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<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:blogger='http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216</id><updated>2024-05-29T22:22:11.372-04:00</updated><category term="news"/><category term="old school"/><category term="musings"/><category term="DnD"/><category term="ADnD"/><category term="other blogs"/><category term="history"/><category term="tsr"/><category term="gygax"/><category term="memories"/><category term="retrospective"/><category term="odd"/><category term="pulp fantasy library"/><category term="dwimmermount"/><category term="art"/><category term="other games"/><category term="science fiction"/><category 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term="h. beam piper"/><category term="haggard"/><category term="hammer"/><category term="heald"/><category term="heinlein"/><category term="henchmen"/><category term="humans"/><category term="kothar"/><category term="krebs"/><category term="lego"/><category term="lejendary adventure"/><category term="lewis carroll"/><category term="loomis"/><category term="machen"/><category term="meints"/><category term="merry mushmen"/><category term="mind flayers"/><category term="monkey blood"/><category term="nice guys"/><category term="other"/><category term="poll"/><category term="pondsmith"/><category term="ross"/><category term="samurai"/><category term="tournaments"/><category term="van vogt"/><category term="von daniken"/><category term="weird tales"/><category term="wesely"/><category term="whats his story"/><category term="williams"/><category term="wisdom"/><category term="wonderland"/><category term="xrp"/><category term="ya'govian"/><category term="zieser"/><category term="1889"/><category term="1960s"/><category term="D101 Games"/><category term="PCs"/><category term="T"/><category term="acks"/><category term="adams"/><category term="ahmed"/><category term="albie fiore"/><category term="appenix n"/><category term="atari"/><category term="ball"/><category term="baum"/><category term="bezio"/><category term="boney"/><category term="bradbury"/><category term="bran mak morn"/><category term="braunstein"/><category term="breig"/><category term="brooks"/><category term="brown"/><category term="bsg"/><category term="bulwer-lytton"/><category term="calithena"/><category term="chambers"/><category term="charette"/><category term="charts"/><category term="chesterton"/><category term="christopher"/><category term="cosmology"/><category term="crichton"/><category term="csio"/><category term="cyberpunk"/><category term="dangerous journeys"/><category term="dark sun"/><category term="darren mcgavin"/><category term="davidson"/><category term="dietrick"/><category term="ditko"/><category term="diy rpg"/><category term="doyle"/><category term="eddison"/><category term="eisenstein"/><category term="elf lair games"/><category term="escapism"/><category term="espinoza"/><category term="fantasy cartographic"/><category term="forbidden isle"/><category term="gamescience"/><category term="gardner"/><category term="gemmell"/><category term="gilsdorf"/><category term="golden age"/><category term="green ronin"/><category term="grohe"/><category term="hasbro"/><category term="hce"/><category term="henson"/><category term="hexographer"/><category term="hildebrandt"/><category term="hirelings"/><category term="horror"/><category term="iridia zine"/><category term="johnson"/><category term="jones"/><category term="kellri"/><category term="kennig"/><category term="killer DM"/><category term="kummer"/><category term="kurtz"/><category term="lamb"/><category term="leason"/><category term="lords of creation"/><category term="ludibrium games"/><category term="malory"/><category term="mapes"/><category term="mayle"/><category term="mccaffrey"/><category term="mehlem"/><category term="melan"/><category term="metal"/><category term="midderlands"/><category term="minaria"/><category term="mini-con"/><category term="mornard"/><category term="musings. memories"/><category term="new infinities"/><category term="norman"/><category term="o'bannon"/><category term="og"/><category term="packard"/><category term="page"/><category term="palmer"/><category term="pangborn"/><category term="pao"/><category term="peake"/><category term="pelinore"/><category term="poe"/><category term="r. talsorian"/><category term="rahman"/><category term="ritchie"/><category term="robertson"/><category term="rolston"/><category term="russ"/><category term="salvatore"/><category term="sapkowski"/><category term="saxman"/><category term="shaver"/><category term="shea"/><category term="siembieda"/><category term="snarfquest"/><category term="soapbox games"/><category term="software"/><category term="stackpole"/><category term="strategic review"/><category term="symbaroum"/><category term="the witcher"/><category term="thomson"/><category term="tri tac"/><category term="tricky owlbear"/><category term="tucholka"/><category term="venus"/><category term="vey"/><category term="walker"/><category term="war"/><category term="warden"/><category term="wayfarers"/><category term="wee warriors"/><category term="weinbaum"/><category term="weis"/><category term="wesley"/><category term="wodehouse"/><title type='text'>GROGNARDIA</title><subtitle type='html'>Musings and Memories from a Lifetime of Roleplaying</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default?start-index=26&max-results=25'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>4249</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-6899728822799649832</id><published>2024-05-29T13:30:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-29T13:30:15.045-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="campaigns"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="ept"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="house of worms"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="musings"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tekumel"/><title type='text'>Keeping It Rolling</title><content type='html'><p>A <a href="https://rolesrules.blogspot.com/">commenter</a> to my <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/retrospective-from-ashes.html">Retrospective on <i>From the Ashes</i></a>&nbsp;wrote&nbsp;<a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/retrospective-from-ashes.html?showComment=1716986277420#c439790452184453806">the following</a>:</p><p></p><blockquote>It's a known problem in fantasy worlds with metaplot that the stakes need to escalate until each new world-threatening villain and their attendant cataclysm is met with a yawn.