Geek Ken

Sorylian Skyhammer cruisers

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:30:00 +0000

It's been slow going with my fleet, but I've managed to finish up my Sorylian cruisers for Firestorm Armada. I'm satisfied, not quite overjoyed, but satisfied with the paint job. There is a little more detail to eek out of the figures, but not sure if I have a steady enough hand to really bring those out.

I'm using Vallejo paints, which is new for me. Base coats are no longer an issue, however I still am getting some muddied results with the wash. Hard getting the right consistency. Might have to bite the bullet and get some ink washes (been hesitant with the shipping costs, so I might see about making a run up to a gaming store in Seoul).

Still have to finish off my battleship and then move on to my Terran fleet. Sort of disappointed with the lack of detail in the smaller class ships for the Terrans, so I might have to try something more fancy to make those figures really pop. Not to mention, I need to get a few more games under my belt too!

Note: I've thrown in one of the frigates to give a bit of relative scale to the figures.

Off to the jungle...

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Sun, 13 May 2012 21:30:00 +0000

... well not quite but I'll be travelling south and out of the country for a bit. Expecting hot and humid weather, not to mention consuming vast quantities of 333. Be back in about a week.

While part of a different canon, I always dug the Slann from Warhammer Fantasy. With a combination of brutes, dart shooting skirmishers, along with huge battle triceratops, and ancient psionic Old Ones, I might need to craft an adventure or two regarding them. They've got this combination of primal fury and potential of the far beyond that makes for some cool ideas. Toodles for now!

Is Save or Die even needed?

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Posted last month, WotC’s Legends and Lore column mused a bit about the Save or Die mechanic throwing a few ideas about how they were part of the older game, and if they had a role in the newest edition. I’m not a fan of save or die, and was glad to see it go in 4E. However given the poll results that were provided the following week, it looks like I am in a minority.

I never got how some people felt 4E lacked the sense of danger of previous editions. Things were too balanced and players had too easy of a time. This got me because the DM always had the option to crank things up when making up an adventure. Throw a few trolls at that level 1 party and voila, you have a dangerous encounter where the PCs should have to run.

I’ll concede one point however. Heroic level games seemed to run just fine, but paragon and epic tier things likely would get a little wonky. Especially at higher level play, where out of the book battles could become a cakewalk with a fully rested party. Yet, even that could be overcome with some some tweaks and employing a different design philosophy that Fourthcore has explored.

Another point I’ll agree with is having a saving throw does engage a player a bit more. 4E effect mechanics were very streamlined and uniform, but did lack the interaction of previous editions. Rolling to hit against defence for spells are great when players were attacking, but being the target of these effects could become dull as all the action was in the DM’s hands. With saving throws, at least the PC could have some action in trying to counter a spell, rather than depending on a passive stat. However having something like that for everything could drag down the game, meaning you might have one way of resolving effects for players and another against monsters. In the end, with different systems to resolve spells and effects it could be a headache.

I’m just not a fan of wildly chaotic play that save or die encourages. It becomes harder to help maintain that story. With lots of checks built in 4E, I knew if I threw a high level encounter at the party, they would have a tough time and possibly a few might not make it. All of us could then craft the story around those big, momentous combats that telegraphed the idea that the players might have to make the ultimate sacrifice for the rest of the group.

Another problem I have with save or die is that with most adventures, the DM has control over everything. They are the ones that decide what the PCs will go up against. Having a random lethal outcome be layered on what I decide to throw at the players makes my job harder in trying to make a fun fight. If you were running a module that had been playtested extensively, this would be less of an issue. But most DMs are making their own game. It can be difficult to judge how much of a challenge fights will be using monsters with severe penalties if players don’t make their saving throw. Having one PC drop dead might make for an interesting side quest or push for roleplay, frequent TPKs however don’t seem to make for a fun time.

I don’t want save or die part of the core rules for DnDNext. I do however, want a little section in the next DMG to give advice on how they can ‘turn their game up to eleven.’ Having some suggestions on some stock abilities, or methods for putting save or die mechanics into your game would be great. So if a DM wanted to increase the lethality and danger of their games, they have some tried and true methods to do so.

An example might be to suggest encounter powers for creatures rely on saving throws instead of to hit rolls, and do max damage or ½ damage whether the player makes their appropriate save. For a more 4E-centric mechanic, how about a suggested disease track for level drain, and also add a condition that permanently removes 1 healing surge from a PC's total? Fourthcore introduced the idea of a new power keyword, Kill. If a player did not have a particular amount of healing surges available, they'd die outright. Having a good 5-10 methods and suggestions for introducing save or die into the game, with some additional pointers on appropriate use would likely be a great addition to a new DM’s arsenal of information.

Someone like me? Likely I'd never use it in my game. Yet other DMs out there would have solid, play-tested means to add save or die aspects to their game. I want it out of the game, but as an optional rule, this could have a place in folk’s games. I’m hopeful, as a core mechanic, save or die simply stays dead.

Virtual tabletop roundup

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:00:00 +0000

I’ve not used virtual tabletop software in my games. I’m a sit-around-the-table kind of guy. However I have to admit the sheer connectivity via skype and google hangouts is drawing me towards possibly looking at running online games. I think for 4E tabletop software there are some kinks to work out. However stuff I have thought about before will likely never see the light of day given the edition change coming.

I’m curious how the development of the official DDI Virtual Tabletop will go. Sadly, I guess the 4E support for that will evaporate. But with a looser, gridless system possibly in the works for DnDNext, this might get more support. Dread gazebo put up a nice old beta tutorial on his blog.

There are some other paid versions out there like such as the one at Fantasy Grounds. I’ve heard some give the software positive reviews and it looks pretty nifty. Typically I shy away from trial versions, but I might give this a spin. They also seem pretty committed to updates for the program too.

While possibly not as full featured as others out there, you’ve got Map Tool which is free. A bonus in my book as you can try it out without having to worry about any hassle with a trial version. I understand quite a few folks have used and enjoy this for a while now.

Something else on my radar has been the Roll20 Virtual Tabletop. A few things I like is that it is web based. Also while the program is geared for 4E, it is also system neutral. A plus with the new D&D playtest on the horizon. They’re currently in closed beta, but I’ll be keeping an eye on how they progress. It seems to have some potential.

EDIT: As expected I just scratched the surface. There are a few other programs out there that folks have brought up. I'll just provide a list of the links here:

Gametable Project - a java opensource program

Tabletop Forge - that utilizes Google+ hangout

d20 Pro - a paid program but has a 30 day free trial

Upcoming DnDNext playtest

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:00:00 +0000

I think the internet and twitter likely exploded among RPG fanatics last week with the announcement that Monte Cook left the DnDNext project. At first I was spouting off maybe he left due to differences in what direction the newest D&D would be going. Then the other shoe dropped and the public playtest of DnDNext would be coming out late May. After that I’m falling in the camp that maybe there was a division on how ready the ruleset was for public input between some of the designers and Hasbro/WotC.

All in all it’s sort of giving me a sinking feeling about the next version of DnDNext. At times I even wonder if it’s to get that chunk of 3E/Pathfinder consumers. I could have seen some fictitious conversation months ago like this:

Hasbro Suit: Hey, I was taking my kid to Barne’s and Nobles to spend this gift certificate. He bought this Pathfinder book. You’ve seen this thing?

WotC Designer: Yes.

Hasbro Suit: You have? Man, we gotta get our attorneys on this. I looked through this thing. It’s got wizards, sword guys, dwarves, it’s just like D&D. Those guys stole our IP!

WotC Designer: Actually, it’s closer to our older editions, published under OGL.

Hasbro Suit: OGL material? God don’t bring up that mistake again. So all this stuff in the book is under that massive screw up. Okay, no lawyers. What are we doing about getting these geeks back to our product?

WotC Designer: Well, a lot of people enjoy the older editions of D&D. Pathfinder sort of built on that rules-wise. Fourth edition has gone in a slightly different design direction. I mean it’s pretty much the same game, just utilizing some unique game mechanics.

Hasbro Suit: What do you mean different? There are wizards, spells, dragons, friggin’ orcs. This Pathfinder and our product are the same thing. They’re both Dungeons and Dragons. So why aren’t they playing our product?

WotC Designer: Again, they are fairly similar. However 4E has some interest-

Hasbro Suit: You aren’t listening to me. Why aren’t they playing our product? Fix it. Get these mama’s basement dwellers playing our game. And for God’s sake don’t put that OGL anywhere near it.

