On Adapting

Change is hard. Change is scary. But sometimes change is necessary for survival. That's something everybody is learning in this ongoing pandemic. One would think that gaming would be immune to this, but it's not. Groups normally accustomed to meeting in person are having to meet online in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Our favorite gaming conventions and convention-related services have also felt the effects of all the uncertainty.

GenCon, GaryCon, PretzCon, Nuke-Con. All of these are institutions in our hobby, either locally or on a larger scale. While GenCon and GaryCon both canceled their physical events, they adapted quickly and went virtual. PretzCon, a smaller convention here in Omaha, sadly canceled for 2020 and now it looks like Nuke-Con is on equally uncertain footing.

I originally wasn't going to raise a fuss regarding the option of going virtual, but given possibility of Nuke-Con 2020's cancellation, I've decided to come out and say this: I would rather see a online Nuke-Con rather than no Nuke-Con at all this year.

While there are people who tout the efficacy of such things as social distancing, masks, gloves, and plastic shields, these measures aren't entirely foolproof. In a convention scene, they're pretty much counterproductive. Masks and gloves can tear or become otherwise contaminated; plastic shields are expensive. Also, I can't see myself sitting six feet away from my players, shouting over the din of an open convention hall through a mask. Living with multiple risk factors, the only way I'll truly feel safe in physically attending a convention is if a working COVID-19 vaccine is made readily available.

This might appear selfish to some people, but think about it. While we would all love to get together with our friends and love ones at Nuke-Con, we all have to act responsibly to prevent the spread of the virus. Meeting virtually is the only way around this, in my opinion. Yes, I know meeting online is not everyone's thing, but sacrifices have to be made in order to protect ourselves and others from this pandemic. I'd rather run my games online than not run them at all.

As such, I'm going to be registering my events – with the proviso that if Nuke-Con happens physically (with or without a virtual Nuke-Con), and a working vaccine is not available at the time, I will run my games on Roll20. I will be including info in my event descriptions for where players can go on Roll20 and Discord to find the games if I am not physically at the convention. I would only need communication from Nuke-Con as to who signed up for what game. No prize support, no con bucks, no physical support of any kind. Just communications from the event team regarding players.

So the long and short of it is this: if there's no vaccine, I won't be there physically at Nuke-Con; instead, I'll be more than happy to run my games online for anyone interested. If a vaccine is available, I'll take the jab and be there to run my games in person.

We're all in this together, folks, and I hope we're able to see each other for real in October.

In the Beginning...

"The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.”

― Douglas Adams, "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe"

I have just spent the better part of my Thursday overnight shift breathing life into a series bible for Project Frying Pan. If there's one thing I have learned thus far in the process, it's this: Creating a universe from scratch is a lot of hard work, even if it's been percolating in the back of your brain for over a year. The sheer act of organizing, clarifying, defining, and just plain expressing it is daunting, exhilarating, and exhausting all at the same time. I have drawn upon my favorite aspects of various authors' universes as well as some of my own unpublished writing to find interesting bits to add.

No worries! I'm not dead yet!

While I will be taking a brief rest from the Project Frying Pan creative process this weekend, it is far from over. While the series bible (Did I forget to mention Project Frying Pan is the first in a series?) stands at an ephemeral eight pages in length, there is more to come and more to develop. The Frying Pan-verse (there will be a better name for it, I promise you), is in its infancy not only in the present, but also in its past and future.

Research will continue apace as I delve into the worlds of astronomy and con artistry. Project Frying Pan may be a science fiction book, but it's still got to have some basis in reality, after all. Of course, that's just a small part of the bigger picture. Historical research as well as some further reading in the genre is needed as well, all of which I look forward to.

Another part of the process is going to be resolving how to set parameters for the development of characters, technology, and all that other fun stuff. Being a tabletop gamer, I've got what I consider a number of useful tools at my disposal for defining things. The big decision is what system (and edition) to use. No system is perfect and part of my brain is itching to pair Project Frying Pan with another ongoing project on this blog.

What's ironic is that this fits Douglas Adams' opening quote to "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe" perfectly. I have no doubt that someone, somewhere is now foaming at the mouth, fingers feverishly poking at their keyboard in an effort to "educate" me on how "wrong" I am to use an RPG as a tool to define my characters and the universe they live in. In fact, that subsection of my aspiring authorial peers is doubtlessly a speck compared to the massive hipster horde pounding away at their keyboards about how whatever system I choose is wrong and how my use of tropes and aspects of other authors' universes is so "derivative" and "unimaginative".

As a writer, I readily acknowledge that there's nothing new under the sun - it's just a matter of what you do with it. That's where the real challenge lies. While I look forward to that challenge, I realize that failure is a possibility, and at the same time, it's a learning experience. No plan survives first contact with reality, let alone "the enemy". A slight change has already been made to one character and I'm sure more changes will be made to Project Frying Pan before all is said and done. The main thing to remember above all is this: "Don't panic!"