</blockquote><p>This is an accurate observation in my opinion and one that I've very deliberately tried to avoid in my ongoing <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/search/label/house%20of%20worms">House of Worms</a> <i>Empire of the Petal Throne </i>campaign. Escalation of the sort the commenter mentions is, in my opinion, <i>poison </i>to the health of a <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/11/we-need-long-campaigns.html">long campaign</a>. To show you what I mean, here's a very incomplete list of just a few of the major endeavors of the player characters over the course of the last <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/03/number-9.html">nine years</a> of active play:&nbsp;</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>A Funerary Mystery: </b>The campaign kicked off in 2015 with the characters assisting their clan in attending to the affairs of a dead elder, who'd died at an advanced age. In the process of doing so, they uncovered evidence of a plot by foreign <i>agents provocateurs</i>&nbsp;to destabilize a border region of Tsolyánu.</li><li><b>An Extended Trip Abroad: </b>The House of Worms clan sent the characters to neighboring Salarvyá to tend to the clan's business interests there. After a few weeks seeing the local sights and exploring places of interest, a magical mishap propelled them thousands of miles away to the northern land of Yán Kór. The journey back to Tsolyánu took more than six months, during which time they met new friends, made new enemies, and tangled with the dreaded Ssú for the first time.</li><li><b>Tsolyáni Politics: </b>Returning home, they accidentally interfered with the plans of an imperial prince (Mridóbu). In return for his forgiveness, they pledged their future assistance to him, no questions asked.</li><li><b>Cult Investigations: </b>In their home city of Sokátis, the characters looked into the disappearances and strange behavior of important local people, leading them to discover evidence of a secretive cult dedicated to one of the Pariah Gods, perhaps the fearsome Goddess of the Pale Bone herself. In the process, they come to realize one of the player characters was not who seemed to be but rather a <i>magical copy </i>employed by the cult. They rescued the real character and disrupted some of the cult's activities.</li><li><b>A Foreign Posting: </b>Prince Mridóbu called in his favor and sent the characters to the far-off Tsolyáni colony of <a href="https://dysonlogos.blog/2020/06/19/linyaro-with-some-details/">Linyaró</a>&nbsp;to act as its administration. This posting is a "reward" for the characters' proven ability to disrupt hidden plots. Mridóbu believes something suspicious is afoot in the colony and the characters have the skills necessary to reveal it (plus he wants them far away from Tsolyánu, lest they cause more trouble for him there).&nbsp;</li><li><b>A Journey by Sea, Land, and Sea Again: </b>The characters then spend many months traveling by water before reaching the plague ravaged land of Livyánu, where they disembarked. They then trekked across its length to catch another sea vessel for the final legal of their trip to Linyaró on the coast of the Achgé Peninsula.</li><li><b>Showing the Flag: </b>Having reached Linyaró, the characters must establish control over the colony and deal with several scheming factions, at least one of which was probably behind the murder of the previous governor.&nbsp;</li></ul><div>This list represents only the first two years of play – and I've left out plenty of smaller adventures. Over the next nine years, the characters traversed the length and breadth of the Achgé Peninsula, dealt with the rulers of several Naqsái city-states, explored a huge ruined city, tangled with the Temple of Ksárul, battled the Hokún, treated with <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2022/11/computer-god.html">advanced AIs</a>, visited an alternate Tékumel, traveled to several of the Planes Beyond, prevented the Shunned Ones from altering the atmosphere of the planet, and dealt with <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-many-deaths-of-aithfo-hiznayu.html">one of their companions' deaths</a>, among other things. That's not even taking into account all the social interactions and alliances they've formed, often <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2021/01/love-and-marriage.html">through marriage</a>, in the course of play. After nearly a decade, there are simply too many adventures, expeditions, and escapades to recount, even if I were minded to share them all with you here.</div><div><br /></div><div>What I hope is clear, though, is that campaign events largely have not threatened the world as a whole. I dislike dramatic hyperbole. I feel that threatening to end the world makes for boring roleplaying sessions, not to mention making it difficult to continue playing after the supposedly world-ending danger is inevitably averted. The referee cannot keep upping the stakes and expect players to continue being interested in the campaign. After the first few times Armageddon is put on hold, players quickly come to realize that <i>there are no stakes</i>. This is why the characters – both player and non-player – generally drive the action: it keeps the players invested. They know that their actions have consequences and that events unfold logically from their choices. I doubt the campaign would still be ongoing if I'd opted for any other approach.</div><p></p><p></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/6899728822799649832/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/keeping-it-rolling.html#comment-form' title='12 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/6899728822799649832'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/6899728822799649832'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/keeping-it-rolling.html' title='Keeping It Rolling'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><thr:total>12</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-436311911801621538</id><published>2024-05-29T00:00:00.289-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-29T00:00:00.286-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="2e"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="greyhawk"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="gygax"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="retrospective"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tsr"/><title type='text'>Retrospective: From the Ashes</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJDJmXNFJ7ScI_D5r8ZSs8QVmgVOaJqy-_Wa8hn2vdm_mPPkdS7sdZ6a5GP-E5FWIJ9HMk10tYRm_NK6-jKtJ0OycPrZBwJmQOKzQWPNbtMykjn95cc7GbMv40cWssqqqXr6iYT158ZgSH70yebNrt6OAx7EUqVcKgcWqENCQnOJ_n_lRD0WuOCxvZ-zy/s851/ashes.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="681" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJDJmXNFJ7ScI_D5r8ZSs8QVmgVOaJqy-_Wa8hn2vdm_mPPkdS7sdZ6a5GP-E5FWIJ9HMk10tYRm_NK6-jKtJ0OycPrZBwJmQOKzQWPNbtMykjn95cc7GbMv40cWssqqqXr6iYT158ZgSH70yebNrt6OAx7EUqVcKgcWqENCQnOJ_n_lRD0WuOCxvZ-zy/w256-h320/ashes.