I've been reading the Conan Chronicles of late. I started with Robert Jordan's rather poor clones (which were still better than the Wheel of Time, mostly because they actually came to an end), before moving on to the originals, which are far superior.
In the last few weeks, I've noticed an improvement in my handling of combat. Previously, combat has largely consisted of "you hit, doing 5 damage. He moves there, takes a swing, and...." Frankly, it was a bit tedious. However, in the last few weeks, there has been a lot more description, and more cinematic action.
Anyway, I put this change down to reading Conan, which is fairly minimalist on descriptions, but which is also quite vivid, which is what RPG combat really needs.
Sunday, 12 September 2004
When Newbies get it...
Started my demo game on Friday, got through a quick explanation of role-playing, and an ultra-quick summary of the rules. Dished out the characters, and got stuck in. By the end of the allocated time (40 mins), they'd just reached the first combat, against 2 ghouls.
Highlights:
The characters chosen are Tekkis of the Pelenan Wastes (human barbarian, a cross between Conan and the original Tekkis), Telos Greenleaf (elven ranger, Legolas wannabe), Malifex (human sorcerer, bit of a madman), and "Fat" Jack Tavington (human rogue, a pirate). "Fat" Jack was chosen 'cos "pirates are cool!"
While travelling the dungeon corridors, they encountered a closed door. Rather than try to open the door by conventional means, or even having the rogue pick the lock, they elected to take the barbarian's axe to the door. True to form, the hideous door monster took their first two blows with a scornful disdain.
It's amazing just how quickly the old patterns emerge :-)
Highlights:
The characters chosen are Tekkis of the Pelenan Wastes (human barbarian, a cross between Conan and the original Tekkis), Telos Greenleaf (elven ranger, Legolas wannabe), Malifex (human sorcerer, bit of a madman), and "Fat" Jack Tavington (human rogue, a pirate). "Fat" Jack was chosen 'cos "pirates are cool!"
While travelling the dungeon corridors, they encountered a closed door. Rather than try to open the door by conventional means, or even having the rogue pick the lock, they elected to take the barbarian's axe to the door. True to form, the hideous door monster took their first two blows with a scornful disdain.
It's amazing just how quickly the old patterns emerge :-)
Sunday, 5 September 2004
Quiet in here...
It's not that I mind talking to myself, you understand. It's just that then the only posts I get to read are written by an idiot...
I have found of late that the whole thing is a bit of a burden. Creating settings, running adventures, even reading the books. At times, it feels like something I'm making myself do, rather than something I enjoy.
(I should say that this doesn't actually apply to the current campaign, which is actually good fun. It's also comprised of pre-gen adventures, which may or may not be relevant.)
This was very evident when reading the new World of Darkness book. I didn't read it, stop every few pages, and think "hey, I could run a game like this. That would be cool." Rather, I was very much reading it with an eye on utility, on assimilating the information as quickly as possible, so I can run the new Vampire. Which is hardly the ideal state of mind to be in.
The upshot of this is that I'm going to be scaling back my RPG activity. I'll still be running the game on Saturday, and also the demo game I've got coming up (which might turn into golf instead - don't ask). I'll still follow Dragon and Dungeon magazines, and I'll still track a few game lines. But I won't be buying lots of supplements for the new WoD (if any - still not even sure about the new Werewolf and Mage, although the latter is of interest), and I don't expect to be buying many d20 supplements in the near future (I have no planned purchases after MMIII). And I won't be writing up any new settings, planning any new campaigns, or particularly be looking to play in any games.
None of this actually amounts to anything, but as I said, I don't mind talking to myself...
Saturday, 4 September 2004
Review: World of Darkness
Firstly, I hated reading this book. I hated it because this is a new edition of the Storyteller rules, which I know quite well, and therefore knew most of this book already. However, as with different versions of d20 (and, indeed, Storyteller in the past), there are enough small differences to make reading the whole again necessary. There are also a significant number of fairly large differences as well.