The Rules of the House

Okay, bad pun in the title aside, I've found that despite my difficulties with advanced math (including probabilities), I do enjoy doing a little tinkering with the rules of the games I run. Sometimes it's because something doesn't fit the flavor of the game and other times I do it to see what the existing game can do with a little more tweaking. Beyond the Wall (BtW) is one of those rare cases where the Rules As Written are darn near perfect, but there are some bells and whistles on similar games that fit so nicely with it. Here are my proposed tweaks that I plan to use (in addition to my previous musings on skills) when running BtW in the future. (EDIT: I do apologize for the wall of text. When formatting this entry, I tried breaking things up with the covers, but it fouled up the spacing.)

From first edition AD&D, D&D 3.5, and Pathfinder: Interpreting Hit Points

A lot of players and gamemasters misinterpret hit points to indicate the amount of physical wounds and damage a character can take. In the first edition Player's Handbook (p.34), Gary Gygax states:

"Each character has a varying number of hit points, just as monsters do. These hit points represent how much damage (actual or potential) the character can withstand before being killed. A certain amount of these hit points represent the actual physical punishment which can be sustained. The remainder, a significant portion of hit points at higher levels, stands for skill, luck, and/or magical factors. A typical man-at-arms can take about 5 hit points of damage before being killed. Let us suppose a 10th level fighter has 55 hit points, plus a bonus of 30 hit points for his constitution, for a total of 85 hit points. This is the equivalent of about 18 hit dice for creatures, about what it would take to kill four huge warhorses. It is ridiculous to assume that even a fantastic fighter can take that much punishment. The same holds true to a lesser extent for clerics, thieves, and the other classes. Thus, the majority of hit points are symbolic of combat skill, luck (bestowed by supernatural powers), and magical forces."

Beyond the Wall echoes this interpretation:

“Hit points are an abstract measurement of how tough the character is, as well as how good at resisting and avoiding harm in combat. At every level, a character gains a number of hit points by rolling the die type indicated by his class’ hit dice. For instance, a Rogue has a hit die of d8, and so a character with the Rogue class rolls 1d8 and gains that many hit points every level. This number is modified by a character’s Constitution bonus every time it is rolled. Additionally, all PCs gain the maximum number of hit points possible for a roll on their hit dice at first level; the above mentioned rogue would begin at first level with a full 8 hit points plus any extra hit points from his Constitution bonus.”

In the third edition version of Unearthed Arcana, this is taken literally, making the character's “Wound Points” equal to their CON score and their added hit points “Vitality Points”. I will be using this added interpretation to indicate how much the character has yet to “grow into” their role as a hero. Once a character hits their CON score maximum, any hit points gained after that point are just as described – a measure of skill, luck (or divine intervention), and magical forces.

(6/29/16 EDIT: As an addendum, the 3.5 SRD rules on Wound Points are here. The Pathfinder version can be found here.)

From 13th Age: One Unique Thing

This is the prime rule which caught my eye when I heard about Pelgrane's 13th Age RPG – not because it adds to the power of a character, but because it adds depth to their story. Essentially, the purpose of this rule isn't to create new combat powers, skills, or special abilities, but to add a detail to the hero that sets them apart from other characters. This detail should be something that both the player and GM can take advantage of in the course of the game. It should give clues as to how the character interacts with the world and people around them and vice versa. From the standpoint of the gamemaster, it should provide the opportunity for one or more story hooks or the promise of a mystery to be unraveled later in the story. Some interesting discussions regarding this rule can be found here, here, and here on RPGNet.

From The Hero's Journey and Moldvay B/X D&D: Table Roles

James Spahn's The Hero's Journey RPG (THJ) brings back table roles in the form of an optional rule, but in a slightly different format. THJ has the roles of Treasure Keeper and Initiative Tracker, but not Mapper (or Caller, for that matter). The Treasure Keeper notates what treasure is acquired by the party and once a total is inventory is taken, leads the discussion about how it is to be divided - but they are not necessarily the one whose character is packing all the treasure around. The Initiative Tracker rolls group initiative or otherwise has the necessary information (such as each party member's initiative bonuses and the initiative order) assembled for the referee during combat. Of course, to do Old School style right, we have to include the Mapper from the Moldvay edition of Basic Dungeons & Dragons. As for the Caller, that's optional.

More Rules from The Hero's Journey

Non-Combat XP (p.67)

• Player accurately roleplays their character’s race and class: +100 XP
• Player character attempts a potentially life-threatening act of heroism: +250 XP
• Player character performs a surprising/clever deed that helps the party or an ally: +150 XP
• Player encourages other players to get involved, roleplay, and contribute to the game: +100 XP
• Making everyone at the table laugh out loud: +75 XP
• Player takes the role of Treasure Keeper (optional): +50 XP
• Player takes the role of Initiative Tracker (optional): +50 XP
• Player takes the role of Mapper (optional): +50 XP
• Player takes the role of the Caller (optional): +50 XP

Death's Door (p.73)
Having started with Basic D&D (where zero hit points equals death) I'm not a big fan of the "Death's Door" rule, but THJ seems to take the streamlining a bit further than BtW. As such, I'm more apt to use this optional ruling than the simple “10 count” or Pathfinder's rule (negative CON = Death). THJ's rule on death's door balances out the  book-keeping with increased character frailty.