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>At the end of last week's Retrospective on <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/retrospective-greyhawk-wars.html">Greyhawk Wars</a></i>, I promised I'd devote my next post in this series to taking a closer look at TSR's early 1990s attempt to reinvent Gary Gygax's <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2023/09/retrospective-world-of-greyhawk.html">World of Greyhawk</a> </i>setting for <i>AD&amp;D </i>Second Edition. While <i>Greyhawk Wars</i>&nbsp;kicked off that reinvention by plunging the Flanaess into a fantastical "world war," the heavy lifting of teasing out just what that war actually meant for the venerable campaign milieu fell to another product, <i>From the Ashes</i>, released in 1992 and written by Carl Sargent.&nbsp;<div><br /></div><div>Like the 1983 revision of the original <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/03/retrospective-world-of-greyhawk.html">World of Greyhawk</a>&nbsp;</i>folio, <i>From the Ashes </i>comes in the form of a boxed set containing a pair of softcover books (both 96 pages in length this time) and an updated version of <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/06/interview-darlene.html">Darlene</a>'s incomparable maps. However, it also contains an <i>additional </i>map (depicting the regions around the City of Greyhawk), as well as new <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2023/07/retrospective-monstrous-compendium.html">Monstrous Compendium</a> </i>sheets, and twenty cardstock reference sheets. All in all, it's impressively jam-packed in the way that TSR boxed sets almost always were during the late '80s and early '90s. Depending on one's preference, that's either a good thing or a bad thing – but we'll tackle that question soon enough.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first of the two 96-page books is the <i>Atlas of the Flanaess</i>. This is largely a rewrite of material found in the 1983 boxed set, updated to take into account the consequences of the Greyhawk Wars on the setting. There's an overview of the setting's history, with an emphasis on recent events. Then, we're given looks at the peoples of the Flanaess, their lands, important geographical features, and the gods (or "powers," according to 2e's <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2022/01/angry-mothers-from-heck.html">bowdlerized</a> terminology) and their priesthoods. The <i>Atlas </i>also includes sections on "Places of Mystery" and "Tales of the Year of Peace." The first are unusual, often magical, locales that hold special interest to adventures, similar to those presented in the earlier <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2022/09/retrospective-greyhawk-adventures.html">Greyhawk Adventures</a>. </i>Meanwhile, the latter are adventure seeds for the Dungeon Master to flesh out.</div><div><br /></div><div>The second 96-page book is the <i>Campaign Book</i>. This volume consists of entirely new information, focused primarily on the City of Greyhawk, its surrounding lands, and its important NPCs. During the Greyhawk Wars, the City suffered much damage. Now, it is being rebuilt and serves as neutral ground between all the previously warring kingdoms and factions. This turns the City into a Casablanca-esque den of espionage and intrigue, as well as a convenient home base for adventurers trying to make their way in this changed Flanaess. There is a <i>ton </i>of information here, providing the DM with lots of fodder for an ongoing campaign. I'd wager that the <i>Campaign Book </i>alone probably contains more new details about the World of Greyhawk setting than had been revealed in many years, perhaps ever.</div><div><br /></div><div>And <i>that </i>is one of the aspects of <i>From the Ashes </i>that makes it controversial in some quarters – <i>the detail. </i>For many, the appeal of the <i>World of Greyhawk</i>&nbsp;has always been its sketchy, open-ended nature. The original folio was, at best, an <i>outline </i>of a setting, one each referee could use as a foundation on which to build his own version of Greyhawk. While the later boxed set included more details, most notably about the gods, it was still quite vague in its descriptions about many aspects of the setting. This aspect of the <i>World of Greyhawk </i>made it a good choice for DMs who weren't quite ready to create their own settings from whole cloth but who also still wanted lots of freedom to introduce his own ideas.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>From the Ashes </i>changed this aspect of the setting, bringing more in line with TSR's growing library of <i>AD&amp;D </i>campaign settings, many of which came to be exhaustively detailed. This is precisely what started to happen with Greyhawk, too. Over the course of the next few years, <i>From the Ashes </i>was followed up by a number of lengthy expansion modules that filled in other parts of the Flanaess. In addition, some of these modules further advanced the unfolding "story" of <i>From the Ashes</i>&nbsp;in a way that was very much in keeping with the growing interest in "metaplot" that suffused RPGs during the 1990s, most famously in White Wolf's <i>World of Darkness</i>&nbsp;games, but by no means limited to them.</div><div><br /></div><div>The second aspect of <i>From Ashes </i>that makes it controversial is its perceived changes to the <i>tone </i>of the Greyhawk setting. As originally presented, the <i>World of Greyhawk </i>had a tone that I can only describe as <i>wargaming-meets-sword-and-sorcery. </i>On the macro-level, it seems apparent to me that Gary Gygax liked the idea of a crazy quilt of rival nations, each jockeying for land, influence, and power – the perfect backdrop for a medieval wargames campaign of the sort that gave birth to <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons </i>in the first place. However, on the personal level, Greyhawk seems very much indebted to pulp fantasy of the Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber variety, as evidenced by <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/03/pulp-fantasy-library-saga-of-old-city.html">his own forays</a> <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2021/01/pulp-fantasy-library-artifact-of-evil.html">into fiction writing</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>The tone of <i>From the Ashes </i>and its expansions focused too much, I think, on the former at the expense of the latter. The battles of kingdoms and machinations of powerful NPCs overshadowed everything else. The Flanaess became <i>their world</i>; your player characters were just living in it. This is a problem that came to afflict the Forgotten Realms as well, <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/09/interview-ed-greenwood-part-iii.html">much to the chagrin of its own creator</a>. It was certainly a poor choice for Greyhawk, which, as I said, had long been more of a blank canvas on which the Dungeon Master could paint whatever he wanted while taking inspiration from the loose ideas Gygax provided. <i>From the Ashes </i>transformed the setting into a much more detailed place, driven by NPCs and Big Events dictated by TSR's desire to sell more product.