Okay, I’m actually sure something like that never really even came up but I’m certain folks have been looking over at the Pathfinder camp and wondering how they could get players back to ‘official’ D&D. I like the concept. Get just about everyone under the banner of D&D. I just don’t think it is going to happen.

First off you have the OGL of 3E/Pathfinder. Even with a newer edition out there that can incorporate older editions, I don’t expect for a minute it will have an open licensing scheme. I’m going to be massively unpopular stating this, DnDNext shouldn't have an OGL. They should however, be very open to licensing the game. Whether it’s cash up front or an agreement to split profits, other publishers should be able to put out D&D products with an agreement that encourages this. I think that was one reason why support for 3/3.5 sort of evaporated. If WotC supported that edition it'd give it legs, and meant other companies could use that as a sign to keep putting out stuff WotC would never get a dime off of.

Lastly I think the community is split. Folks have set up tents in respective camps and are unwilling to get behind another product. In a way, I don’t blame them. If they love AD&D or Pathfinder is their edition, they have the rules they want to play. Why try something ‘new’ that is drawing them away from games they already enjoy? This point I think should give WotC pause about how much effort should go into calling back lovers of past editions. Which audience is really the future of D&D?

I’m hopeful they can pull it off. That they can make something with enough working parts to get everyone behind. But I’m unsure if players of older editions (including 4E) will be willing to make that jump. Just because the game worked one way in an earlier edition doesn’t mean it was better or ‘more true’ to D&D now. If something might not fly with new player expectations, but is some classic ruleframe from an older edition, new players should get the rule shift every time. The focus should be getting new players into playing the game. Getting lovers of the older editions, the fans of existing rules, may not be the best in the long run. Instead I’d be trying to make a game that future generations would want to play.

Expeditions of Amazing Adventure: the esoteric monasteries of the Etholician Monks

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 12:30:00 +0000

This religious order is a prominent player in the political structure of Etholita, and their various temples scatter the densely wooded region. The order comprises of followers of Sehanine and is known for their generosity. The Etholician monks open many of their grounds to the weary and needy, offering protection against the elements and their expertise in the medicinal arts if needed.

Their openness and willingness to offer aid has raised ire with some the ruling nobility of Etholita. The country has always had a strained relationship with its neighbors, especially the Kormerrian barbarian tribes that lead frequent raids. The order has offered aid to the wounded of both warring sides if asked, and many times have been requested by foreign parties to act as arbitrators in political disputes with Etholita. The monks are known for their fairness and impartiality, and at times have even ruled against the very state that houses their monasteries in legal disputes.

The monks themselves avoid bloodshed whenever possible. However, they do train with simple weapons favoring the club and staff. Their martial prowess in unarmed combat is renowned, and much of a monk’s daily routine is designed to focus their minds and bodies into formidable weapons.

The constant accompaniment of dogs is another characteristic of their order. The common presence of large mastiffs can be observed as these dogs appear to have free reign within the monastery grounds. These are not spoiled beasts however, despite the occasional frolicking of young pups among the common halls. The dogs are well disciplined and follow their master’s command with resolute obedience. It is rumored that brigands or humanoids foolhardy enough to raid the order have not only met the martial might of the monks but also the savage fury of their beast companions.

From their deeds to their effective command of the martial arts, the monks have established themselves as a major player in the politics of Etholita. This brings some worry with the land's nobles, while a few would even admit to desiring the order be abolished completely (such talk however is a topic of secret council).

It is such tension with the order that has likely lead to some of the more astounding rumors regarding the monks. Some claim that the order is cursed. Their oldest members are afflicted with a horrible disease that transforms them into beasts. The reverence of the moon is a secret admission of their affinity with lycanthropy.

It is immensely uncommon to come across werebeasts in Etholita, however it does not keep the circulation of such rumors falling among commoners. Some will swear the many dogs that are devout companions to the order are actually monks themselves which have succumbed to the long standing curse. The monks in their benevolence open their hearts and temples to these animals in hopes to bring them peace.

The Etholician monks respond to these rumors with much mirth and deny any truth to such astounding tales. Yet some nobles would clearly find such evidence immensely valuable to strengthening their position in Etholita. The order, while committing many charitable acts, would find their supporters wary of the practice of such magics, and likely erode the standing of their order from the very commoners they aid.

Fallcrest - where a new 4E DM should start

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Cruising the WotC boards a while back I came across a new DM struggling with the notion of all the work they’d need creating a starting town for their players. Thinking up locations, inns, and NPCs all seemed like a daunting task. I was happy to point out however of a fantastic starting town right in the DMG, Fallcrest.

First off you have a decent starting delve to get the players going that is high on action and low on plot, Kobold Hall. There are a lot of resources online to help with running that adventure including a great starter kit from Newbie Dm. It’s a decent one shot adventure to allow the players to get a feel for their characters, gain a little wealth and notoriety around town, and give the DM a little time to formulate a more intricate campaign story.

But after they clear out Kobold Hall, what’s next? They won’t have to travel much out of Fallcrest to find excitement. The town has a ton of potential ideas and possible avenues for adventure right within the town walls.

Barstomun Strongbeard and Kelson - Both are unsavory guys with their hands in the underworld. Barstomun has the porter guild under his control. Kelson has his criminal gang in the lower quays. It’s only a matter of time before they butt heads. Clearly the elimination of one group is highly advantageous for the other (not to mention merchants that would be happy to see both go). Or maybe some sort of negotiation needs to be brokered between them before a gang war spirals out of control leading to open murder in the streets? A great opportunity to get your players into a gritty criminal underworld adventure for certain.

Armos Kamroth - Jerk noble? Check. Secret cult leader of Tiamat? Check. Guy for the players to handle? Absolutely.

What makes this guy work wonders as an NPC is that he stays within the law and his suspicious activity is secret. This could easily be played as a noble with the political connections, wealth, and decent reputation in town to be a difficult adversary. A tough reputation to smear publicly, so the ‘he said/players said’ game can easily shift in Armos’s favor. A decent villain for the characters to face off with for sure. And where would his secret cult meet? Why in...

The Catacombs - Yup. A network of old tunnels running right under the bluff. Just what a DM needs for a little dungeon action. How else could the River Rat gang transport stolen goods through the city? Not to mention a few secret areas where some evil cultists could meet (and move some poor sacrificial peasant to a ritual chamber). Clearly some sections would be unexplored. Sealed off sections with secret passageways leading to unknown horrors and wealth. Fun stuff indeed.

Tombwood Cavern - A nice wooded location in the middle of town with a series of old crypts and entrances to Moonstone Caverns. Most have been explored, but there are rumors of some tunnels that lead to the caves. Who knows what lurks in there or what treasures might be found? Tombwood is a fair size (about 200 x 300 ft across) so you could easily have a decent dungeon jaunt right within the woods exploring a few old crypts or a network of caves.

The Tower of Waiting - Still not enough dungeon ideas for you? How about an old abandoned tower (spoiler alert at link)? How about a cool looking map to serve as more inspiration. Yeah, another spooky abandoned place for the players to dig around in. This place might be haunted by ghosts. Or maybe the players could be employed to investigate and find some clues to a secret dark past of Lord Markelhay’s family? After all there is that dubious guy hanging out in the Nentir Inn...

Serim Selduzar - Maybe the tower of waiting might hold some evidence that the father of Lord Markelhay was really not quite that nice ruler everyone remembers? Evidence of torture and human remains locked away behind a secret wall might do a lot of damage to the public reputation of Lord Markelhay, something Selduzar would love to take advantage of. Could the players end up being duped into helping this evil tiefling? (insert soap opera music here)

Yeah, Fallcrest has a lot of neat NPCs, locations, and potential stories right within its walls. Not to mention if you dig around you can find a ton of material out there like this wonderful map I lifted from D&D Doodle. Did I mention he even has a DM friendly version?

Nentir Vale was going to get some support from WotC, but long ago that official campaign setting was dropped from the upcoming products listing. Still with the published adventures already available, not to mention the free Keep on the Shadowfell, there is a lot of potential for a long campaign in the area. With some wonderful maps of the area and specific regions over at D&D Doodle, you won’t be short on sources for inspiration.

All of this can be kicked off with a group spending a little time in Fallcrest, building up their chops at being local heroes. If you’re a new DM struggling to think of a place to start. Don’t turn your nose up at this great location right in the DMG.

Bring back the WotC D&D playcasts

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:30:00 +0000

I’ve enjoyed many of the videos and podcasts from WotC showcasing 4E. The Penny Arcade podcasts were very enjoyable. I expect with the next version of D&D rolling out there will be an entirely new set of play sessions released. Quite a few folks have used them to introduce the game to new players. However more effort should be put into a special series to introduce the game, especially for new DMs.