In this case, “...The character is not dead until they reach negative hit points equal to their level (EDIT: Emphasis mine). Thus a first-level character is dead at −1 hit points, while a seventh level character would be able to survive until reaching −7. However, a character with zero or fewer hit points is unconscious and cannot move or act in any fashion until healed.”

The only thing I might add to that is making -10 hp the maximum for level-based toughness, meaning even a mighty warrior king isn't utterly immune to Death's cold grasp.

Heroic Damage and Critical Hits (pgs. 68 and 71)
With "Heroic Damage", the character adds all or part of their level to the damage they deal based on their class. Warriors add their full level, Rogues add 1/2 their level (rounded up), and Mages add 1/3 their level (rounded up). With multi-classed characters, use the class from which the character draws their attack bonus.

Additionally, a character can inflict Heroic Damage by burning a Fortune Point at a dramatically appropriate moment. Finally, whenever a natural 20 is rolled, the maximum damage of the weapon or the character's Heroic Damage are dealt (whichever is higher); a natural 1 is simply a miss.

From Trollsmyth's Blog: Shields

To add a bit more spice to combat, I'm thnking about using the following shield rules from Trollsmyth's blog:

• Shields still provide their regular AC bonus, but if the player so chooses, they can declare that their shield absorbed the damage from the blow and was splintered or sundered. This destroys the shield, but protects the character from damage. In the case of a critical hit, it halves the damage unless a Fortune Point is also burned.
• A shield can also be sacrificed against spells that deal damage, offering the character an automatic save for half damage.
• For every +1 bonus a magic shield gives in addition to its regular AC bonus, the shield has a +10% chance of surviving a blow when sacrificed in combat. As such, a +5 shield would have a 50% chance of surviving a sundering blow.

Further Thoughts On Fortune Points (Further Afield, p.71)

• If a character burns a Fortune Point and the second roll is a failure, they take the higher of the two rolls.
• According to Further Afield, "Fortune Points normally only refresh after a full rest, such as between adventures..." However, I am willing to "allow a character to regain a Fortune Point for a particularly heroic or noble act during the middle of a game." This bonus is not given lightly; it is "for when the characters are truly acting like the good guys."
• A character who is on the verge of collapse (0 hp) can burn a Fortune Point to make one last ditch action against a foe or to otherwise aid a fellow hero before collapsing. This can be done instead of burning the Fortune Point to stabilize at 0 hp, not in conjunction with spending another Fortune Point to stabilize at 0 hp
• Likewise, a spellcaster who does not have the Ultimate Enchantment trait (Heroes Young and Old, p.10) can also burn a Fortune Point to cast one last spell if they have exhausted all their other spells. However, unlike Ultimate Enchantment, this use of a Fortune Point inflicts a number of hit points in damage equal to the spell's level (cantrips inflict only one hit point of damage). With this ruling, there is the chance a character's hit points could drop to negative levels, killing them. This can be done with rituals only if the GM and player agree it is dramatically appropriate.

Pathfinder Official and Third Party Options

Back in late May, I posed a question to the designers of BtW about the traits introduced in Further Afield and continued in Heroes Young and Old:

"I've got a design question for John and Peter - when you designed the traits found in "Further Afield" and "Heroes Young and Old", did you look strictly at the traits as presented in the 3.5 SRD and Pathfinder PRD or did you look at feats as well. The reason I ask this is because Rogue Genius Games has several supplements for young, old, and venerable characters as well as comedic options (like "Please Stop Helping", which allows a character to still gain the aid ally bonus when an ally fails their roll to help) which might be interesting as traits..."

Peter Williams wrote in response:

"To tell you the truth, I don't remember looking at traits or feats in the SRD at all while designing BtW Traits. That doesn't mean that I didn't, just that I don't recall doing so and it certainly wasn't the main source of inspiration.

"The initial goal with Traits was to have a way to model other old school classes while still keeping a simple, three class structure for the game. That's why you'll find a lay-on-hands ability, a ranger-ish favored enemy ability, and so forth. After getting those basics down, I mostly then just had fun coming up with interesting mechanical widgets and fun, in-genre things.

"Having said all of that, I'll try to take a look at the Rogue Genius stuff. That sounds neat."

The official Pathfinder options for traits, story feats, and the like - as well as options produced by Rogue Genius Games under the Four Horsemen and Everyman Gaming imprints - have some interesting possibilities. While I haven't fully explored the ramifications of modifying these rules to work with BtW, I'll link them here for reference for the time being.

(6/29/16 EDIT: Boy, am I a yutz. I forgot to put the links in...)

From the Pathfinder Rules Document:

• Advanced Players Guide - Traits 
• Ultimate Campaign - Background
• Early Life
• Adolescence
• Adulthood
• Background Generator 
• Traits
• Story Feats

Free download from Paizo - Character Traits PDF
Some of the later Adventure Path Players Guides have specific traits listed as well.