</div><div><br /></div><div>My own feelings about <i>From the Ashes </i>are decidedly mixed. I recognize and largely agree with many of the criticisms of the boxed set, especially regarding its introduction of a metaplot into Greyhawk, At the same time, Carl Sargent put a lot of solid work into this and many of the details he provided are eminently <i>gameable</i>, from small dungeons and adventure locales to interesting factions and conflicts. It's true that the Big Picture of the post-Wars setting takes precedence, but there's still some room for smaller, more personal scenarios and Sargent put effort into highlighting some of them. <i>From the Ashes </i>isn't, therefore, a complete disaster, but neither is it an unqualified success. Instead, it's a well-presented muddle and I think both positive and negative feelings toward are justified, depending on one's preferences.&nbsp;</div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/436311911801621538/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/retrospective-from-ashes.html#comment-form' title='16 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/436311911801621538'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/436311911801621538'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/retrospective-from-ashes.html' title='Retrospective: From the Ashes'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaJDJmXNFJ7ScI_D5r8ZSs8QVmgVOaJqy-_Wa8hn2vdm_mPPkdS7sdZ6a5GP-E5FWIJ9HMk10tYRm_NK6-jKtJ0OycPrZBwJmQOKzQWPNbtMykjn95cc7GbMv40cWssqqqXr6iYT158ZgSH70yebNrt6OAx7EUqVcKgcWqENCQnOJ_n_lRD0WuOCxvZ-zy/s72-w256-h320-c/ashes.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>16</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-5266653870173298051</id><published>2024-05-28T15:00:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-28T15:00:00.130-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="news"/><title type='text'>Anonymous</title><content type='html'><p><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/04/comments.html">About a month and a half ago</a>, I opened up the comments section of the blog to readers without Google accounts, including those who wished to post anonymously. I'm pleased to say that this has actually been a boon to the blog, since most posts now receive many more comments – <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/heretical-thoughts-part-ii.html">a lot more in some cases</a>. That's good news overall, since I've wanted to foster discussion about the topics about which I write here, especially when my own opinion on a given matter might differ from conventional wisdom.</p><p>One of the drawbacks of allowing anonymous posts is that, in many the comments to many posts, it can be quite difficult differentiating one anonymous poster from another. That can lead to confusion and misunderstanding, something to which online written discussion is already quite prone. I don't know that there's a solution to this, but, if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. As I said, I'm mostly very happy with the reinvigorated comments sections, so I don't want to do anything that might stifle that. I simply wish it were easy to keep track of which anonymous poster was which.</p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/5266653870173298051/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/anonymous.html#comment-form' title='20 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/5266653870173298051'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/5266653870173298051'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/anonymous.html' title='Anonymous'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><thr:total>20</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-8858578377424830829</id><published>2024-05-28T00:00:00.214-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-28T00:00:00.261-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="ADnD"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="magic"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="magic-user"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="mentzer"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="polyhedron"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="rpga"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tsr"/><title type='text'>Polyhedron: Issue #28</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2YS6C383WaAX0eUJnS2o9aEfK1PYadp9df10bktRStMo5oHsy-ahSImHOBQjPyq0VG495w5n2MRXt4ie8NsyRj4ezfVr-WFxpe5GYlyTPB6CV-EcXCpE0OY5FiExhbJYZDHvs-GxosgHhTUIZgBquOwcJhjhPMVLKuwU8iaxPUouvCus2sXHvj5FiT4_l/s848/polyhedron28.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="647" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2YS6C383WaAX0eUJnS2o9aEfK1PYadp9df10bktRStMo5oHsy-ahSImHOBQjPyq0VG495w5n2MRXt4ie8NsyRj4ezfVr-WFxpe5GYlyTPB6CV-EcXCpE0OY5FiExhbJYZDHvs-GxosgHhTUIZgBquOwcJhjhPMVLKuwU8iaxPUouvCus2sXHvj5FiT4_l/w305-h400/polyhedron28.jpg" width="305" /></a></div>Issue #28 of <i>Polyhedron </i>(March 1986) features yet another cover by Roger Raupp, who, <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/polyhedron-issue-27.html">as I've remarked previously</a>, seems to have been TSR's go-to guy for on-demand artwork in the mid to late 1980s. I never minded, because I liked his style, which I felt struck a nice balance between the <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/03/in-praise-of-larry-elmore-ii_10.html">cleanliness of Larry Elmore</a> and the <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/05/in-praise-of-jim-holloway.html">grubbiness of Jim Holloway</a>&nbsp;while still remaining firmly within the realm of <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/01/in-praise-of-larry-elmore.html">"fantastic realism."</a>&nbsp;Given how often his illustrations appear during this period, I suspect Raupp must have worked quickly – a great virtue for an artist employed in the gaming industry.