One format I have loved talking about adventure design is Return to Northmoore. Typically you have one podcast talking about the adventure in detail, then another session of the actual playthrough. What I particularly enjoyed was the DM commentary.

So let’s fast forward another year or so from now, with DnDNext out on the shelves. WotC, get a simple dungeon delve adventure up on the web. Something like a lighter version of Kobold Hall. Just use stock monsters out of the book. Don’t worry about any stats. Have a simple map up of the dungeon. Add a branch in the layout and avoid the linear room to room exploration (more on that later). Make sure to throw in a room that has a trap and possibly some puzzle element. Don’t forget to have a few stock level one characters too. Have that as a nice PDF file a fledgling DM can page through. Then get the podcasts up.

Podcast 1: The Adventure prep and dungeon design. Have the show DM talk about the dungeon a bit. Give out the nuts and bolts of the design philosophy. Talk about why the rooms and encounters progress the way they do. Give some DM tips on preparing an adventure, how to address some potential problems. Finally, give at least a good 10 minutes talking about the story of this dungeon and why the players are exploring it. Describe different adventure hooks for it.

Podcast 2: The party introduction. Describe the basic mechanics of the game and go through a quick rundown of abilities, AC, and HP. Have each player introduce themselves. Have them give a little background on their character. More importantly, insert some DM commentary on a few bullet points about key abilities as each party member is introduced.

Finally, the show DM should lay out the situation and cast a few adventure hooks, getting the players on board. Make sure to encourage that roleplaying. Get them lined up to explore the dungeon and as they enter the first room...

Podcast 3: The first combat. Give a complete overview of the fight. Present every die roll, every HP marked off, allow for plenty of questions and answers. In short, just like almost every existing WotC podcast for 4E.

Podcast 4+: Now for the other fights, have the lead up to the fight. Maybe play out the first round and then skip to the end. A blow by blow account is boring. You don’t have to focus on each die roll and listen in as each PC ponders their turn. Instead, focus in on presenting particular situations that come up with commentary by the show DM. Something like the following...

Show DM: The party is pretty much in the thick of it by now with the wizard suffering from poison by a giant spider bite. Let’s listen in on Fizzlelot’s turn.

DM: Okay, Fizzlelot. It’s your turn. You are poisoned. So you immediately take 5 points of poison damage.

Show DM: Ongoing damage is taken at the beginning of the player’s turn. They might have temporary hit points or some regenerative effect that can counter this. However if they drop to zero HP, they are down for the fight. Players can be pretty excited to do something on their turn and can forget any ongoing damage, so be sure to remember any ongoing effects.

Fizzlelot: Five points? Ouch. Okay, I’m down to 12 HP. I’m going to try something different and swing my staff at the creature.

DM: All right, make a basic attack rolling a d20.

Fizzlelot: Ack.. rolled a 4.

DM: Sorry not enough to hit it. That was your standard action. You have a minor and a move action.

Fizzlelot: This is pretty dicey right now where I am at. So I’ll use my move action to shift away from the giant spider. That’s about it. I’ll use my minor action to say some choice words to the beasty!

DM: Heh. Okay your turn is over. You get to make a saving throw to shake off the poison. Use a d20 roll and roll high.

Show DM: At the end of the player’s turn, they can attempt to make a saving throw for any effects that have a ‘save end’. The poison attack from giant spiders have such a condition. All the PC has to do is roll a 10 or more and they can shake off the effect.

Fizzlelot: Jeez. An 8. Can I get a break here?

DM: That's too bad. You are still poisoned. Let’s move on to Sir Slays-Stuff.

Show DM: Since the wizard rolled less than a 10, he is still poisoned and will continue to take ongoing damage the next turn. As a tip you might want to curb the use of too many monsters that inflict ongoing damage with low level parties. Players can get into some bad die streaks and the cumulative damage can add up. Not to mention they don’t quite have the magical items to help out. So be sure to use these type of monsters sparingly in your adventures.

Now here is the important bit. Skim through the remaining fights. Possibly key in on a few important rolls. For the final boss fight, give a general overview of the situation and play out that last turn. Streamline the podcast to cover high points of the fights. For roleplaying however, you want to play every minute of dialog.

That is why it’s important to have a branching path (and be sure to have some clues telegraphing what might be in each direction). Have that room with only a trap and a puzzle. Give opportunities for the players to talk about the situation and cover all those exploration discussions. That is the stuff you want to cover in its entirety. While combat is a part of the game, it’s a better sell to capture the table chatter and excitement of exploration.

Final Podcast: The wrap up. Have the DM lay out a foundation for another adventure and tie up any loose story bits. Finally, go around the table and get feedback from the players. Throw in some final DM commentary and advice about how to seed further adventure ideas and the importance of talking with your players, and most importantly, just having fun.

I hope more effort is put into getting a short series of podcasts out that help explain the game and give some guidance to new DMs. I tend to think there are so many existing fans of the game now, we tend to forget about trying to get stuff out there to help the newer players. A short series of podcasts like these can be a great step in helping newer players learn about, and grow to love, D&D.

Off for a little island adventure...

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Man I wish I was going to places like this, just have to settle for another work trip. Be out and about with spotty internet for a week or so. Until then enjoy some thematic jungle ruins from Mike Franchina. He's got some amazingly inspirational stuff up on his blog.

Review: Eaten by Zombies

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Periodically I’ll be participating in the game night blog carnival, which gives me a chance to review some board games that might be a good break from your typical RPG session nights. Be sure to check out the other participants and their blogs.

This month I’ve got a fairly new entry into the deck-building themed games, Eaten by Zombies. Players are regular Joes and Janes trying to survive in a zombie apocalypse periodically running out of their safe house to scavenge supplies, all the while either avoiding or fighting their undead neighbors. What results is a fairly competitive, cutthroat card game with a slight cooperative twist.

Play is rather simple beginning by turning over a card from the zombie deck. At that point a player can decide to either fight or flee from the zombie horde in front of them. Their hand will comprise of swag cards that help them run, fight, or draw cards to potentially add to their fight/flee ability. To beat off the zombie horde, or valiantly run away, they simply must match the values on the zombie cards for fighting or fleeing. Players will find that very tough zombies are easier to run away from, while zombies easy to kill are harder to run away from.

If they successfully kill all the zombies, or run away from the horde, players can then gather up swag (cards from a common pool) equal to value of the cards played. Note that this means that players can play far more cards needed to kill off a lone zombie, simply to increase their played card value so they can pick up that expensive shotgun as swag. These swag cards are immediately placed in the player’s hand. This is a very subtle mechanic. Players will begin to see that they can tailor their hand to plan out their actions for the following turn, focusing on gaining flee or fight cards. Killed zombies are added to the players discard pile (ending up in the player’s draw deck on future turns).

If players fail to fight off or run away from the horde, they can lose a lot of cards. These cards must be from their hand, or their draw deck. When fighting zombies, fortunately you can always take out a few, reducing the number of cards needed to discard. All of the swag cards discarded this way are returned to the common pool to be picked up by everyone on later turns. Players cannot discard zombies in their hand, but can discard them from their draw deck (if they are lucky enough to draw them off the top).

Even when players successfully run away, they must discard some cards. However they also have the option of losing cards from their discard deck (except those pesky zombie cards). Again, this becomes a subtle mechanic where players might select weak swag cards to gain in their hand, only to use those newly gained cards as a discard (or even replace cards lost running from the horde).

If a player is ever required to discard more cards than the combined total in their hand or draw deck (including cards in their discard pile), they lose the game. It will also be increasingly difficult to get rid of zombies cards that the player kills, so if they ever draw a hand with all six cards being zombies, they also lose the game.

Zombie cards are fairly tough to get rid of, but they can be played to increase the size of a horde that other players face. This is something that will usually throw a wrench into their opponent’s plans, as they realize the lone zombie they could have easily run away from now has become a huge group. Again, another subtle mechanic is that players cannot draw up to their full hand of 6 cards until the end of their turn. While they might gleefully throw zombies into fights for other players, they’ll be faced with a limited hand size on their own turn. It makes for an interesting choice during play.

Lastly, if a player is eliminated, it doesn’t mean they are out of the game. They instead become a zombie player. They gain a smaller hand solely of zombie cards which they use to turn other players into zombies (by forcing opponents to hold 6 zombie cards). This is exceedingly difficult to pull off, but possible. Avoiding complete elimination and including another means of winning the game is a nice touch.