From Rogue Genius Games:

• Comedic Character Options
• Young Character Options
• Mature Character Options
• Venerable Character Options
• Ultimate Options: Story Feats
• Childhood Adventures

Of course, all of these are trumped by Rule Zero...

...the best writeup of which I've found on Bruce Gulke's Mythosa site:

"Every feat, race, spell, prestige class, variant rule, etc. is subject to change or removal at the discretion of the DM. Even if a game element is initially permitted, if it is later deemed incompatible with the campaign, it will be modified or removed. Any characters (PC or NPC) that use that element may be required to adjust to the change (in other words, grandfathering is not guaranteed). The DM will attempt to keep this sort of thing to a minimum (if at all), but sometimes this may happen in the process of keeping the rules appropriate to the campaign setting."

Now all that remains is the road test. I'll keep you all apprised as to how that works out.

Appendix B (for Beyond the Wall) - Part 1

A lot of gamers the past few years have either been praising or condemning the idea of "Appendix N" as it appears in the first edition AD&D Dungeon Master's Guide. What is "Appendix N"? It's the appendix in the DMG that lists "inspirational and educational reading" for Dungeon Masters and players alike. When some people mention the Old School Renaissance in one breath, their next breath contains the words "Appendix N".

While I have no problems with drawing inspiration from authors such as Lloyd Alexander, Andre Norton, or J.R.R. Tolkien, or doing research in the library, I thought it would be nice to present some old school articles I have found of interest and possible use to players and gamemasters of Beyond the Wall. Rather than running through all 300+ issues of Dragon Magazine, I'm going to pull this off the top of my head and pick out the articles I remember most as things progress. While this may make it slightly disorganized and absolutely not an exhaustive appendix, I hope you find it of some interest and use.

Though the bulk of the articles in this appendix are drawn from out of print issues of Dragon Magazine, there will be others cropping up here and there from such publications as Shadis when I have time to dig those issues out of the attic, as well as other online resources, blogs and whatnot. I have made an effort to stay away from articles that are heavy in game mechanics, instead focusing on those with practical advice, background, or a minimum of mechanics allowing them to be used in BtW.

Appendix B, Part One's featured references

Dragon #58 (February 1982)

"The Dwarven Point of View" by Roger E. Moore: Kicking off a series regarding demihuman cultures, Roger E. Moore (once and future editor of Dragon Magazine), takes a look under the mountainside at dwarven culture and whether or not they're really as grumpy as the elves say they are. Despite being rooted in AD&D (and Greyhawk) lore, this is a purely fluff/background piece, as are all others in this series.

Dragon #59 (March 1982) 

"The Halfling Point of View" by Roger E. Moore: Continuing his series, Moore next turns his attention to the halflings and reveals that halflings aren't as naive and foolish as some believe and their life really isn't one big party.

Dragon #60 (April 1982)

"The Elven Point of View" and "The Half-Elven Point of View" by Roger E. Moore: Moore looks at the longest-lived of the demihumans and those of their kin caught between two worlds. Unlike BtW elves, with their strong ties to the faerie court, these articles are rooted in Greyhawk and AD&D lore. Despite the difference there are a number cultural gems in the articles with which to better flesh out elves.

Dragon #61 (May 1982)

"The Gnomish Point of View" by Roger E. Moore: Gnomes are Moore's next focus in his second-to-last article on demihumans, explaining how the rarest of the demihumans has much in common with both elves and dwarves while having a distinct culture all their own.

Dragon #63 (July 1982)

"The Humanoids" by Roger E. Moore: Not wanting to slight the ornery orcs, Moore concludes his series on non-human cultures in AD&D with a general look at the cultures of orcs, kobolds, gnolls, bugbears, goblins, and hobgoblins. The article, like all the others, is rooted in AD&D lore and includes a number of humanoid deities not featured in AD&D's Unearthed Arcana.

Dragon #109 (May 1986)

"Worth Its Weight In Gold" by John Olson: An article detailing the cultural significance of the dwarf's beard, it also takes on the issue of whether or not female dwarves have beards or not.

Dragon #119 (March 1987)
"The Uldra" by Callie Lindstrand: A new demihuman race, the uldra are closer to the Scandinavian idea of elves. This article might provide a new fantastic race for gamemasters and players or a suitable version of the elf for BtW games rooted in Scandinavian folklore.

Dragon #129 (January 1988)
"Children of the Spider Goddess" by Eric Oppen: A look at dark elven culture through the lens of Greyhawk and AD&D. Despite this grounding, there are still cultural and philosophical points in the article that can be used to flesh out the elves of the Unseelie Court.

Dragon #131 (March 1988)

"The Folk of the Underworld" by Eric Oppen: Oppen expands upon Moore's series, giving us a look at the culture and lives of the surface gnomes deep cousins, the svirfneblin.

Dragon #152 (December 1989)

"Servants of the Jewelled Dagger" by Eric Oppen: Delving into the shadows, Eric Oppen gives us a look at the culture of the dwarves' dark cousins, the duergar.