Putting that aside, let's look at the book itself - my enjoyment in reading it has no bearing whatsoever on the actual content or utility of the book, and those are the important qualities. World of Darkness is a 222-page black and white hardback book. It cost £12 (I think - I bought a lot of game books that day).
The first thing to note is that this book is almost entirely given over to rules. There is very little setting information here. This is both good and bad. It's good because I don't need to read three slightly different interpretations of the rules in Vampire, Werewolf and Mage, and because this book now acts in essentially the same manner as d20 Modern - it's a foundation on which you can play basically any type of modern-era game you want. It's bad because it's quite dull, and there's not much indication of how to use it (in specific terms).
What mood there is in the game indicates a kind of X-Files meets Cthulhu style, which is nice. Certainly, this is a better foundation for that type of game than d20, which suffers inevitably from D&D-ism.
The game calls itself a Storytelling game, rather than a Storyteller game, to distinguish itself from previous editions. But, really, what's in a name? If you know Vampire, Exalted or Trinity, you know this system.
The basics of rolling dice are the same. Success is granted on an 8 or above, 10's are rerolled, and 1's do not subtract successes. In effect, then, each die in your pool counts for 0.33333333. Effectively, you should roll one success for every 3 dice (averaged across an infinite number of rolls). The maths here are very neat, and although it's not mentioned, a Storyteller could speed the game considerably by just assuming automatic successes on that ratio.
Modifiers apply to dice pools, and when modifiers reduce a dice pool to 0 or fewer dice, the character can still attempt a chance roll, which is the roll of a single die, succeeding only on a 10 (which can then be rerolled). If a 1 is rolled (on this roll only), the character botches.
Finally, a character who scores 5 or more successes scores a dramatic success.
Character traits work in a manner familiar to those who've used old games, except that characters have a variable number of Health levels, based on Stamina (mostly). Wound penalties apply only when the character is almost out of Health, which is good.
In addition to the usual Attributes and Abilities, characters may take Merits, which are the equivalent of the old Backgrounds, with the addition of Mental and Physical merits, such as Two-Weapon Fighting. These are all handled very nicely.
But, perhaps the place where the changes to the system are most notable is in combat. Previously, Storyteller combat could really drag, with each attack requiring four dice rolls to handle (attack, dodge, damage and soak). This has been much reduced, to a single roll.
An attack uses the appropriate attack skill (Dex + Firearms or Str + Brawl or Weaponry). Bonus dice are added based on weapons used (a Glock is +2, a shotgun +4). Dice are then subtracted for Armour, cover, Defense, and any other means of resisting or avoiding damage. Each success on the attack roll is then a single Health level of damage done.
This is an excellent system, much faster than the old, and generally to the good. It will take a while to get used to, but will be worth the effort (sucks for Exalted, though, since that's now gone from using the best version of the Storyteller rules to using a set that's notably worse than the best).
The sense I get from the combat rules is that they're very deadly, which is distinctly appropriate for a horror game. For a more cinematic game, you'd probably need to boost Defense values or Health levels somehow.
Three other things leapt out at me:
Spending a point of Willpower adds 3 dice to your pool, rather than adding an automatic success. This is a good thing, I think, although it's mathematically equivalent in most cases.
Dice pools can't be split. You get one action in a turn of combat (presumably, Celerity will grant more - I'll know once I've read Vampire). This is also a huge benefit, as it speeds combat a lot more. As noted above, Two-weapon fighting is a merit, and is handled without splitting pools.
There are several elements that are taken from, or reminiscent of, d20. Initiative is rolled once per combat. The combat system is similar to attack roll vs. AC, with Health instead of HP, although uses even fewer rolls (more dice, though). There's a Fighting Finesse merit, which applies a character's Dex instead of Str to attack rolls with a specific melee weapon. Not that any of these are bad things, they just amused me.
Overall, although I hated reading this book, it does provide the best version of the Storyteller rules. It's also a book I can see myself using heavily, in much the same manner as d20 Modern (perhaps more for one-offs than campaigns, unless Vampire blows me away). It's a good set of rules, a good book, and recommended.