Of course not everything has to be so cutthroat. All the players could also pull off a cooperative win, by killing all the zombies in the game. Like the zombie win condition, this is difficult to pull off, but might be enticing enough to encourage a few players to work together near the end of the game.

Surprisingly even with the amount of control due to building up your hand prior to your next turn, things can be deceptive as the zombies you face could mushroom to a huge group due to other players. Additionally, on later turns, more and more zombies are revealed each time the zombie deck runs out and is reshuffled. As there are varying toughness and speeds of zombies, it can become increasingly difficult to predict if you have enough cards to successfully fight or flee.

The game has an interesting flow. Things progress fairly slowly as players build up their hands and deck. But with a twist of fate it all can come crashing down as players might have to discard a third of their deck or more. When things go bad, they usually go really bad, and it can be almost impossible to crawl away from a dust up with a growing zombie horde. It captures this impending dread of being overwhelmed by the undead rather well.

The Good - The mechanics for a deck-building game are rather tight. You focus on building up your hand primarily, and adding to your deck as a secondary goal. This allows you to focus on the immediate game, rather than tuning your deck of cards in hopes of good draws in future turns. I also like how everyone stays in the game, even if they get devoured (although being able to win as a zombie is difficult). Also, interaction with other players becomes a key part of the game as people begin to kill off zombies.

The artwork is rather good and the overall design of the cards is sharp. The game comes with a series of dividers with additional clarifications of their effects which is a nice touch. I like how you can get a random assortment of different swag cards before each game, adding to the replayability.

The Bad - Even with a solid hand, you can get a raw deal with the zombies you are faced with. A game can quickly degenerate down to ‘let’s pick on the little guy’ with folks just piling on a player to wipe them out quickly. Getting crushed in one deal, losing half your deck, is difficult to come back from. So the vicious game play can rub some people the wrong way. Be prepared to be brutal playing this game.

I like the overall card design, but the color scheme can be a bit of an eyesore. I get the idea of using different backgrounds to represent weapons from other items, but a more subtle color pallet would have been nice.

The Verdict - Eaten by Zombies is an odd game. On one hand you have these nifty hand building elements, allowing to hone your cards and plan out your next turn. When you successfully kill a zombie or deftly flee, you craftily pick up or discard the cards needed for your next turn. This is an elegant mechanic for deck building games. Only it’s saddled with random zombie card draws, and with players being able to unexpectedly pile on more zombies. The outcome of a fight (or flee) gone bad can be particularly harsh, where a player can suddenly find themselves crippled for the game.

And this is what makes Eaten by Zombies hard to pin down. You’ve got this portion that has a solid strategy element, only it seems marred by this huge random part of the game. Even worse, a completely unexpected draw of cards can wipe a player out for the remainder (mind you I am not talking about elimination, but not having any options such that it becomes impossible to have any other outcome than being a zombie on later turns). It’s odd that for something that has so much strategic play, you have this wildly unpredictable aspect.

In the end it is a strange mix. You’ve got a game having this potential to unfold crazy events due to other players (throwing an army of zombies at an opponent). If it kept that theme throughout, I think folks would enjoy it more. No one complains about Munchkin as the theme of the game is telegraphed to everyone at the start. Munchkin is about screwing your friends over. However Eaten by Zombies has this other strategic aspect to the game and in the end I feel it gives very mixed messages to the player. Even with playing smart and planning out your moves, you can still get wiped out, so why bother? Why have this portion of a player’s turn dedicated to thoughtful decisions, if it can be countered so easily by a random draw of the zombie deck.

As a cheap game, for those that love zombie themes, I can see some enjoying this. It really does seem to capture that hopelessness of being surrounded by zombies. It is not a bad game and with the right crowd of friends that enjoy thwarting the plans of their buddies, this is something they will get a kick out of. However is this game fun with a variety of player styles? Would it be worth picking up on a limited budget (or trying to keep a limited game library)? I’d say in that case folks might want to pass on this. I like Eaten by Zombies, but I can’t rave about this game being a must have.

Making alpha mutation decks through a card draft

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:00:00 +0000

The alpha mutation cards in Gamma World are a pretty fun. After every encounter, or if a player rolls a 1 on a d20, the player draws a new mutation card to replace the one in his hand (or had used). Other environmental effects can also cause a player to draw a new card. It can be a lot of fun using this mechanic, however the player is totally at the whim of cards in the GM deck. To get around this, a player could assemble his own personal deck of cards. This might be desired if a character is going after a certain theme of mutations for RP reasons, or just prefers powers that would work off a specific stat.

I imagine WotC would then love the player to go out and purchase several booster card packs to create their own personal deck of cards. Good marketing there. An optional part of the game, but the diehard player may just decide to jump in an buy a ton of cards to get a little more control on his mutation draws. A workaround for this however is using a mechanic in many boardgames and other card games, a card draft.

Out of the box, Gamma World has 44 mutation cards (40 in the deck and 4 from an included booster pack). Staying with the 7 card minimum deck, you can have 6 players each having their own personal alpha mutation deck without having buy any additional booster packs. You generate these decks by dealing out all the cards, each player selects a card they want, passing the excess to another player.

As a step by step example:

1. Deal out all the cards - Some players will end up with extra cards, don’t worry about this. However you could always have all the players roll off, with the highest roll (resolving ties) being the first player dealt.

2. Each player selects a single card - Each player goes through all the cards in their hand, and selects one card they want to keep. They set that card aside for their deck.

3. Pass the remaining cards - Each player then passes the remaining cards to the player on their left.

Repeat steps 2-3 until a deck of 7 cards is made for each player.

Each player will eventually have 7 cards they have set aside. This is their deck for the night’s game. The remaining cards are given to the GM as his mutation deck.

I like having the excess cards given to the GM to allow for alpha flux mutations from other weird sources. If a player runs out of alpha cards in his deck he can draw from the GM deck. If you want a little more structured game, when a player runs out of cards allow them to reshuffle their discard pile and place it face down to make a new draw deck.

You can do a card draft for omega tech cards, but I prefer keeping them as a single GM deck. Yet instead of handing out a specified card to each player individually, deal the cards in a single pile face up on the table. Allow the players to barter, argue, or agree (boooooorrrring) on which card they will take. This way there is a little control the players have in choosing what tech card they want, but it is still a random draw. I like this better than giving the players a chance to draw from their own stacked omega tech deck.

If you have players complaining about the wildness of alpha mutation cards, and want to give them a little more control with the types they get, consider using a card draft. You get a pretty good selection right out of the box and can accommodate quite a few players at the table.

Giving Savage Worlds a spin

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:00:00 +0000

So last month I wrapped up my one and a half year D&D campaign and was looking for some new worlds to adventure in. I was clamping at the bit to get into Dark Sun and was pretty excited about DMing it. My players ranged from don't-care-let's-play-something, to I'm-not-too-big-into-fantasy. Given that the old campaign was a little dark, the idea of jumping into another bleak setting like Dark Sun was also a minus for some folks. So I had to think of other options.

I floated out an idea of playing the new version of Gamma World, possibly a 30s supernatural game using Savage Worlds, or maybe jump into the new version of Traveller. All were well received but Traveller was at the top of the list. I like the newest version from Mongoose Publishing and the rule system is pretty easy mechanic-wise, but I kept looking over my Savage Worlds books.

Traveller would be an entirely new system for everyone (including myself as a GM). So I'd have to go through the ropes of getting everyone into the mechanics of the game. If we wanted to take a break and jump into another genre, likely they'd have to learn an entirely new system. Gamma World wasn't an issue for them on this point. As we had played it before and everyone knew 4E very well. So while I liked Traveller and was eager to give it a whirl, I didn't want to get my group into a tailored system for just that game. If we wanted to jump into a superhero game, or maybe try out the 30s supernatural campaign for a few games, it would cut into our play time having to get everyone up to speed with different RPG systems.

So I decided to put work into making a Savage World (SW) conversion for Traveller. There are all ready quite a few conversions out there. Not to mention that SW all ready is pretty generic to run just about anything right out of the book. I've also decided to focus on a few key bits within Traveller to work with SW. That way for a good chunk of the game, like spaceship combat, buying and selling goods, etc. I can use the values in Traveller, just quickly port it over to SW.

The biggest hurdle was trying to distill the various skills from Traveller down to a more truncated list for SW. A tad daunting, but something I was able to do. Likely there will be some more changes and not everything fits perfectly. However I think it's good enough and my players will likely not be too irked by some of the skill swapping.