Dragon #155 (March 1990)

"Wild in the Woods" by Eric Oppen: Again expanding upon Moore's series, Oppen details the culture and outlook of the wood elves, also known as the grugach.

"In the Frost and the Snow" by David S. Reimer: If you're in need of something different for elves, there's always the snow elves. While there are mechanics for AD&D in this article, they can easily be converted over.

 

Lists, lists, and more lists

As I've said before, Beyond the Wall is a great, flexible, RPG that hearkens back to D&D's earlier glory days in the 1980s. One of the things that makes it so flexible is that it isn't bogged down with a massive, concretely defined skill list. At the same time, that list has a bit of... overlap.

In working to update the information in Silent Sage's GM screen and reference set, I compiled a listing of all the skills in the existing material along with a list of the traits found in Further Afield and Heroes Young and Old. I have attempted to maintain the flexibility of the system by not assigning skills to just one attribute. Instead, I took a note from fourth edition Traveller and allowed for some skills to modify different ability scores in different situations.

For example, a character with the Cooking skill would use it with Wisdom when making a batch of Mother Grimgoose's Famous Mutton Stew from memory. Alternately, if they were to concoct their own famous (or infamous) recipe, they would use Intelligence with the skill to (hopefully) make a new delicacy. For those of you who aren't already part of the excellent G+ community for Beyond the Wall, you can download the file here.

With regard to the overlap, it isn't always obvious. The most obvious example I can give is the skills Forgotten Lore, Forbidden Knowledge, Forgotten Secrets, and Forbidden Secrets. You can easily roll these into one or two skills. The easiest would be to roll them into Forgotten Lore - after all, Forbidden Lore is often (and best left) forgotten. Alternately, you can just have Forgotten Lore and Forbidden Knowledge, simply distinguishing between the two. My preference is to have Forgotten Lore cover all four skills.

Before I go on, please keep in mind that I'm not telling the folks at Flatland Games to "clean things up". In fact, I would prefer they just leave it alone and preserve the flexibility for groups who have their own way of handling it. In fact, I'll review my own in-house solution to the problem at the end of this entry. With regard to any products from Silent Sage Publishing, you'll see that the skills will NOT be unified as I do for my own personal games. Again, that's to preserve the game's flexibility and avoid overstepping the bounds of the license offered by Flatland Games.

Back to the subject at hand. Other overlaps are a bit messier. The Animal Lore and Animal Ken skills are a prime example of how definitions get a bit fiddly. Here are the definitions as provided by the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:

Definition of ken - noun

1a: the range of vision b :  sight, view <'tis double death to drown in ken of shore — Shakespeare>

2: the range of perception, understanding, or knowledge <abstract words that are beyond the ken of young children — Lois M. Rettie>

Definition of lore - noun

1 archaic: something that is taught :  lesson

2: something that is learned: a :  knowledge gained through study or experience b :  traditional knowledge or belief

3: a particular body of knowledge or tradition

On the surface, the overlap seems obvious - everything should be rolled into one or the other. Once you get under the hood and see how each word is defined and used, it's obvious they are really two different things. Animal Lore is concerned with knowledge about animals - healing their illnesses, training, and so forth. Animal Ken, on the other hand, is the ability to speak with the animals.

In a nutshell, here are the other overlaps I found in the list:

Strategy and Tactics - Another deceptively simple issue as both skills involve maneuvering military or political forces, but Strategy focuses on long term goals as opposed to Tactics' focus on short term goals. Strategy could also apply, oddly enough, to Estate Management. To cut down on the confusion, I would roll Strategy and Tactics together under Strategy and define it as a combat-related skill for either long or short term goals in battle.

Deceit and Subterfuge - Looking at the M-W Online Dictionary, this one is too close to call. You could define Deceit as a skill for fooling people and Subterfuge as a skill for tricks and traps used to obtain something or achieve a goal through deception. My vote is for rolling these together into Deceit and then letting the pairing of skill + ability be determined by the usage. For example, INT would be paired Deceit when plotting a ruse while CHA would be paired with Deceit for telling a convincing lie. Additionally, WIS or INT might be paired with this skill to see through another's lie.

Etiquette, Gossip, and Socialize - This is another fiddly definition. Gossip is a form of socialization, but not all socialization is gossip. In this case I would define Gossip as to include the fine art of roguish eavesdropping and information gathering. Socialize would be a bit more sophisticated, relating to hobnobbing with others outside of a character's social class. You could certainly wrap Etiquette in with Socialize, but could also say Etiquette is even more of a refined cultural skill, letting a character know when to use the fish fork and not the soup spoon. My take is to leave Gossip alone and package Etiquette and Socialize together under Socialize.

Boasting and Storytelling - Again, a bit too close in definition. I would go with rolling these together as Storytelling, as a boast isn't always true.