<br /><p></p><p>"Notes from HQ" contains an update on "the City Project" first announced in <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/polyhedron-issue-25.html">issue #25</a>. Editor Penny Petticord mentions that "the legal aspects of the project have not yet been completely resolved," but does not elaborate on precisely what this means. She might be alluding to the assignment of copyrights, given that this project will include submissions from many outside sources, though there are other possible explanations. Interestingly, Petticord makes no mention of the placement of the setting within the <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2023/09/retrospective-world-of-greyhawk.html">World of Greyhawk</a> </i>or any other setting. Gary Gygax's imminent departure from TSR might explain this omission. In any event, the project would eventually be shifted to <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/09/retrospective-forgotten-realms-campaign.html">the Forgotten Realms</a>&nbsp;when <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/09/interview-ed-greenwood-part-i.html">Ed</a> <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/09/interview-ed-greenwood-part-ii.html">Greenwood</a>'s <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/09/interview-ed-greenwood-part-iii.html">campaign setting</a> became the default setting of <i>AD&amp;D </i>in 1987.</p><p>"Adventure Among the Clouds" by Jeff Martin is an&nbsp;<i>AD&amp;D </i>article that tackles the subject of cloud islands – floating "land" masses that can serve as adventure locales. The existence of such islands was first confirmed in the <i>Monster Manual</i>'s description of cloud giants and elaborated upon further in module UK7, <i>Dark Clouds Gather. </i>In this article, Martin describes the origin, composition, and inhabitants of cloud islands, along with notes on how these magical places affect spells and magic items. His overall approach reminds me a lot of a condensed version of what Roger E. Moore pioneered with his <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/11/articles-of-dragon-astral-plane.html">"The Astral Plane"</a> article in <i>Dragon </i>#67 (November 1982), though, sadly, <i>less interesting. </i>Cloud islands are potentially fascinating places and very much in keeping with <i>AD&amp;D</i>-style fantasy, but Martin, in my opinion, treats them in a rather mundane way. It's a shame.</p><p>Back in the day, Frank Mentzer was <i>a machine </i>when it came to penning RPGA <i>AD&amp;D&nbsp;</i>tournament adventures. This issue includes another one, "The Great Bugbear Hunt," intended for characters of levels 5–7. The set-up is that, while out in the wilderness, a passing band of bugbears slew the horses of a party of adventurers and stole all the items in the saddlebags. Among them is a magic-user's spellbook. Naturally horrified by this turn of events, he enlists the aid of others to venture back into the wilderness in an attempt to find the bugbears and retrieve it. The scenario is, in effect, a <i>scavenger hunt </i>in a wilderness filled with monsters and other obstacles. This one looks like a lot of fun, with plenty of varied and challenging encounters.</p><p>"The Specialist Mage" by Jon Pickens introduces a new idea for use in <i>AD&amp;D </i>games: the <i>specialist mage. </i>Bear in mind, this is 1986, three years before the release of Second Edition, which formalized specialist mages as an option for player character magic-users. Here, the idea is presented as being <i>for NPCs only</i>&nbsp;– a common dodge employed in the pages of <i>Dragon </i>to justify its articles on new classes without running afoul of TSR dicta about "no new character classes." Pickens's version of the specialist mage receives XP bonuses if he employs more spells of his chosen specialty, in addition to having access to unique spells unavailable to non-specialists. In this issue, he presents numerous new necromancy spells, though they were intended only for use by "an NPC villain." <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/12/articles-of-dragon-for-npcs-only-death.html">Where have I heard that before?</a></p><p>Michael Przytarski's "Fletcher's Corner" is focused on the creation and judging of tournament scenarios, a topic that I must confess holds little interest for me. That he is given <i>three pages </i>to elucidate his thoughts on the topic makes it even <i>less </i>compelling somehow. Of course, this <i>is </i>the official newszine of the Role Playing Game Association, which sponsored innumerable tournaments at GenCon and elsewhere, so this is exactly the kind of content that should be here. That it holds no interest for me says more about my weirdness than it does about the article. Alas, I'm the one writing this post.</p><p>In terms of the <i>number </i>of articles, issue #28 has among the fewest in some time. That's probably due to the fact that "The Great Bugbear Hunt" adventure takes up <i>half </i>of the issue's 32 pages. Likewise, all the remaining articles, with the exception of "Notes from HQ," are at least three pages long. I probably wouldn't have even commented on this if any of them had any of them stood out as notable in some way. Instead, they're mostly <i>fine </i>if unexceptional, so I took greater note of how few there were than I otherwise might have.</p><p>Sadly, the next issue is the April Fool's Day issue, so I don't think it'll prove much better ...</p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/8858578377424830829/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/polyhedron-issue-28.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/8858578377424830829'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/8858578377424830829'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/polyhedron-issue-28.html' title='Polyhedron: Issue #28'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2YS6C383WaAX0eUJnS2o9aEfK1PYadp9df10bktRStMo5oHsy-ahSImHOBQjPyq0VG495w5n2MRXt4ie8NsyRj4ezfVr-WFxpe5GYlyTPB6CV-EcXCpE0OY5FiExhbJYZDHvs-GxosgHhTUIZgBquOwcJhjhPMVLKuwU8iaxPUouvCus2sXHvj5FiT4_l/s72-w305-h400-c/polyhedron28.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-9206233794363372529</id><published>2024-05-27T12:00:00.029-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-27T12:00:00.338-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="ept"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="house of worms"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tekumel"/><title type='text'>How Do You a Problem Like Kirktá? (Part II)</title><content type='html'><p>Since readers seem to have been genuinely interested in this particular aspect of my ongoing <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/search/label/house%20of%20worms">House of Worms</a> <i>Empire of the Petal Throne </i>campaign, here's an update on <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/how-do-you-solve-problem-like-kirkta.html">the situation I first mentioned earlier this month</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Presently, the player characters are on an extended expedition to explore ancient ruins once inhabited by an intelligent – and magically powerful – non-human species known as the Mihálli. These ruins are far from the characters' native Tsolyánu. The quickest paths to the ruins run through the neighboring realm of Salarvyá, which enjoys a generally peaceful relationship (aside from some border skirmishes from time to time). Early in the campaign, nearly <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/03/number-9.html">nine years ago</a>, the characters spent several months in Salarvyá on a mission for their clan, so the kingdom is familiar to them and many of the characters speak Salarvyáni.