I'm liking this as Savage Worlds is very modular. If we want to take a break from Sci-Fi opera and try something else out, both myself and the players can switch gears pretty easily and not have to worry about learning another completely new RPG system. I think with posts on the blog you can expect a few directed more to Savage Worlds in the future. Yet I'll still be plenty focused on dispensing my opinionated, bloated ego and ideas on D&D topics too.

Using monster templates and themes

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:00:00 +0000

I’ve taken a stab at using the DDI monster builder and found it a little clunky but serviceable. However I still was looking for offline tools that would allow me to tinker with making custom monsters. Another resource out there, straight out of the DMG, were monster templates and themes.

I tend to think monster templates and themes never really got any ground with DMs. It’s a clever idea. You’ve got a few key characteristic powers and traits you can slap on just about any monster and end up with a custom creature. The DMG2 expanded on this and gave some more general powers based on the role of the monster. Even an article or two in Dungeon magazine had a few templates (#190). One hiccup however with using templates (or themes) was that some of the earlier ones didn’t scale too well in level.

There was a workaround to this as the math for setting damage, defenses, and to hit bonuses were readily available. So with a little work, you could tweak the powers to make a level appropriate creature. This is one great thing about 4E, a lot of the numbers behind the scenes in the design were freely accessible, allowing for tinkering that made it difficult to break the game.

Enter the DM Cheat Sheet over at Sly Flourish, offering the most handy table any DM would ever need. This breaks down all the bonuses and average damage for any monster, level by level. Granted you could figure all of these values out, but looking it up on a chart makes the process tons easier. Not to mention the chart has been adjusted to the ‘new math’ for monsters, making them more on par with the PCs.

What is really great about this chart is that it makes some of the monster templates more flexible (especially many in the DMG2). The listed damage in these templates can be altered to reflect something more appropriate for that monster level. This also works wonders for creatures in the monster manuals. I can switch out the attack bonuses and damage with expected values for that monster level, and create a creature that can provide a sufficient challenge to the group.

Now, I’ve got a handy means to make some unique monsters on the fly. If I need to create some ice demon cultist group, I can switch out a few keywords and swap particular defences, HP, and damage output, making something that I am more confident will not TPK my players (or be a complete pushover).

Take Lolth’s Chosen from the DMG2 for this imaginary ice demon cultist group. You could drop out the poison keyword for many of the powers and use cold instead (imagine a biting, icy, cold spreading across the player’s body when they are hit). The cloud of darkness power could be described as a blast of hurling snow, which blinds the players. Scuttling escape could mean the ground is suddenly covered with a sheen of thin ice that the monsters could freely shift through. Not all the powers in the theme match, but with a little wrangling you could give your monsters a few custom powers making them stand out.

It’s too bad this hasn’t been explored more as articles in Dungeon. Having a greater variety of templates and themes offering different powers, particularly for certain monster roles and minions, would be a nice set of tools for that DM looking to spice up their game. Still, altering customizing monsters is a little less nebulous with 4E and a snap to do using themes and templates. I encourage folks to try it for their game.

Hoping healing surges stick around

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:10:00 +0000

I’ve got a bit of a rant with the latest Legends and Lore up on WotC’s site about saving throws, but I’m going to stew on that a bit. However a portion of the article throws out the idea of tagging effects based on hit point status. It’s something that could work, but I wonder if healing surges might be more appropriate as a gauge of relative fitness. And the failure of mentioning them makes me wonder if healing surges might make the cut for DnDNext. If not, that is sort of a shame.

I love healing surges, something I’ve gushed about before. They offer a way to rethink about what hit points represent. They also reinforce the idea that HP loss can mean more than just physical damage drawing blood.

From just healing potential, I can see curbing the number of healing surges characters have. The more defender types can be brought to death’s door twice before having to worry if a healer is available, and that isn’t even counting the bonus healing from leader powers. So trimming the total number by 2-3 surges likely could give some fights a bit more threat. I’d even go to say that first fight or two in an adventure is primarily there to whittle away healing surges and give more threat to later fights by drying up those potential healing resources.

However I’d offer an alternative to trimming down the number of healing surges by expanding their effects. They offer a unique form of currency for game resources. I would approach healing surges more as the PC’s will, endurance, vitality, and desire to push on against adverse conditions. In that light, the role of healing surges might be expanded to other enhance other abilities besides just granting HP.

They could be used to supplement attacks. Rather than encounter powers, allow a PC to double their damage spending a healing surge. It could be possible to allow particular feats to expand the area of effect for spells, or improve healing output, all at the cost of a healing surge. The player is drawing on reserves to give that certain attack or spell their all. Most importantly, there is a hard limit to what they can possibly do each day before they have to rest and recharge. It also gives PCs an interesting choice, do they burn through healing surges to enhance abilities? Or do they try to keep some in reserve for restoring lost HP?

Another great characteristic about healing surges is that it gives more flexibility to the DM when dealing damage, and also for rewards. Think instead of having a level drain effect, healing surges are drained (and if healing surges have a role with abilities and powers this could definitely hinder the player).

I’d be lax in failing to mention Fourthcore too.Those folks have worked in some particularly nasty monster powers targeting healing surges for PCs, rather than simply docking chunks of HP. Having a kill encounter power that will drain a specified number of healing surges (and if the PC doesn’t they die outright) can be particularly vicious.

I hope healing surges are in DnDNext. They provide a lot of flexibility for the DM when considering ways to damage players over just whittling down HP. They could also provide a unique game resource if the functionality of surges expand beyond just granting HP. It’s a neat idea from 4E that could definitely be tweaked, but hopefully won’t be eliminated in the next edition.

The high level game and world barriers

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:31:00 +0000

Something hinted at from one of the more recent Legends and Lore series talks about high level games, how they sort of break down, and what should be your typical experience at paragon tier and higher. One idea touched on was that maybe certain places in the game world might be better suited for high level play. If you are facing combat with a deity or traveling different planes, that’s something more aligned for high level tier groups.

It’s not a bad thought. I think higher level characters need something larger in scale to be an appropriate adventure for them. However at the same time, I like the flexibility 4E has given DMs for potential worlds to explore. I loved seeing lower level demons, elementals, and aberrant creatures pop up in MM2. While the majority of monsters that would frequent these different planes are for high level PCs, having a handful of heroic level creatures was a nice option.

Pushing this idea of flexible locations for heroes of all levels is inspiring. I tended to get stuck in the mindset that the planes were for higher level characters only. Having more heroic tier monsters available opened up that idea of allowing lower level PCs to step into other regions, especially the Feywild and the Shadowfell.

Even the scales of war adventure path had level 5 characters crossing over into the Shadowfell. Something that helped reinforce new DMs to think about having adventures in other lands. With folks that had run through a few heroic campaigns, having another place to kick off a campaign outside your typical run of dungeons against kobolds and goblins was a boon. Granted I could see the majority of the planes of elemental chaos something with incredibly difficult monsters and hazards, something only the most seasoned of adventurers would attempt to tackle. However at the same time, there could be this periphery on that plane that was more stable, with less powerful creatures, that heroic PCs could explore.

It makes me a bit nervous when I hear thoughts that certain places might be cordoned off to higher level tiers. I much prefer the direction taken in 4E where the DM was given tools to build encounters that could challenge a low level group (and at the same time not completely overwhelm them). It didn’t have to be enough to make out an entire series of adventures (or a whole campaign), but being able to slip over into the Feywild or pass into another planar region would be a pretty cool break from the typical game most folks run. And if anything, it could provide some ground story work to give an incentive for the players to visit those planes again.

The biggest difficulty for many DMs may not be designing encounters for high tier play (which can be an issue) but more along having problems with appropriate challenges and tasks that would appeal to higher levels. I hope a fair chunk of pages in the next DMG iteration of DnDNext tries to address this. I want to see a random table of 50 ideas for paragon and epic play. Give us some abstract rules for resolving large scale battles (something out of Savage Worlds Deluxe would be peachy), obtaining strongholds, and maintaining followers.

This seems to be the biggest roadblock to higher level play, thinking of an appropriate story that would grab the attention of high level PCs. To address this effectively is no easy task. For quite a few DMs with a lot of experience, this probably is not a problem, but relatively new DMs would likely appreciate advice. I’m hoping that is something that is given more attention for DnDNext. Don’t saddle the players with more complex mechanics and especially don’t consider things like segmenting off the planes for paragon level only. Keep planar travel and adventures flexible for adventure ideas. Spend more effort in helping DMs craft a campaign story that is worthy of high level play.