Monster Lore and Mythical Beast Lore - Another fiddly definition. You could easily argue that monsters are known creatures while mythical beasts are considered just that - myths - until proven otherwise. As with the whole Forbidden Knowledge/Forgotten Secrets bit, it's kind of a toss-up as to how people want to handle it. I personally merge the two under Monster Lore.

In the spirit of keeping things simple in my personal games, here's my round-up on handling any overlaps: 

• Animal Ken (CHA, INT, or WIS) - A skill that allows characters to speak the language of animals.
• Animal Lore (INT or WIS) - Knowledge about raising, healing, and training of animals.
• Deceit (CHA, INT, or WIS) - Combines Deceit with Subterfuge.
• Forgotten Lore (WIS) - Combines Forgotten Lore, Forbidden Knowledge, Forgotten Secrets, and Forbidden Secrets.
• Gossip (CHA, INT or WIS) - The fine art of roguish eavesdropping and information gathering.
• Monster Lore (WIS) - Combines Mythical Beast Lore with Monster Lore.
• Socialize (CHA, INT, or WIS) - A skill relating to hobnobbing with others outside of a character's social class or native culture/species. This skill absorbs the Etiquette skill. 
• Storytelling (CHA or WIS) - Combines Boasting with Storytelling. 
• Strategy (INT or WIS) - Combines Strategy and Tactics with regard to long or short term goals in battle.

Again, by writing this blog post, I am NOT in any way asking or telling Flatland Games to tighten things up. How you handle the overlaps and duplications in your game is up to you and for some it's part of the fun of playing an RPG. Always remember rule zero - if it doesn't work for you and your group, change it so it does. After all, the point of playing a role-playing game is fun, isn't it?

For Love of the Game?

Yesterday, hidden among people mourning the death of Prince, I found a surprising and troubling tidbit in my Facebook newsfeed. Apparently, a number of judges for Wizards of the Coast's Magic: The Gathering CCG have filed suit against the company, claiming they are unpaid employees. You can find the filing for the lawsuit here, and Wizards of the Coast's response to it here. While I'm not a lawyer, I was an intern for a newspaper and a comic book/game shop in my past life as a journalist (it's been so long ago that I don't remember if I was paid for either one or not, so don't ask), and I did serve as a game demonstrator for a game company at the turn of the century (2001 or thereabouts, not 1901, you young whippersnappers).

From what I understand of the case, its primary foundation is being laid on the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (the law which gave us the 40-hour work week and all the other rights we enjoy here as workers in the U.S.) and a number of California state laws regarding labor and professions. In short, the plaintiffs feel they were not paid for their time, overtime, missed meal and bathroom breaks, etc. If you've paid attention to the general media in the past few years, you'll also see that this whole affair has some (but not all) of its roots in the debate over unpaid interns working for (and being overworked by) for-profit companies.

The rules for unpaid interns and trainees in California - according to the Nelson Law Group and attorney David Grey - show that it's a literal minefield for any for-profit company to have unpaid interns and/or "trainees" in their ranks. Overall, the federal and state guidelines governing non-paying internships require that:

1. An intern cannot take the place of any regular employee.
2. There is no promise of a job for the intern at the end of the internship.
3. Both parties (employer and the intern) understand that the intern is not entitled to payment or benefits during the internship.
4. The intern must receive training from the company; that training must occur even if it slows or otherwise impedes the organization's work.
5. The intern must get hands-on experience with the organization's processes and equipment.
6. The training is primarily for the benefit of the intern, not the company.

 While I'm not a lawyer, it's pretty clear to me that Wizards has more legal standing in this case than the plaintiffs. Let's take a look at each point.

An intern cannot take the place of any regular employee - That's self-explanatory. Judges for any organized play program are not going to be replacing anybody in the corporate hierarchy of the game company. They're volunteers who are doing this out of love for the game, and perhaps for any added incentives provided by the company.

There's no promise of a job - Again, self-explanatory. You might be an awesome judge for your local MtG tourneys, but that doesn't necessarily equate into being an awesome designer, proofreader, layout composer, etc. Nobody is promised employment with Wizards of the Coast simply by being an MtG or other organized play judge.

Both parties (employer and intern) understand the intern isn't entitled to benefits or pay - I believe it's always been stipulated in agreements between OP judges and game companies that there is no legal, binding agreement between the company and judge about monetary pay or benefits (such as health insurance). As such, there's no way the plaintiffs are going to get paid.

Training - Training for organized play judges usually comes in the form of documents, which the judges are required to read and understand in addition to the rules of the game and any expansions. With MtG judges, there are tests administered by judges certified to be testers in order to be initially certified as well as to advance in levels through the program. That training is to give the judges a sound foundation in adjudicating tournaments on various levels and regulating the players and their fellow judges. In this case, the benefits to the company are tangential.

Most people in both the gaming hobby and industry know that unless you've got a blockbuster (which MtG quickly became) and possibly the backing of a larger corporation (which WotC has through Hasbro) you're not going to be making a whole lot of money in the game industry. Aside from the costs for advertising, art, layout, editing, printing, and distribution, you're dealing with a niche market - a small fraction of the general population, either locally or globally. Paying for the services of professional judges (or gamemasters, for that matter) is just not feasible. Game companies, especially those in niche markets like wargames, RPGs, boardgames, and collectible card games learned early on that the best way to promote was by word of mouth in addition to providing incentives for their fans to promote their products.

