Something I Miss

I'm rather enjoying both of the games that I have underway - "Mists of Lamordia" is now running along at a good pace again, and "The Quest for Memory" is heading rapidly to the first crucible. However, I do find that there is something I miss: playing with gamers.

The thing is, enjoyable as they are, both of the ongoing campaigns are run with casual gamers, people who enjoy the game, to be sure, but whose experience with it is on the more limited end of the spectrum. The great benefit of that is that such players tend to be rather fresher and less jaded than those who have been playing for years.

The flip side of that is that players who have been playing for years tend towards a greater depth - their greater experience of the game lends to a slightly more immersive, and perhaps more challenging style of play.

That's not to say that either is better than the other, nor to imply any criticism either way. They're just different - and it is something that I find that I miss.

A Quick Note on Exploration

I love that the designers of D&D identified three pillars of play, and I really like the three pillars they have identified (combat, exploration, interaction).

But I really hate that they've basically made exploration the "anything else" pillar. And, in particular, they really shouldn't have stuck travelling through the game-world in that pillar. Walking down the road is no more a meaningful exercise in exploration than ordering from a fixed menu is really a meaningful exercise in interaction. Yes, if you absolutely have to tag those actions in one of the pillars, that's where they would go - but for the most part they should just be glossed over and moved past.

"Exploration" would much better be summarised as "finding things out". So exploring a hidden and unknown land is exploration, of course, as is traversing a dungeon... but so too is solving a mystery, defeating a puzzle, or anything of that ilk.

Careful Inconsistencies

There are (at present) two massive secrets at the heart of my work on Terafa, the nature of which I'm not going to state here, what with them being secret and all. The truth is that I'm not sure if they will ever be revealed - indeed, they may well work better as some sort of "something isn't right here..." feeling.

However, I do most definitely want to lay out hints about the fact that some things are badly out of kilter. And the way to do that is to very carefully build in some inconsistencies into the setting material - bits of history that don't line up quite right, dates and durations that can't be made to work together, and other such things.

The only problem with that is that the setting material will also include some number of outright mistakes and changes as I go, which will tend to obscure my intent. But that's just one more fun element of discovering the setting, I guess.

The Spheres in their Courses Above

There are few astronomers on Terafa, but those who do exist have charted the other planets that orbit the suns of that world. In addition to Terafa and the Suns, they have identified five planetary bodies, most of which are associated with greater gods of the Unbalanced Pantheon:

The Twins: At the centre of the system lie the two suns around which everything orbits. These are two spheres of fire, one larger and more constant, the other brighter but fickle.

Thought: The smallest and newest of the spheres, Thought is a relatively tiny, burnt cinder of a world. Its proximity to The Twins must surely mean that nothing could survive on this world. As such, it is closely aligned with the element of earth, in its least hospitable incarnation.

Terafa: Unaligned with any particular element, Terafa is a lush, green sphere that is the home to multitudes of beings. Terafa has two moons (now!) - Melira and Kalis.

The Shield: A thin ring of rocks of all sorts, the Shield is a belt of asteroids that is believed to protect Terafa from the greater dangers the lie beyond.

Naris: In many ways a near copy of Terafa, Naris is another sphere unaligned with any particular element. It is a lush, green shere, that is also home to much life. Transit between Naris and Terafa is exceedingly rare, but not entirely unknown. As a rule, inhabitants of Terafa consider those from Naris to be harsh, impolite, and arrogant; while those from Naris consider inhabitants of Terafa to be absurdly innocent and optimistic. Perhaps curiously, the people of Naris worship entirely different gods to those observed on Terafa, and yet respect the same planetary names. Naris has a single moon.

Klos: A giant green sphere, Klos is aligned with the element of air. It is a stately figure in the heavens, progressing through the night sky in a calm, untroubled progression. Klos has a multitude of moons, some of which may support life similar to that on Terafa and Naris.

Choriam: The largest of the planets, Choriam is also the brightest thing in the night sky other than the two moons. A huge red sphere, Choriam is aligned closely with the element of air. Choriam has many moons, but these are devoid of life - the gases that make up the great sphere are poisonous, and taint all its satelites.