Expeditions of Amazing Adventure: The sorcerous silt of Olsaan

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:00:00 +0000

The far western reaches are wild lands. Olsaan is the most civilized region bordering the great kingdoms, likely simply due to its proximity to many trade routes rather than from the people that call these primitive woods home. The many elves, halflings, and even the sparsely numbered humans that live there all seek to try and make a claim within the wilderness. They form a diffuse network of small, fiercely independent, villages and communities among the dense woodlands.

The deep soil of Olsaan is said to have been blessed by the gods for fertility. A claim supported by the bountiful yields of crops from those able to plow through the solid rock. However, few fields can be completely cleared of heavy stones that litter such plots. Those stalwart enough in farming to do so find the ever encroaching woods not worth the effort to maintain large tracts of farmland. Instead generations have learned that smaller plots are more manageable and has become the typical custom for those few that farm within Olsaan.

The many rivers and streams however have been able to cut deep into the bedrock, disgorging the deep soil hidden below. These streams are of a rich muddy color, with the dark earth forming a fine silty bottom in streambed pools. The silt from these rivers and streams is greatly prized. It forms a reagent base for many magical pigments and can be used in the inks of arcane texts. Some have even claimed that the ingestion of this dried mud will infuse the spellcaster with even more powerful magics, although such a boon is temporary.

Exploitation of this natural resource is difficult however. Bullywugs are notoriously known for infesting the many streams and rivers with foul, makeshift camps. They seem to be a constant presence along the rivers and have been known to harass local villages if they feel their aquatic territory is being encroached on.

Others will claim that deeper into the wilds, more primitive forces move about the rivers. After several pints around community fires, tales speak of the very mud itself rising from the bottom of turbid waters, forming hulking, primitive man-like forms. These great primal elementals of earth and mud wield tree trunks as clubs and savagely fight any that they encounter. Likely a story told just to keep children from wandering too deep into the woods, and to keep those less adventurous types from seeking to secure some silt from the deep rivers. Such silt, when dried and placed in a clay urn, would likely bring a small fortune to those willing to brave the wilds and strange creatures of Olsaan.

Ditching the damage die roll

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

A common complaint about 4E is the length of fights. There are a lot of suggestions to curb combat length, but something I often see neglected is the variation in damage that PCs do. To me it has always been an odd mechanic that how well you hit has no effect on the damage inflicted. You can just barely hit a creature and max out damage, or get a solid hit (just below a critical) and flub your damage roll with a 1.

How minions deal damage has a nifty idea there. Minions do a steady amount of damage per hit. No die rolling. Perfect for the 1 hit creatures they are, but that concept of a steady state of damage output with less overhead in running them has some appeal when streamlining combats.

Another game comes to mind where damage output was less random is Star Fleet Battles. This was a tactical space combat game set in the Star Trek universe that first came out in the late 70s and hit its stride in the early 80s. What was interesting about the game was that many weapon systems had a flat damage rate, it just depended on whether you hit based on a D6 roll. Other systems (like phasers) had effectively no ‘to hit’ roll at all, they just did a random amount of damage. However the closer you were the less random the damage output was, effectively shifting a damage roll from 1-4 at long distance to 5-6 at broadside range.

What I particularly liked was that certain ranges had a sweet spot where the variation in damage output was minimized, and got better as you closed the distance. It was very predictable. Risky long range shots sniping at a target across the map was exactly that, risky and did little damage. Closer in, you could predict how much damage you could inflict (and take yourself). The game came down to pre-planning moves, maneuvering, and efficient energy allocation.

So with D&D I found it odd there is this huge disconnect with damage and to hit rolls. They are completely independant from each other. On top of that a series of rolls is needed with each effective strike. It’s a lot of manhandling of dice and steps to resolve combat. So why not consider dropping the idea of random damage altogether if fights are dragging?

Write down 4 typical damage rolls beforehand – Take the normal die roll a player would make and replace it with an average damage, or a simple mean of the potential die outcomes. Additionally make a limited damage value being 25% of the potential damage from the same die, and an improved damage value calculated as 75% of the potential damage. Don’t forget to include the max damage roll from critical hits too.

With those 4 values, add the bonuses to damage due to feats, enhancements, ability scores, etc. and you’ve got a simple list of damage numbers a PC does with each attack. If extra bonuses come in from other player’s powers they can quickly add it to those totals.

Average damage is the default – Any powers or abilities that do multiple weapon hits are just multiplied by this number, just follow up and add the various bonuses to damage from feats, etc. This is the bread and butter output from attacks.

Critical hits work as before – Roll a 20 and you max out damage. Nothing changes.

Limited Damage on an even hit – If a player scores a hit roll that evenly matchs a creature’s defense, he uses the limited damage value. Just a little variation to the damage. You barely get a hit and in turn do less than average damage.

Improved Damage at one less from a critical hit – Typically on a 19 (but may be different for some characters that can expand the range of successful critical hits), but this is a hit that would do a bit more damage from normal yet still not quite the max damage from a natural 20.

With a little prep time, the players have their turn streamlined a little. Additionally, there is a small amount of variation in their damage output. The big, and less than optimal, hits are there. More importantly, they are tied to how well you roll to hit. Also, different damage output is tied to some simple conditions (i.e. score an even hit roll with a monster’s defense and you do less damage). If anything, I think this could work out well on the DM side of the screen for handling monster damage.

I’ve yet to to try this out with my group. I expect most players will balk at the idea of dropping an opportunity to roll a damage die. I think most will still want to roll that 1D12 rather than agreeing to constantly hit at 6 damage (plus all the bonuses). Still, if combats are dragging this might be something for groups to explore.

Traveller again...

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:00:00 +0000

I'm out of the country for most of the week with limited internet access. Another work trip and I've come to realize I simply fail as an international travelling man of leisure.

The D&D campaign is wrapping up and some of my players are hankering for other settings. I wanted to run something for Dark Sun, but likely most are balking at that one. Maybe I'll take a short spin with the recent version of Traveller from Mongoose Publishing. Did a bit of gaming way back when with both the old 80's boxed set and MegaTraveller version. Looks like a fun game to run.

Rules are PC insurance from a bad DM

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 01:30:00 +0000

A topic being passed around with all the hubbub of DnDnext is what role do rules play in the game. How far should rules reach? What should be the breadth and scope of them? Should they be simulationist or should they lean more towards letting a DM make the call?

I believe in having a system of rules. You are playing a game. There should be some structure to that with a framework of rules. Otherwise you are just playing pretend and doing an exercise in make believe. The catch however is how far should those rules go and how much they should encroach on determining the outcome of player actions.

Fearless DM put up some of his thoughts on the recent DDXP held earlier in 2012. A bit further into the post he laments about the state of organized play. I do think he has a solid point that such a structured game environment is not working well with promoting D&D. I feel stuff like the lair assault clicks well. After all that is a very straight forward, hack and slash, beat the monster type of event. D&D encounters and LFR however seem to be a bit of a mess. The focus on fights really hamper what 4E can be as a game, and in the end give people a limited view of how D&D plays. So how did we get here?

With a more open system, you are reliant on having a fair referee that governs the action of the game and makes sure everyone has fun. If you’ve got a good DM, this kind of game can sing. You will have a fun time at the table and really stretch the abilities and resources your party can utilize to overcome obstacles. If you’ve got a DM that shuts you down, is not impartial, and derives more fun in hampering the PCs rather than letting them accomplish key tasks, you’ve got a bad DM. Even worse, you are stuck with a system that allows the DM to do what they want and leave the players powerless. AD&D can fall into this camp. With a good DM you have a fantastic game. With a poor DM, it can be disastrous.

Of all the events in D&D, combat is likely the most needed for having a framework of rules. Lessen DM adjudication and you end up with a very structured way of resolving fights. The more regimented it is in the mechanics, the easier it becomes to predict how certain actions will resolve. If anything, players can call out a DM if they are fudging numbers and breaking the rules. In effect, these rules hamper the ability for a bad DM to throw a fight.

I see this all the time in miniature wargaming. You want a rule system that dictates clear resolution of events. As a fall back, you’ll always see players pull out the rule book and determine if something can be done (or have guys roll off to resolve it, play on, and check it later after the game). The key point is that everyone follows the rules and are not pulling stuff out of their butt simply because they want to pull off a maneuver, make an attack, or avoid having something bad happen to their units. D&D has set up such a structured set of rules in combat to do the same thing. Have a uniform list of possible actions, simply to make sure everyone (both the DM and PCs) play fairly and actions are resolved without bias.

With a good DM this isn’t an issue. The guy (or gal) is there to give a challenge, but make the game fun. With a bad DM, having such elaborate combat rules can curb that. The players have a fall back position within the rules to make sure combats are fair. Without such structure, you can end up with a frustrating experience.