That's not to say that those who volunteer for organized play or promotional programs are hapless, underappreciated cogs in the corporate machine. Dungeon Masters for the Role-Playing Game Association (RPGA) received a number of cool bennies and items over the years in recognition of their service - I still drool over the giant "Fist of Emirikol" d20 that one of my friends acquired by being a Herald-level DM during D&D's third edition years. I also know that agents for Double Exposure's Envoy program get to keep the games they get certified to demo.

To further illustrate: Years ago, I served as a Bounty Hunter for Alderac Entertainment Group, the folks who brought us Legend of the Five Rings, the original Spycraft RPG, and 7th Sea. The program was simple: for each event a Bounty Hunter ran, depending on the product, you got a number of points. Those points could be redeemed for free product - RPG rule and sourcebooks, starter decks, booster packs, etc. That in turn allowed us to promote the new products without making an investment beyond time, effort, and enthusiasm. In short, it was a labor of love, the same labor of love which drives people to run demos for the Envoy Double Exposure program, and organized play groups like WotC's D&D Adventurers' Guild, and Paizo's Pathfinder Society.

That connects to something I agree with in WotC's response:

With the exception of the Pro Tour, the World Magic Cup, and the Magic World Championship, Magic events are run by tournament organizers and local game stores who directly engage judges. But these lawsuits claim that Wizards runs all events and that the people judging those events are Wizards employees. Anyone who has played at their local store knows this simply is not true...

...Fans choose to become judges out of a sincere love of the game and as a way to enjoy their favorite hobby. They ensure events are fair and fun, and we appreciate everything they do.

That's why I was an AEG Bounty Hunter - because first and foremost I enjoyed running and teaching the L5R and Spycraft RPGs to others. Yes, the perk of free product was nice, and it did help in the long run, but it wasn't my prime reason for being in that program.

Do you smell something burning? I do.
Art by Plognark.

At best these self-entitled troglodytes are pants-on-head morons; at worst, they are disingenuous asshats. Either way, I smell smoke. It's my sincere hope that these idiots not only get laughed out of court, but also out of the hobby and the industry. Why? Because if they win, it's going to set a bad precedent and I can foresee game companies ending their organized play/promotional programs to avoid incurring any liability under that precedent.

Of course, the Law of Unintended Consequences dictates that even if Wizards of the Coast wins, there could be a backlash from supporters of the plaintiffs throughout the program. That in itself would be a tremendous and disappointing loss as it would be evidence (in my opinion) that a portion of the hobby doesn't have the maturity (and possibly intellect) it claims to have, leading to further repercussions which I can't even begin to envision, let alone want to.

In short, this could hurt everybody involved in the hobby and the industry, not just one company.

Style and Substance in the Desert of Gaming

Earlier this week I wrote on the confined yet swirling gyre of muck and trollery plaguing tabletop gaming. In that post I promised to reveal my overarching gamemastering style as well as debut my system regarding the content of my games. Just as my gaming style has changed over the years, so will this system evolve. Whenever I run a private or public game and advertise that game, I will openly post the content info on this blog; the link to the blog entry will be provided in descriptions of my convention and game day events. Before we delve into the mix, I'd like to thank lorc and Delapouite for the open use of their icons from game-icons.net under the Creative Commons 3.0 license.

The Style of My Games

Overview
Being a writer, I tend to favor story over rules and roleplaying over roll-playing. I tinker with the rules when necessary, whether it's in reverting to an older version of a rule or creating house rules to cover official rules that don't seem to fit.

The Details

The GM is in Charge: As the GM, my word and judgment are first and final, period. We're here to have fun, not pixel-bitch about rules and canon. If I make a mistake or someone has a question, please say so. I'll usually either make an on-the-spot correction and fix the mistake if possible, or make a temporary ruling and look into it after the game has concluded. We can then address it at the beginning of the next session, or I might address it to the group by email. The fastest way to annoy me to the point of blacklisting is to be a rules lawyer or canonista and bog down the game.

Rule Zero is in Effect: To steal a page from a previous version of Bruce Gulke's Mythosa website: "Every [game element] is subject to change or removal at the discretion of the GM. Even if a game element is initially permitted, if it is later deemed incompatible with the campaign, it will be modified or removed. Any characters (PC or NPC) that use that element may be required to adjust to the change (in other words, grandfathering is not guaranteed). [I] will attempt to keep this sort of thing to a minimum (if at all), but sometimes this may happen in the process of keeping the rules appropriate to the campaign setting."

Tinkering and House Rules: No game system is perfect. I have yet to find a game system that I haven't tinkered with or amended with house rules. In conjunction with Rule Zero, though I try to keep this to a minimum, I will keep players in the loop with regard to changes from the rules as written.