Li: Another great sphere aligned with the element of air, Li is a fickle wandered in the skies - at times, she even crosses the orbit of Choriam, becoming closer to Klos for a time. She is a great purple sphere marked with many bands of green, pink, and other bright colours. Li has many moons, but the number is constant - something within the sphere periodically spawns entirely new moons, while others are ejected from her orbit like unwanted children.

Regarding Spelljammer

Terafa (and Naris also) was once the home of a Spelljammer campaign. Consequently, each of the planets has at least some alignment with one of the four classical elements. I'm disinclined to formally place Terafa within a Crystal Sphere in its "Ultimates Version" - not least because my inclination is that it's better only to do that when actually playing a Spelljammer campaign. However, if and when I do run a Spelljammer campaign again (and that's a big 'if'!), it's likely that Narispace will be one of the spheres likely to be visited - I might as well get the benefit of all this work!

Uranium

The concept of an imprisoned evil (or mad, or both) god is pretty common in fantasy. D&D has Tharizdun, Pathfinder has Rovagug, the "Wheel of Time" series has The Dark One, and Middle Earth has Morgoth.

Of course, Greek mythology had Uranos. From whom we get the word 'uranium'.

As noted in "The Long Tomorrow", uranium is of course a source of immense power. And it is also a dangerous source - it can be harnessed, but absolutely must be handled with care.

For RPG purposes there's a fairly thick seam of material to mine there. Maybe that's the thing that dwarves are really spending all their time digging for, when they "delve too greedily and too deep". Maybe drow equipment is infused with radiation that renders it magical but extremely dangerous. And, of course, there is also the possibility in a fantasy realm that what is being mined is not merely an element named for an imprisoned deity, but actually the very stuff of that deity itself. In which case, what manner of powers, and what manner of dangers might be unleashed?

(I don't particularly have a conclusion at this point. Just musing on the topic...)

Two Problems with Appendix N

I'm currently reading "The Long Tomorrow", which is one of the books on the legendary Appendix N - the inspirational reading list from the 1st Edition DMG. (Now superseded by Appendix E in the 5e PHB.)

I've found that the Appendix N books make for fascinating reading, partly from a historical perspective, partly from a "you're doing it wrong", and partly just out of interest in the works that inspired the young Gygax.

(One thing that is particularly of note is the sheer range of material there. To a certain extent it is a shame that first "Lord of the Rings" and then D&D itself cast quite such a large shadow, because of how those influences have affected everything since. I might even argue that while modern fantasy is by and large much better written than the older works, it's also rather less imaginative in many ways.)

I have, however, found two small issues.

The first of these is that many of these books are very old, and were never much more than fairly obscure, and as a consequence they are hard to find and/or very expensive. And while I'm interested to see what Leigh Brackett did in "The Sword of Rhiannon" (for example), I'm rather disinclined to spend £50 for the privilege. Oh well.

The other issue is rather more contemporary. D&D is, quite rightly, going through a period of excising itself of some of its more troublesome and problematic baggage. Which is fine, except that it probably means removing certain items from Appendix E or its successor in later editions.

The big problem there is that chief amongst these is H.P. Lovecraft, who it's fair to say was a big old racist. More to the point, though, his brand of horror is inextricably linked to his own fear of miscegenation. That is, without the racism underpinning his works they don't really work.

So they kind of have to go.

But H.P. Lovecraft is one of, if not the, biggest influence on early D&D - his fingerprints are on huge elements of the game, its lore, and so forth. Any list of inspirational reading would, quite frankly, be incomplete and lacking without those works on it.

I'm not really sure how WotC can square that circle. I certainly don't envy them the task.

(Ultimately, I suppose we'll end up with some sort of disclaimer about "product of the times", "modern sensibilities", or something like that. Which, frankly, would be rather a cop out. But given that there are problems either way, that may be the least-worst option.)

The General and the Specific

I've been doing quite a lot of thinking about the various peoples of Terafa recently, but also considering one of those big questions that doesn't really come up anywhere except in RPGs: what if the player doesn't agree. That is, what if I say in my campaign guide that "an elf is this", but the person playing an elf character wants something different from their character? And what if, despite our negotiations, we just find that the two notions don't work - that the player wants something from the character that is just impossible in the context of the lore of the setting?