</p><p>Their present expedition is funded by Prince Rereshqála, one of several publicly declared<a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/looking-for-ideas.html"> heirs of the emperor of Tsolyánu</a>. Rereshqála is given to magnificent displays of <i>noblesse oblige</i>, sponsoring works of art and scholarship. Because the Mihálli are so mysterious and poorly understood, it is hoped this expedition will uncover new information about them, including the recovery of artifacts associated with them. If successful, the expedition would bring glory and fame on those who undertook it – and to their noble patron as well.</p><p>In addition to providing the expedition with manpower and funds, Prince Rereshqála asked one other thing of the characters: to return a young Salarvyáni noblewoman to her family in the city of Koylugá. The young woman, Chgyár Dléru by name, is a member of Thirreqúmmu family who rules Koylugá. Indeed, her uncle, Kúrek Tiqónnu, is one of the seven most powerful men in all of Salarvyá and thus a candidate for the Ebon Throne upon the death of its present king. Salarvyá, you see, has an elective monarchy and, while the throne has long been held by members of the Chruggilléshmu family, in principle a candidate from any of the mighty feudal families might be elected instead.&nbsp;</p><p>Before entering Salarvyá, the characters had been warned that its political situation was growing increasingly fraught. The king is old and insane. Consequently, many of the great families were jockeying for position, so that, when he finally died, they could make their bid to rule. Likewise, the Temple of Shiringgáyi, the primary deity of Salarvyá, were flexing its own muscles by encouraging zealots to attack foreigners and rail against their supposedly pernicious influence. There were also reports of a large-scale military conflict between internal factions of the kingdom.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ZBmlP_Yybobo3v2R6kr4be8dwGjXLIQy9vLvhoEbZJliXK4xan_tT_3J0dfwc-GlY0vtECB1ezTwyv9oB-VsXM3W0VrnA3FLeYCmR0l7GiMCd0yOiEEFs2F6AfpSgNWELQLAyGUeV_8jSHPcfzcC0adqO6Wqt7KxyXXWoUYTXAGlgnjbH2Dl3fXuobeH/s1631/TekumelMap1_route2.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1631" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ZBmlP_Yybobo3v2R6kr4be8dwGjXLIQy9vLvhoEbZJliXK4xan_tT_3J0dfwc-GlY0vtECB1ezTwyv9oB-VsXM3W0VrnA3FLeYCmR0l7GiMCd0yOiEEFs2F6AfpSgNWELQLAyGUeV_8jSHPcfzcC0adqO6Wqt7KxyXXWoUYTXAGlgnjbH2Dl3fXuobeH/w400-h314/TekumelMap1_route2.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A map depicting the characters' possible paths through Salarvyá</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Despite all this, the characters journey through Salarvyá was largely uneventful until the night before they were scheduled to have an audience with Lord Kúrek in Koylugá. They had already successfully returned Lady Chgyár to her family and decided to spend the afternoon and evening exploring the city. After sunset, they visited the Night Market, an <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/11/pulp-fantasy-library-bazaar-of-bizarre.html">emporium of oddities</a>, where they acquired a few useful and interesting trinkets. However, the Market was eventually disrupted by Shiringgáyi zealots. Rather than risk running afoul of local authorities, the characters fled back to their lodgings to wait out the night.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That's when they received a message from Lord Kúrek confirming the details of their meeting with him the next morning. In addition to the expected subjects, the message also included a lengthy legal document detailing the terms and conditions of the <i>upcoming marriage between Lady Chgyár and Kirktá! </i>Needless to say, this caught everyone off-guard, Kirktá most of all, though he did spend some time trying to figure if perhaps had inadvertently done something while in Chgyár's presence that might have been misinterpreted as an offer of marriage. Even more alarmingly, the marriage contract referred to Kirktá by the name <i>Kirktá Tlakotáni</i><b style="font-style: italic;">, </b>Tlakotáni being the name of the emperor's clan. This made it clear that Lord Kúrek and his family knew of Kirktá's true lineage – but how? The characters had worked very hard to keep this information secret.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's important to point out that Chgyár had originally been sent to Rereshqála by Lord Kúrek <i>as a bride </i>and, therefore, a token of friendship between a powerful faction within Salarvyá. However, Chgyár did not adapt well to life in Tsolyánu. She became so homesick that Rereshqála opted to send her back to her family rather than force her to remain in a foreign land. Consequently, the characters immediately theorized that this surprise marriage arrangement with Kirktá was intended to make up for the fact that she'd managed to let one imperial prince get away. Her family no doubt wished to be sure the same thing did not happen a second time. But, if so, how did anyone know Kirktá's secret? Further, how many more people might know? This was a potentially serious problem.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This post is already much longer than I intended it to be, so I'll end it here, with the promise to follow it up with another later this week. Suffice it to say that the characters spent a lot of time pondering how to proceed now that Kirktá's princely status had seemingly been uncovered by someone who intended to use it for unknown ends. Almost from its beginning in 2015, the House of Worms campaign has been fueled by the characters' interaction with the society, culture, politics, and religion of the world around them. They have goals and dreams of their own and they pursue them with gusto. Of course, the same is true of the non-player characters of the setting. The interactions between these two competing forces is something I continue to enjoy and that I hope will carry on well into the future.