Story First: I run RPGs in order to tell heroic stories. I'm not in this for Player-vs-Player deathmatches, evil campaigns, socio- or psychopathic PCs, lone wolves, or murderhoboes. At the start of the game we will discuss character concepts and the kind of story you want to tell - but it must be a heroic story. While I'm happy to have the players steer the story, I'm not above taking a firm hand to keep them on the right track. Don't deliberately dead-end the story, slaughter NPCs left and right, or otherwise act like a bunch of psychopathic nutbags.

Drama: The stories in my games have highs and lows - victories and defeats; ambushes and escapes. Just because the characters are heroes doesn't mean the cavalry will be there to save them at the last minute; bad things do happen to good people occasionally. However, good redeems its own in that the characters have acted to better others' state of life. Conversely, evil eats its own. Though an evil overlord may rule for years in a game world, they will fall, either at the hands of the heroes, a vicious minion, or through self-destruction.

Scary and Disturbing: This aspect is dependent upon the players and so is not a constant. Because we are telling stories of heroes, the villains in some - but not all - of my games are equally horrible - cultists, traitors, murderers, slavers, outer gods, and things that go bump in the night - those are some of the things the PCs will face. I also don't shy away from some adult situations. A character's family and friends might incur tragedy at the hands of a villain or his minions. I'm not one to revel in gore or distressing situations. I will fade to black before I do anything gratuitous.

Run!: A lot has been made in the past about game balance. Though I'm not one to kill characters wantonly, their players have to use their common sense and brains to stay alive. If they wander into a cave and start poking a dragon with a ten-foot pole or wade into the midst of a charging horde of orcs, they'd best be prepared to run - and maybe have another character at the ready.

Heroism: Even though I've lived in this world for a good many years, I still possess a shred of idealism, believing that good overcomes evil. I despise evil campaigns. That being said, I expect my players to be playing the heroes. I'm not saying the PCs have to be saints walking on water; they could just as easily be antiheroes or rogues with hearts of gold, but when push comes to shove they should be do the right thing, even if it means walking a hard road at great cost.

Consequences: This aspect is connected to the concepts of "Story First" and "Drama". Characters have the agency of free will, and as such, all their actions have consequences. Tracy Hickman wrote an excellent series of essays regarding morality in RPGs. To paraphrase part of his third essay, games without consequences cheat their players. We expect things to work a certain way in the real world - when you hit your thumb with a hammer, it hurts and you try not to do it again. In a fantasy world, if you commit a crime, there should be lawful repercussions - to have it any other way is to make the entire game a lie.

Character Death: I don't shy away from character death, but I'm not one to kill characters willy-nilly, however. I believe a character's death must serve a purpose in relation to the story - such as noble sacrifice, to demonstrate the serious nature of a situation, or the lethality of a dungeon, creature, or trap. If you are overly attached to your characters, you may want to avoid my table.

Mirror: Players have a part in building the world around their characters - it's only fair. I'll mirror back any ideas I think are interesting in the game. Feel free to fly by the seat of your pants and improvise on your character's background. However, keep in mind that I reserve the right to modify or completely veto any idea. You may say your character is the heir apparent to a great merchant house, but that doesn't make it so. However, I could always make it so, leaving you, the player, saddled with how best to handle the family business, its debts, its allies, and its enemies. So be careful what you wish for.

Tactics & Teamwork: I value teamwork and tactics in a game. I hate lone-wolf tactics and grandstanding. I reward teamwork and ingenuity in all situations, not just combat. Having a plan requires communication between players, and I encourage you, the players to do so in-character. The same goes for setting goals and objectives for your individual characters and the group as a whole.

Improvisation: No plan survives its first contact with the players. I welcome player ingenuity and the improvisation it requires and I try not to railroad the players (too much). I have seen players come up with some madcap ways of dealing with enemies and situations alike - whether it's locking a tractor beam onto an asteroid to use it as a flail to smash pursuing pirate fighters or using gold paint to defeat an eldritch creature vulnerable to gold. More often than not, I laugh my head off as the players make the wheels come off my villains' machinations...

Pre-generated Material & Maps: I'm only human and sometimes I run out of time, energy, or inspiration. As such, I do make use of pre-generated material, including characters, maps, and adventures. I will modify the material to work with the game I am running as necessary.

Technology at the Table: While I understand that technology such as cell and smartphones, tablets, and laptops can be a boon to tabletop gaming, I also know they can be a distraction. I ask that laptops and tablets be used only to refer to PDFs of rulebooks or online SRDs. Phones should be set to vibrate or otherwise left alone. I have no problem with people answering necessary calls (family and work, ordering food, etc), but that's the limit.

No Harassment: As detailed in my previous blog entry, I will not tolerate players harassing their fellows or otherwise making them to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. Offenders will be given one chance to straighten up and fly right before being told - not asked - to leave.

Epilogue

As I've noted before, this system is always going to be a work in progress and will no doubt change as my tastes in gaming change. Hopefully in the meantime it will serve its purpose well despite the intermittent sideways rain of mud and turds going on in the hobby.