I've gone back and forward on this issue several times over the years. Eventually, what I have settled on is this: the character belongs to the player, and what they say goes... for that character. Obviously, their character is a one-in-a-million exception, for whom the normal lore just doesn't work. And, for the duration of that character's existence the normal lore will be suspended.

It is, of course, entirely possible that at some point I may come back and write the "official history" of the setting. And in the event that that character plays a notable part in that OH, at that point the character's story will be moulded to fit the ongoing lore of the setting. But that would only happen after that character was no longer in use - once the character is indeed a matter of history.

So, for example... I hae established that elven Lord and Ladies are infertile amongst themselves - only the elven Queen can have elven children. Suppose, however, that the player wants his character to be married and have children, and wants those children to be elven (as opposed to half-elven).

Well, fair enough. As indicated, that will indeed be the case for that character for the duration of his career as a PC. But later, in the official history, if the character features at all, it will be massaged - perhaps he and his consort found themselves the adoptive parents of some young elven children, or perhaps he married a human and had half-elven children, or something else.

Ultimately, the point is this: the lore of the setting will not be used to constrain player characters any more than is absolutely necessary; but once they are no longer player characters, those characters will most likely be made consistent with the setting lore.

Aasimar and Tieflings of Terafa

Two sides of the same coin, the Aasimar and Tieflings of Terafa are the consequences when the divine (or the infernal) touches upon the mortal realm. The oldest legends of these folk say that the first Aasimar were born of the consorts of Choriam himself, as the Morningstar guided Man to Terafa for the first time. These heroes were as giants in the earth, and founded the oldest human cities. Sadly, even the names of these heroes, and the empires they ruled, have been lost in time.

Of course, to counter the children of Choriam, the Usurper took consorts of his own, and the Tieflings were born, twisted and monstrous creatures best left unnamed. The battles between these heroes and monsters were mighty, and left the world indelibly changed.

Over the millennia since, the bloodlines of these first beings have become diluted as they further took mates and sired children. Additionally, new bloodlines of Aasimar and Tielfings are spawned as shards of the Fastness of the Divine occasionally fall to Terafa - in the upheavals that follow new heroes and monsters are created in seemingly equal measure.

In the modern world of Terafa, both Aasimar and Tielfings are sufficiently rare that most people have never encountered one of these divine children. Consequently, both are treated with a measure of suspicion as they travel the world. Ultimately, though, they find themselves judged on their actions, as there is sufficient strangeness in the world that most people look beyond their first impressions.

Beyond that, there is not a great deal to tell. To be Aasimar or Tiefling is essentially to be marked for a life of adventure right from the very first, but where that takes the individual is largely up to them. There is perhaps just one last thing to consider: although they cannot articulate why or how, every Aasimar and every Tiefling knows, deep in the very marrow of their bones and the very depth of their souls, that the legends of the origin of their kind are wrong.

A Farewell to Pathfinder?

I find myself contemplating another cull of my RPG books. Though unlike last time it wouldn't be a major cut - a trim more than anything. The reason for that is simple: I got rid of almost all of the dross last time out, meaning that what remains is almost all good stuff. That said, there are quite a handful of games that have never seen use, and that are unlikely ever to see use. (That said, in truth almost none of the games I own will see use going forward - my gaming these days is pretty much limited to D&D 5e, and if that ever does change it is more likely to be to an entirely new game than one I currently own.)

The upshot is that I'm thinking of cutting things like "Mutants & Masterminds" (which I liked in theory but could never get a game together), "GURPS Discworld" and "Red Dwarf" (both of which were better as concepts than reality), and "DCC RPG" (which is nice, but just not for me). I'm also toying with getting rid of the various magazines I have accumulated over time, with the key exception of Dragon and Dungeon magazines.

But the big one is Pathfinder, which takes up an almost indecent amount of space for a game I've never run (and will never run), not to mention one I've barely played. And if the books can get into the hands of someone who does run it and can make use of them, all the better.