&nbsp;</div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/9206233794363372529/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/how-do-you-problem-like-kirkta-part-ii.html#comment-form' title='12 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/9206233794363372529'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/9206233794363372529'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/how-do-you-problem-like-kirkta-part-ii.html' title='How Do You a Problem Like Kirktá? (Part II)'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ZBmlP_Yybobo3v2R6kr4be8dwGjXLIQy9vLvhoEbZJliXK4xan_tT_3J0dfwc-GlY0vtECB1ezTwyv9oB-VsXM3W0VrnA3FLeYCmR0l7GiMCd0yOiEEFs2F6AfpSgNWELQLAyGUeV_8jSHPcfzcC0adqO6Wqt7KxyXXWoUYTXAGlgnjbH2Dl3fXuobeH/s72-w400-h314-c/TekumelMap1_route2.png" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>12</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-8899137546927146228</id><published>2024-05-27T00:00:00.002-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-27T00:00:00.253-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="chaosium"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="CoC"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="comics"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="dccrpg"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="foglio"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="humor"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="magic"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="pulp fantasy"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="science fiction"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="stormbringer"/><title type='text'>The Cost of Power</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecTrriHAzdIoC4H1Audc6uO3lyy4mJs3E7HJ2rvZJiNs1_XX5guMYBvogTqsAYk97pzlT3TtR0vot_1EFw8L1NwxrzCpcUwhuIcyAbPnJESbbc1kb1HgeDJKKTShHLkSj3u5lU69VCwsEWeEjAECPfDixVDiUD-VL_LlTMTZlp_ViwpRco9MGyDClveyL/s746/nancy.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="746" data-original-width="540" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecTrriHAzdIoC4H1Audc6uO3lyy4mJs3E7HJ2rvZJiNs1_XX5guMYBvogTqsAYk97pzlT3TtR0vot_1EFw8L1NwxrzCpcUwhuIcyAbPnJESbbc1kb1HgeDJKKTShHLkSj3u5lU69VCwsEWeEjAECPfDixVDiUD-VL_LlTMTZlp_ViwpRco9MGyDClveyL/w290-h400/nancy.png" width="290" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of the many ways that fantasy roleplaying games differ from their pulp fantasy inspirations concerns <i>the use of magic. </i>With comparatively few exceptions, pulp fantasy depicts magic as, at best, <i>wild and unpredictable</i>&nbsp;and, at worst, as <i>outright diabolical. </i>RPGs, meanwhile, treat magic almost as a form of <i>technology</i>, an instrument that is neither inherently good nor bad and that, if used with appropriate training, rarely if ever presents any danger to its user.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The most obvious exceptions that come to my mind are Chaosium's <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/10/game-for-grown-ups.html">Call of Cthulhu</a> </i>and <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/07/retrospective-stormbringer.html">Stormbringer</a></i>, both of which explicitly caution against the use of magic by characters, precisely because of its inherent danger. A more recent exception is Goodman Games'&nbsp;<i>Dungeon Crawl Classics Role-Playing Game. </i>Of course, two of the aforementioned RPGs are based directly on foundational works of pulp fantasy, while the other self-avowedly looks to pulp literature for its inspiration. There may be a few other contrary examples here and there, but, for the most part, fantasy roleplaying games have followed the lead of <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons </i>in treating magic purely instrumentally – differing from safe, reliable technology only in esthetics.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-gkpKpVcxxwxMmgiAaL8ie-giMsVRxZj8AO4A9iHvFBpYyrY42uKySBczxNOQ4pcYD9p6bGhCi_LEzaaNEDQF573XIFRsmgzhP6onaytCaKi8w4gyaHNaHgnJWkjyrJhJvjaMa4h844I2CdCJ0_5nD_tm8aiMf6_CreqQh0tYWLmd64YE7QdcicBEK7c/s459/zap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="459" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-gkpKpVcxxwxMmgiAaL8ie-giMsVRxZj8AO4A9iHvFBpYyrY42uKySBczxNOQ4pcYD9p6bGhCi_LEzaaNEDQF573XIFRsmgzhP6onaytCaKi8w4gyaHNaHgnJWkjyrJhJvjaMa4h844I2CdCJ0_5nD_tm8aiMf6_CreqQh0tYWLmd64YE7QdcicBEK7c/w400-h339/zap.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Back in <i>Dragon </i>#65 (September 1982), <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/11/interview-phil-foglio.html">Phil Foglio</a> lampooned this to good effect in his <i>What's New with Phil &amp; Dixie. </i>In this particular strip, Phil claims that the differences between medieval and science fiction RPGs can be summed up in one word: <i>none. </i>When Dixie objects, he then provides her with a series of examples to prove his point that, while tendentious, nevertheless contain a ring of truth. The comic even invokes Clarke's Third Law for additional support.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifkHRCvQfTfHC4ADbUsqsWuqhINOsg9NLSfH0TUY0f3a5XSkKA__x9FlYMFvlF_4-uc2r7odobRRuq_yF5E9FPhPOfeOVe7phq1HlSE2dd8pbqntiuIVQs7zePMR6H1BK2qGK9P7tuN4ZmzW_89cnGfu8uryupNASXZbs7iRhcNc8cGP4gr5Wgd9ulS-DR/s450/clarke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="450" height="363" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifkHRCvQfTfHC4ADbUsqsWuqhINOsg9NLSfH0TUY0f3a5XSkKA__x9FlYMFvlF_4-uc2r7odobRRuq_yF5E9FPhPOfeOVe7phq1HlSE2dd8pbqntiuIVQs7zePMR6H1BK2qGK9P7tuN4ZmzW_89cnGfu8uryupNASXZbs7iRhcNc8cGP4gr5Wgd9ulS-DR/w400-h363/clarke.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you look at the history of the hobby over the last half-century, the paradigm of magic-as-technology has clearly been the most common. Whether that's because <i>D&amp;D</i>&nbsp;set the pattern by adopting it or because it's just a simpler and perhaps even more fun way to handle magic, I can't say. Still, as a fan of dangerous magic, it's hard not to be a little saddened by how rarely it's been employed in RPGs over the decades. Perhaps it's time for a change ...</div></div><p></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/8899137546927146228/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-cost-of-power.html#comment-form' title='20 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/8899137546927146228'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/8899137546927146228'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-cost-of-power.html' title='The Cost of Power'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecTrriHAzdIoC4H1Audc6uO3lyy4mJs3E7HJ2rvZJiNs1_XX5guMYBvogTqsAYk97pzlT3TtR0vot_1EFw8L1NwxrzCpcUwhuIcyAbPnJESbbc1kb1HgeDJKKTShHLkSj3u5lU69VCwsEWeEjAECPfDixVDiUD-VL_LlTMTZlp_ViwpRco9MGyDClveyL/s72-w290-h400-c/nancy.png" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>20</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-2255575325529533500</id><published>2024-05-23T12:00:00.031-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-23T12:00:00.343-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="2e"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="ADnD"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="brandification"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="david cook"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="greyhawk"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="retrospective"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tsr"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wargames"/><title type='text'>Retrospective: Greyhawk Wars</title><content type='html'><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXw6MKlK6lyx0_grl2aFi5j1IMeAOGG8OrVwzI2vPhBut7bICWIIQRFKohIxinSXwjECERIu2WCMHUmko1d1VzS3HMyHbQgv9E4vXOYM7ry3riMaueUHZTK3IgkuXdNYXfDIgThOUu7i2lLfqB8OebvsO6eeJR_GqdiKzChpeXUk0rLnj-IIJLpefsUnD/s851/greyhawkwars.