished 5^th grade. Since they were going to be in military training for many months, I was sent back to my hometown of Walnut Creek, CA to live with my mom’s parents. So, that fall I started 6^th grade in California.

Soon after school started, I met Richard Schmidt. We became fast friends because we both liked baseball, and probably some other stuff that 10-year old boys liked at the time. Then one day he asked me that fateful question: “Do you play D&D?” My response was, of course, “What’s that?” And then my life changed permanently on some level.

I wish I had cool stories about those early sessions. But I don’t. I’m not even sure we actually ever played. But, I do remember making characters while we were at school, and after school at his house. At the time my only reference for that kind of fantasy was the 1977 Rankin/Bass The Hobbit, and Ralph Bakshi’s 1979 The Lord of the Rings.

By my birthday that December, I was hooked, and I convinced my grandma to buy me the Moldvay boxed set. My 11^th birthday was spent at Chuck E. Cheese, followed by a sleepover with Richard and few other friends, including Jeff, who I knew from church. We played at playing D&D (I have a couple of pictures to prove we had the books out), but, again, I don’t think we actually played. In fact, my first recollection of actual play was a couple of months later when Jeff was over and he ran me solo through Slavepits of the Undercity, which his mom had bought for him to give me as a gift (I’m not sure any of us really understood the difference between Basic and Advanced D&D yet).

Anyways, that was my first taste of a larger world that would quickly encompass games from all sorts of genres, and would provide the foundation for my interests and tastes in entertainment for life.

Blogomancy

Arise, oh blog of mine! Come forth from the depths of obscurity and become my geeky voice once more!

Ok, let’s see if it sticks this time. I’m hoping to make blogging a regular part of my activities again. And since RPGs and other geeky pursuits seem to be my forte, I figured I would start with this one.

So, to that end, I have a few ideas. I’d like to do some general RPG-related posts. Something along the lines of how I game, how I feel some rules can be interpreted and/or altered, and maybe reviews of products. I’ll probably also review movies and books that could be relevant to gaming. If they aren’t, they’ll probably show up over on my personal blog. There will probably even be a few creations that I just want to share for your amusement.

I’ll also use this space to talk about projects I have in the works. I recently came to the sudden realization that I’ve become so obsessed with re-inventing the wheel by creating new mechanics and systems, that I have neglected playable content. So, in an effort to switch gears, I’ve started a list of projects for content to be used with existing systems (mostly 5e and Savage Worlds at this point).

In other news Gary Con is just around the corner (March 7-10). As always, we are going all four days. This and Gamehole Con here in Madison are our annual vacation destinations. Anyone else planning on being there? If so, what are you playing?

I’m getting a good variety this year, with multiple genres of gaming. I usually pick a theme and try to follow that as much as possible. But, the pickings get slim relatively quickly, and since I couldn’t purchase my ticket until a couple of weeks after the event registration opened, I have to take what I can get. And that’s perfectly ok with me. Still a lot of good stuff there.

Anyways, let’s get this thing started with a standard question. What are you playing this week?