But it really feels quite odd contemplating that step - there was a time I thought Pathfinder might represent the future of gaming for me, and especially a more likely future than D&D given the misstep that was the 4th edition of that game. All that said, it does feel like a right step - once I did finally get to play Pathfinder, it was very quickly obvious that it's just not the game for me.

Waypoints and the Long Rest

One of the issues I have faced with wilderness encounters generally, basically forever, is that the party will generally have one or two encounters in the day (at most) and then will take a full rest overnight. This has typically meant that they recover all their expended spells and other resources (and in 4e and 5e, hit points too), and thus face their encounters fresh. The 'fix' for that, to make those one or two encounters that much harder to compensate, really hasn't ever felt very satisfactory.

Instead of this, I'm inclined to suggest a different approach, specifically: you can't take a long rest while on the road. Instead, to benefit from a long rest you must be in a designated waypoint - a place of safety and relative comfort where you can let your guard down at least enough to benefit. (Characters would still need to sleep, of course, to avoid exhaustion, but they would only gain the benefits of a short rest for doing so.)

This would require one big knock-on change: Clerics, Wizards, and other spellcasters would have to be allowed to change their prepared spells after a short rest, rather than a long rest. However, they would not regain expended spell slots - that is, after all, the whole point of this change!

For the most part, waypoints would be pretty obvious - the next two, the roadside inn, or whatever. However, there would also need to be ways for the PCs to hole up and create their own waypoints. The most obvious example would be spells like Leomund's Tiny Hut, that create a safe space for eight hours (and are designed for exactly this purpose). But the PCs could also create their waypoint within the dungeon by barricading a room, or something like that. (This might also encourage them to take some hirelings along to stay outside the dungeon - those hirelings would then be tasked with keeping the camp secure for our heroes' return.)

And that's more or less it. This isn't actually a huge change, at least in terms of rules impact. I suspect it may have rather greater impact on how the game actually plays out... but then, that's maybe not the worst thing.

The Constellations of Terafa

As mentioned previously, Terafa has two suns, a moon (or two moons, depending on whether I decide to stick with my current campaigns 'mistake' or not), and a ring system. The skies are already quite busy! There are, however, two remaining things to add to that skyline - the stars and any other planets in the sky (which, in fact, will appear as large wandering stars).

To that end, I need to define a number of constellations for Terafa, with the ideal number being 12 - to match the 12 months of the year on Terafa, and also because that matches the constellations defined in our own skies - and so is the comfortable number. Fortunately, D&D now includes a very nice division into 12; there are 12 classes in the PHB in 5e. And so, here are the constellations, in the order in which they appear in the night sky.