I’ve seen folks call for giving the DM more power to resolve things and how 4E has removed that. I am truly baffled by that statement. I really wish folks would sit down and read the 4E DM guide. It has some fantastic advice for a new DM. Take a gander at pg. 28 and the philosophy of saying ‘yes’, look over troubleshooting and the advice for encounters being too hard or too easy (pg. 30-31). And lastly pg. 42, where right in the text it talks about how to resolve any action that can’t be readily found as a rule. It’s all there in the book. With great guidelines to how to fairly adjudicate any situation and keep the story moving.

If WotC could reprint the book, I’d make pg. 42 almost the first point discussed about DMing. Emphasize a fair, structured, means to resolve events in the game, roll with it, and move the game along. I’d have example after example how a DM can employ pg. 42 to make their game better, and even talk about when you might want to just throw out the rules and let the players run with it. Breaking the rules for story is in the 4E DMG, I’d just make sure that was front and center so it didn’t get buried in all the other advice.

Somehow this idea got lost in the implementation of 4E with published adventures. Somehow they became more worried about making sure players couldn’t suffer at the hands of a bad DM, rather than advising how a good DM can handle tricky situations. There is a solid framework of rules here with 4E, I’m hoping more emphasis with DnDnext is to show DMs how these tools can help them run a fun, and fair, game.

Review: Thunderstone - Dragonspire

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:00:00 +0000

Periodically I’ll be participating in the game night blog carnival, which gives me a chance to review some board games that might be a good break from your typical RPG session nights.

This month I’ll be reviewing the fantasy card game, Thunderstone: Dragonspire from AEG games. This is a stand-alone expansion that can be added to the basic set of the game, but also has enough cards to play as a game on it’s own. The 2-5 player game falls into the deck building theme, where players try to pick up cards to fill out their hand. I’m approaching this review as a game, and avoiding talking about it as an expansion, as I haven’t had a chance to pick up the original game.

In a nutshell, the object is to secure as many victory points before a thunderstone relic card enters the last area of play (or ‘rank’) on the table, or gets picked up by a player. Each player represents a party, trying to head into a dungeon and defeat monsters for victory points, obtain treasure, or at the least gain experience to hone their combat skills. As a theme, it plays out very much like a basic hack and slash D&D game, low on story and high on action and hording loot.

Players all begin with the same cards and have the option during their turn to pick up new equipment or improve their heroes, discard their hand for a new one, or try their luck defeating a monster. Each player has their own deck and discard pile, so they will find themselves occasionally throwing in their current hand and drawing a new one if needed. A key point of the game is to try and pick up cards that will give them some fighting advantage to consistently enter the dungeon and win battles against monsters.

There are a couple of wrinkles to the game play. One that there is a limited number of resources. Once a pile of heroes or equipment is gone, that’s it for the rest of the game. So each player is typically in a race to pick up the best cards before they are gone. The second interesting portion of game play is that many special abilities and card functions require it to be destroyed. This can even happen if a hero is crippled in battle. Usually most cards are placed in the discard pile, which can be shuffled into a new deck that players continually draw from. However, destroyed cards are pulled from the game entirely. Combined with limited resources and heroes, this can make for some interesting game choices during a player’s turn.

Combat itself is pretty simple. Players add up their attack bonus and try to equal or beat the monster defense score. Additional card effects on the monsters, heroes, or weapons the heroes employ usually give modifiers. Monsters also line up in a queue, with increasing attack penalties for those deeper in the dungeon. This adds some tension to the game, as players that opt not to fight might find themselves up against even tougher foes if the other players manage to defeat that creature on their turn.

Another neat feature is that only a few types of cards for equipment, heroes, and monsters are used out of the entire game set. A special set of cards are used representing one of each card type. After shuffling, you then draw a particular number (4 heroes, 4 monsters, 8 village cards, etc.), ending up with a pretty decent way to make each game a bit random. As a nod to the other sets and expansions, these ‘randomizer’ cards have a different back to help distinguish them from other normal cards. Dragonspire has randomizer cards from all the previous sets so they all can be used interchangeably. It’s a nice touch and gives a new player an idea of what cards are in the other sets.

As gameplay goes, it is a bit low on direct interaction. Interestingly your actions typically limit your opponents as you might fight easier monsters, or pick up the last card of some spell or weapon. The game does feel like a bit of a race though to pick up the best heroes, fight the most monsters, and gain the most treasure. Slip behind and it can be a little difficult to catch up. Also, in some situations you might end up with a slew full of tough monsters, without the resources to take them on effectively. Having to opt out and redraw your hand in such cases can be a bit of a downer while other players forge ahead.

The Good - It’s a fun game that seems to capture feel a little bit of that classic, hack and slash, dungeon crawl. A fair amount of random setup allows for a slightly different game to reduce repetitiveness and there is a decent variety of cards out of the box. The artwork is nice and the card quality is good. I have to say the box is spacious enough to also accommodate cards from other sets which is a nice organizational touch.

The Bad - Direct player interaction is pretty much non-existent. At times a player might get a bad draw of cards against monsters in play, resulting in not much else to do but clear out their hand. With a lot of people downtime can creep in a tad. Even with the different cards, repeated play might start to encroach on the familiar. Something that likely would be alleviated picking up other expansions or the base Thunderstone game.

The Verdict - Thunderstone: Dragonspire is a fun game that has that feel of progression with a group of adventurers (through buying equipment and leveling up) fairly well. It is an abstract game and to say it captures that feeling of exploration and adventure in a dungeon crawl can be a bit of a stretch. The gameplay is pretty much a race to pick up the most effective heroes and equipment, all in the name of slaying the most vile and toughest monsters. While direct player interaction is low, your actions do have an effect on other players, and the mechanic of destroying and obtaining limited cards does put an interesting twist on this deck building game.

I found the game entertaining. It is a light, fantasy card game that revolves around killing monsters and looting stuff. Much of the strategy is trying to work out decent combinations with different heroes and equipment to become effective in combats, and in that sense, fits into the deck-building niche of games pretty snugly. While Thunderstone: Dragonspire is slated as an expansion, I would consider it a great buy if you wanted to initially get into Thunderstone. Be sure to pick it up if you’d like a fantasy-themed card game.

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

It's lunar new years so I'll be busy stuffing my face with relatives and not likely be posting much new stuff for a bit.

I've always found Asian mythology pretty interesting. Their dragons have a different legend associated with them. Dragons in Asian cultures are typically more benevolent and tied with prosperity compared to the horrible beasts of Europe. The Korean dragon is different as it is more of a chimera of animal characteristics, with the eyes, teeth, ears, and such from particular animals.

I haven't really tried out an Asian-themed D&D campaign. I might try doing that sometime. It might make for a very different break from the typical medieval structure of most fantasy games. Demons are particularly common as well as evil spirits, so that might be a nice focus for an evil villain group aside from the regular orcs and goblins.

True Asian dragons might be difficult though. But I've been thinking their alignment might be towards particular races or even the fey. Korean dragons commonly have strong roots with agricultural spirits. So while they are not evil, they might be a problem for players serving as a powerful ally for other races. I'll have to think about that and maybe dip my toe into an Asian-themed campaign in the future.

Expeditions of Amazing Adventure: The silent spirits of Solemoore Woods

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

North, skirting the borders of the icy tundra plains, are vast tracks of woods. The eastern region of the many forests is known as Solemoore. A handful of villages are nestled about the edges of this grand wood, many filled with adept ice fishermen and trappers. Lumber is another major source as a trade good for these communities, where stout men carefully remove aged timbers from the forest and send cut logs down the lone frigid river that snakes through Solemoore.

Well over a century and a half ago, the dark cleric, Nergahar, had been a scourge to the land. Driven by a frenzied, forgotten god of old, he committed all manners of atrocities as dark rituals. His sole purpose was to open a rift into the Nether and draw out an aspect of his foul god, a nameless creature of ancient evil from the Astral wastes. His mad intention was to bring such an aberrant force of destruction into the world in order to lay waste to mankind.

Some claim that he succeeded in his dark task, but it was himself that become fodder to the evil creature that spilled forth and receded back into the Nether. Others claim that the Nether opened for an instant, utterly destroying the mind of Nergahar, and he wandered the woods as a gibbering hermit until his death. Some even claim that the very ritual that destroyed Nergahar, was altered and refined by the necromancer, Al'Khameed, and this wielder of the black arts inflicted this foul magic onto the lands of Kymoria.