Putting that aside, let's look at the book itself - my enjoyment in reading it has no bearing whatsoever on the actual content or utility of the book, and those are the important qualities. World of Darkness is a 222-page black and white hardback book. It cost £12 (I think - I bought a lot of game books that day).
The first thing to note is that this book is almost entirely given over to rules. There is very little setting information here. This is both good and bad. It's good because I don't need to read three slightly different interpretations of the rules in Vampire, Werewolf and Mage, and because this book now acts in essentially the same manner as d20 Modern - it's a foundation on which you can play basically any type of modern-era game you want. It's bad because it's quite dull, and there's not much indication of how to use it (in specific terms).
What mood there is in the game indicates a kind of X-Files meets Cthulhu style, which is nice. Certainly, this is a better foundation for that type of game than d20, which suffers inevitably from D&D-ism.
The game calls itself a Storytelling game, rather than a Storyteller game, to distinguish itself from previous editions. But, really, what's in a name? If you know Vampire, Exalted or Trinity, you know this system.
The basics of rolling dice are the same. Success is granted on an 8 or above, 10's are rerolled, and 1's do not subtract successes. In effect, then, each die in your pool counts for 0.33333333. Effectively, you should roll one success for every 3 dice (averaged across an infinite number of rolls). The maths here are very neat, and although it's not mentioned, a Storyteller could speed the game considerably by just assuming automatic successes on that ratio.
Modifiers apply to dice pools, and when modifiers reduce a dice pool to 0 or fewer dice, the character can still attempt a chance roll, which is the roll of a single die, succeeding only on a 10 (which can then be rerolled). If a 1 is rolled (on this roll only), the character botches.
Finally, a character who scores 5 or more successes scores a dramatic success.
Character traits work in a manner familiar to those who've used old games, except that characters have a variable number of Health levels, based on Stamina (mostly). Wound penalties apply only when the character is almost out of Health, which is good.
In addition to the usual Attributes and Abilities, characters may take Merits, which are the equivalent of the old Backgrounds, with the addition of Mental and Physical merits, such as Two-Weapon Fighting. These are all handled very nicely.
But, perhaps the place where the changes to the system are most notable is in combat. Previously, Storyteller combat could really drag, with each attack requiring four dice rolls to handle (attack, dodge, damage and soak). This has been much reduced, to a single roll.
An attack uses the appropriate attack skill (Dex + Firearms or Str + Brawl or Weaponry). Bonus dice are added based on weapons used (a Glock is +2, a shotgun +4). Dice are then subtracted for Armour, cover, Defense, and any other means of resisting or avoiding damage. Each success on the attack roll is then a single Health level of damage done.
This is an excellent system, much faster than the old, and generally to the good. It will take a while to get used to, but will be worth the effort (sucks for Exalted, though, since that's now gone from using the best version of the Storyteller rules to using a set that's notably worse than the best).
The sense I get from the combat rules is that they're very deadly, which is distinctly appropriate for a horror game. For a more cinematic game, you'd probably need to boost Defense values or Health levels somehow.
Three other things leapt out at me:
Spending a point of Willpower adds 3 dice to your pool, rather than adding an automatic success. This is a good thing, I think, although it's mathematically equivalent in most cases.
Dice pools can't be split. You get one action in a turn of combat (presumably, Celerity will grant more - I'll know once I've read Vampire). This is also a huge benefit, as it speeds combat a lot more. As noted above, Two-weapon fighting is a merit, and is handled without splitting pools.
There are several elements that are taken from, or reminiscent of, d20. Initiative is rolled once per combat. The combat system is similar to attack roll vs. AC, with Health instead of HP, although uses even fewer rolls (more dice, though). There's a Fighting Finesse merit, which applies a character's Dex instead of Str to attack rolls with a specific melee weapon. Not that any of these are bad things, they just amused me.
Overall, although I hated reading this book, it does provide the best version of the Storyteller rules. It's also a book I can see myself using heavily, in much the same manner as d20 Modern (perhaps more for one-offs than campaigns, unless Vampire blows me away). It's a good set of rules, a good book, and recommended.
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