• The Preacher: Seen as a benevolent figure leading the world out of the depths of winter, the preacher is associated with wisdom, resilience, and healing.
• The Ascetic: Seen as a counterpart to the preacher, the ascetic represents the crueller aspects of winter as supplies run low and times become harder. She is associated with denial, sacrifice, and want.
• The Scoundrel: A marker of better times to come, the scoundrel represents joy and laughter. Particularly honoured by halflings, the scoundrel is seen as a mischevious but not malicious figure. Nonetheless, those who uphold laws throughout Terafa become increasingly wary as this sign becomes dominant.
• The Hermit: The story has it that the scoundrel runs into the wilderness where he lives as a hermit for a time. This story is contradicted, however, by the traditional representation of the hermit as female. The hermit is associated with the waking of nature after a long winter, the sowing of seeds, and general husbandry of nature.
• The Minstrel: Also known as the bringer of joy, the minstrel is an appropriate icon for the long lazy days of summer just starting. And yet the minstrel is also a martial figure, as armies march to war in these days.
• The Wise Man: Despite the name, this figure is commonly depicted as female. Depicted as being pregnant with knowledge, and also with sorrow, she is associated with books, lore, and also false prophecy and also the knowledge that the year has reached its brightest days.
• The Woodsman: Associated most of all with the ripening of crops, the time when the woodsman comes to the fore is marked by many lords riding the boundaries of their domains, ensuring that all borders are secure prior to the days of winter beginning.
• The Tumult: The most unusual constellation, the tumult is actually a shapshifter - each year the stars of this sign reconfigure themselves. Nobody knows why this is, although there are many theories. Those who observe such things try to draw omens for the winter ahead from the current configuration as this sign becomes dominant.
• The Paragon: The favoured sign of all who excel, and all those who see themselves amongst that group, the paragon is associated with victories, new beginnings, and the like. More marriages are conducted while the paragon is dominant than at any other time in the year, and children born under this sign are considered especially blessed - and also bound to labour under unreasonable expectations all their lives.
• The Champion: The most martial of all the signs, the champion is the season of battles, and perhaps the last season when armies can expect to march in the year. The champion is depicted as a female figure, and as such is quite often associated with those who would protect women and children especially.
• The Berserker: As the year comes to an end we have the season of chaos, when nature turns against man and things become harder. The berserker is associated with wild celebrations, strong drink, madness, and tyranny. He is the most masculine of all the signs, and also the one that the common folk fear most of all.
• The Witch: Finally, as the year ends comes the season of the witch. An openly malevolent sign, the witch rules the dark days of winter, when the world is cold and life is hard. Yet she is also the source of healing when all other sources fail... albeit at a terrible cost. All that said, there are those who declare that the witch is the most misunderstood of all the signs, for this is also a necessary season of rest, without which the cycle could not begin anew.
• Myriad: Although most astrologers consider there to be twelve signs, some few identify a thirteenth sigil between the witch and the preacher. Certainly, there is an oddity in the calendar, as the signs become dominant in turn a little too quickly for the turn of the seasons and yet, somehow, the months align year after year. Those who mark this thirteenth sign place hir between the witch and the preacher. Xhe is depicted as neither male nor female, or indeed as combining aspects of both. The ambiguities of this sign are manifold - to the extent that many people simply cannot see the sign in the sky at all; for many, there is simply a void in the appropriate region of the heavens.

A Wasted Gimmick

For "The Mists of Lamordia" I took a leaf or two out of the pages of "Curse of Strahd" and have used a tarokka reading a couple of times, making use of the prop cards I have had for quite some time.

The upshot is that this is a gimmick that is nice in theory, but just doesn't work add much, if anything, to this game.

The thing is, in addition to physical props not really being great for a remote environment, the readings have a fundamental problem that they add a meaningless random element to play - sure, some treasures, the ally, and the location of the enemy are randomly generated, but from the outside looking in they might as well not be. The paths not taken won't be visible anyway, so what's the point?

Where that random element would work much better is for an adventure that is going to be rerun several times, and indeed one that may be played multiple times by some or all of the same players. So it works better in "Curse of Strahd", where it's possible that players may end up playing through it several times with different groups. And it would work much better for something like "Lost Mine of Phandelver", that may well end up being run many times by the same DM.

But they work even better for short one-shot games, where the party gathers for one night, runs the partially-randomised scenario, and then moves on. I've found that having the reading hanging over the campaign for many sessions tends to cast something of a pall on proceedings - better to introduce it and resolve it very soon.

All of which is a shame, because I was so looking forward to finally getting some use out of those cards!

The State of Play

Given that it has been a while, I thought I would resume with a short update on the status of my two ongoing campaigns:

The Mists of Lamordia

This campaign has just ended the first "crucible", with the PCs reaching level 6 at the conclusion. This means that the campaign is moving into its third phase, and heading toward the endgame. I had hoped to conclude this campaign before April next year, as I'll be missing a month due to paternity leave, but alas that doesn't seem to be possible.

Overall, I'm reasonably pleased with the way that this campaign has played out, but there have been many lessons-learned from it as well. The big one: I really need to find time to prepare better!

The Quest for Memory

As a consequence of longer game sessions, this campaign is progressing at a somewhat faster rate than the other. The PCs are currently mid-way through 4th level and probably two sessions away from 5th level. That means that they're nearly ready to head into their own first "crucible".

This campaign doesn't have a fixed end-date, though my feeling is that it should aim to run for about a year - much more than that and campaigns seem to lose steam.

At this point there aren't any great lessons-learned from this campaign, it possibly being a little early for it. Except for one thing - my players hate my policy of not giving XP for random encounters. I still think that's the right approach, though, especially with them knowing that that is going to be the case!