None really know what was the cause of the curse within Solemoore Woods, save that the bleak forest is now pocked with spirits of the dead. Silent apparitions can sometimes been seen drifting among the thick trees. No birds fly through the woods and the pines do not whisper with gentle swaying of branches when cold winds blow. There is an unearthly stillness in the forest. A continual gloom of thick clouds carpet the still landscape, with a reprieve of clear skies only coming once or twice a month.

Few woodland creatures can be found in Solemoore now and most seem stricken with the toll of constant fear. Most deer and other game have patches of grey fur and the very young are an infrequent sight. Moving through the woods at times can be maddening, as if everything in the wood had become muted and ever silent. Sound seems to dampen off into nothingness. A fine mist covers the forest, making navigation through the woods a treacherous task, with even the most seasoned trackers known to lose their bearings.

It is these unusual characteristics that have also made Solemoore woods a haven for bandits. Those with enough bravado and iron nerve have been known to keep camps deep within the woods. They are able to strike at passing caravans and raid villages with some impunity, as they know efforts to track them will be hampered by the silent woods. Such groups of bandits do occasionally vanish though, swallowed up by the tomb-like quiet of the woods. Only a lone member might be seen, stumbling from the woods with hair white as snow and eyes wide with a look of utter terror. They incoherently mumble of lost spirits calling their companions into the black maw.

Despite this occasional dark fate of bandit gangs, their continual presence can be difficult for some communities in Solemoore. Many a village mayor has offered substantial rewards to an adventuring company willing to track down bandit camps within the woods. Even odder recruitment efforts have come from wizards seeking to know more of the woods and the secrets within.

It is not uncommon that some young wizard, emboldened with a scrap of information taken from an ancient tome, to seek employment of adventurers to join in an exploration of some rumored lost ruin within the silent woods. Typically such expeditions become exercises in frustration as navigation through Solemoore woods is difficult. Many of an adventuring party have stumbled out of the bleak forest after a week, recounting days of traveling in circles and bewildering attempts at orienteering (with many rangers too embarrassed to talk further of the matter).

However, some never return, seemingly swallowed up by the woods. Villagers when pressed will whisper that a scant few parties of brave warriors have entered the woods only to have a lone member drift aimlessly out months later stricken with a form of madness, muttering about the hunger of the forest, the consumption of life, and a dark maw within the woods. The rest of their companions never to be seen again.

Sorylian scythe frigates

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 22:00:00 +0000

I've finally finished my Sorylian frigates. The models have a fair amount of detail, but I went through a few color schemes before I found something I liked which might have muddied some of the models a bit. I'm working with Vallejo acrylics which is something new. I like the paints but you have to water them down a bit and in the end the color can bleed a bit. Takes a few coats if you've thinned it out too much, and it took me a few tries to repeatedly get the right consistency.

Still I am fairly happy with how they turned out. I might have to try and work on some more dramatic color selection to bring out other details, but for now I wanted to give the frigates a uniform look. Still have to play a game. Might have to break out the models for a spin soon.

WotC rolling out a new edition

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:09:00 +0000

I expect various blogs will explode this week with news of a new edition of D&D rolling out sometime next year. Having a larger group of playtesters and getting more feedback from folks I imagine is a solid step in getting an edition out that people will like, I still think there is such a division over 4E and non-4E mechanics it’ll be tough to seal it up.

Pathfinder had to have struck a nerve with suits at Hasbro. Here is this game effectively a version of D&D and selling well enough to either take a major chunk out of 4E sales, or compete with it neck in neck. Somebody had to have been thinking about trying to woo that group back into the WotC fold. I guess a new edition would be a vehicle for that.

Thing is, if 4E rolled out and was like Pathfinder I’d be disappointed. Patherfinder seems like a fun game. I just think it’s just a step too close to 3.5, tweaked a bit but nothing really innovative. I’m certain for many that is just fine, however I think a more dramatic change to certain mechanics was a step in the right direction.

There are a lot of good things about 4E and a fair amount of problems. I don’t want to bring out a laundry list right now. As many folks might clamor about how awful 4E is, and are eager to bring D&D back to earlier editions, however you still have people that like 4E. I just wonder how a new edition is going to get these different camps under the same tent. I expect a very modular rule system that is light and heavily arbitrated by the DM by default, with increasing rules and complexity as optional rules.

One thing I do expect, a game that isn’t so dependant on a battlegrid (or a least rules that can drop it more easily). While I like the tactical play of combats, I do think it’s a limitation for getting people into the game. You really need a lot of ‘stuff’ on hand to run a game. Again, while folks can wing it and play without miniatures having some more concrete rules would help tons with new players. So I expect miniatures and a grid will still be around, but either be an option or less tabletop intensive alternate rules will be available.

If anything, at least I’ll have plenty to blog about over the next year.

Gamma World is the Gateway RPG to D&D

noreply@blogger.com (Geek Ken) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0000

So Gamma World has been released for a while now. I’m certain a lot of folks since it's release have taken some time to put down the sword and shield, and taken a swing at wielding a vibroblade and suiting up in Mk. 2 power armor. Something I have come to realize playing Gamma World a bit, it's a great way to get folks into RPGs and I think works wonders as a quick tutorial for 4E D&D mechanics as well. There are a couple of reasons why…

Few character generation choices – Just about every thing when making up a character is done randomly. You roll on a table and this is what you get. Instead of having to figure out what at will and encounter powers you want, the choice is made for you. Unsure about how to assign ability scores? No worries! You get a bonus to some and just roll for the others.

Best of all everyone else is going through the same process. So that new guy is not stuck thinking he made a bad choice (or feeling lost as a more ‘knowledgeable’ player picks them out). Also as many of the additional powers and gear are random items represented as cards that are drawn and discarded, at most the player just has to decide whether to use a power during a fight. Which leaves more time to dwell on the…

Simplified mechanics – The core of the 4E game is there, but the math and book keeping is easier. No need to write down how many arrows you fired, you either have ammunition or you go hog wild and run out after a fight. No healing surges to muck around with during a rest. You heal up to full hit points. The bonus for hitting and dealing damage with a weapon is easier to calculate. The framework for D&D rules are there, things are just more simple.

Easier setting to grasp – I really think with TV shows and with movies, sci-fi is a little more easier for people to pick up compared to fantasy. Gamma World is envisioned to be 150 years after a sudden blending of alternate realities from a scientific experiment that went awry in 2012. The world is wild and crazy with all sorts of mutated creatures and technology, but the backdrop is a run down civilization taken from the vista of someone’s home city that they currently see around them.

Likely you’d have to explain to a new player what a glaive is. You most likely wouldn’t have to do the same talking about an automatic rifle. I think even the most fantastic futuristic artifact might be easier for a person to understand compared to many fantasy-centric items. When the GM talks of a fur covered beast wielding a stop sign and a trashcan lid for a shield, they get it. This helps with getting the player more relaxed and open to trying more creative ideas and actions.

Creativity is encouraged – How exactly is a player a pyrotechnic rat swarm? With all the random chart rolling, I think Gamma World really ends up pushing players from the start to think about their character. I feel the player has ample opportunity to describe their looks and how they utilize their powers. Much of the mechanics for abilities and powers are handled through such an abstract way, it gives the player a lot of freedom to describe how these abilities look and feel in the world. This freedom to envision what their character looks and acts like is further reinforced by the game philosophy…

Things are fun and temporary – You want loot and high quality gear, but you only get to use it a few times before you have to junk it. You might have this great mutant power, but shortly you will get something else to replace it. The game is made to be zany fun with things constantly being in flux.

Also, you don’t need to be mired down in some elaborate quest to save a kingdom. The game seems to work best as a few short sessions with a lot of action. You aren’t after a pile of gold pieces and gems, or to stop a ritual from being cast by an evil cult. You are after some weird technology hidden away in some ruins (being represented by drawing a card from a deck).

Your character is assembled quickly and randomly. If you get wiped out simply pull out another sheet, roll a few dice, and keep playing. The lethality of the game reinforces how disposable your character is. You don’t have this pressure to work up some elaborate past for your character, mostly because the next fight might result in him being only a pile of ash. I think this all reinforces how much the game should be a lighthearted stab at adventure and having a good time. No need for the heavy campaign story, just sit down, roll some dice, and pray that leaky fusion rifle doesn’t obliterate your character when it’s fired.

So the next time someone wants to know more about D&D, and possibly thinking about sitting in on a session, consider making that first jump with Gamma World. As I mentioned I think it's a great game all in one box. It has a frivolous theme and a lot of crazy random mechanics to illustrate how much fun RPGs can be. That idea of fun is something every new gamer should take away from their first sitting, and I think Gamma World does that very well.