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="851" data-original-width="646" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXw6MKlK6lyx0_grl2aFi5j1IMeAOGG8OrVwzI2vPhBut7bICWIIQRFKohIxinSXwjECERIu2WCMHUmko1d1VzS3HMyHbQgv9E4vXOYM7ry3riMaueUHZTK3IgkuXdNYXfDIgThOUu7i2lLfqB8OebvsO6eeJR_GqdiKzChpeXUk0rLnj-IIJLpefsUnD/w304-h400/greyhawkwars.jpg" width="304" /></a></div>I've never been much of a wargamer (take a drink). Despite that, I've always been <i>interested in </i>wargaming, particularly the hex-and-chit variety epitomized by Avalon Hill. Over the years, I've <i>dabbled </i>in wargames, such as my recent <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/08/asymmetric-warfare.html">flirtation</a> <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/10/rebellion-victorious.html">with the</a> <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/12/inevitability.html">COIN series</a> published by GMT, but I've never really <i>committed </i>to them in the way that many of my friends have done. I thus have a minor inferiority complex about this, feeling that my gaming "education" is somehow deficient because I haven't played wargames as often or as widely as my peers.<br /><p></p><div>So, when TSR released a board wargame set in Gary Gygax's <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2023/09/retrospective-world-of-greyhawk.html">World of Greyhawk</a> </i>setting in 1991, I took immediate notice of it. <i>This </i>was my chance to get in some much needed wargaming experience. Alas, things didn't quite go as planned on this score, but I'll get to that soon enough. For the moment, let's focus on the matter of the game's <i>title</i>. According to the box cover, one could be forgiven for thinking it's called <i>Greyhawk Adventures: Wars. </i>However, the text of the rulebook repeatedly calls it simply&nbsp;<i>Greyhawk Wars</i>, which is how I've always referred to it, though some online spaces (<a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2307/greyhawk-adventures-wars">like BoardGameGeek</a>) favors the longer, more ponderous title.</div><div><br /></div><div>In addition to the possible confusion over the title, it's also worth noting that, despite being a wargame, <i>Greyhawk Wars </i>was released under the <i>Advanced Dungeons &amp; Dragons 2nd Edition </i>banner. This is in spite of the fact that it contains <i>no roleplaying content whatsoever</i>, not even the thin gruel provided by <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2021/07/retrospective-dragons-of-glory.html">Dragons of Glory</a></i>, another TSR strategic-level wargame set within a <i>D&amp;D </i>campaign world. Of course, TSR had long been notorious about slapping the <i>(A)D&amp;D </i>logo on just about everything, in an effort to build and expand its "brand." Compared to, say, <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/09/power-creatures.html">wind-up toys</a> or <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/10/tsrs-future-is-so-bright.html">sunglasses</a>, this particular bit of brand building was pretty innocuous and indeed could be justified in that it was intended to be the lead-in to a relaunch of the <i>World of Greyhawk </i>setting.</div><div><br /></div><div>Though Gygax departed TSR for good by 1986, the company retained control of Greyhawk. Throughout the late 1980s, there were a handful of Greyhawk products released, most notably <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2022/09/retrospective-greyhawk-adventures.html" style="font-style: italic;">Greyhawk Adventures</a>, but none of them, in my opinion, did a good job of carrying on the flavor and tone set by Gygax's original. If anything, they <i>blandified </i>the setting, reducing it to the worst kind of <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/10/in-praise-of-vanilla.html">vanilla</a> fantasy. Unsurprisingly, the setting's popularity – and, therefore, <i>sales – </i>declined, especially when compared to TSR's other two <i>AD&amp;D </i>settings: Krynn and the <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/09/retrospective-forgotten-realms-campaign.html">Forgotten Realms</a>.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>TSR probably recognized this fact, which is why, starting in the early '90s, the company&nbsp;attempted to better differentiate the World of Greyhawk in the hopes that it'd be more appealing to <i>AD&amp;D </i>players. The first step in doing so was <i>Greyhawk Wars</i>. The wargame, designed by <a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/07/interview-david-zeb-cook-part-i.html">David</a> "Zeb" <a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/07/interview-david-zeb-cook-part-ii.html">Cook</a>, concerns a massive war that engulfs the peoples and kingdoms of the Flanaess, one whose results upend the status quo presented in previous <i>World of Greyhawk </i>products. Whatever my personal feelings about the end result, it's hard not to admire the <i>boldness </i>of this approach. For years beforehand, Gary Gygax, in periodic Greyhawk updates published in <i>Dragon</i>, had been hinting at the possibility of such a large-scale "world war," but he never pulled the trigger on the idea, probably because he intended Oerth to be an open-ended "steady state" setting each Dungeon Master could customize according to his own desires.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Greyhawk Wars </i>takes a very different approach. Instead of leaving the World of Greyhawk perpetually teetering on the edge of grand events, Cook opts to topple the whole structure, throwing long established peoples, places, and situations into chaos. At the end of the battles depicted in the wargame, a new order is established across the Flanaess, one where the forces of Good are battered, beaten, and on the defensive, while Evil, as represented by the Empire of Iuz, the Scarlet Brotherhood, and the successor states of the Great Kingdom is on the rise. The result is something that's definitely <i>different </i>from the original <i>World of Greyhawk</i>. Whether it's <i>better </i>is another matter.</div><div><br /></div><div>As tabletop wargames go, <i>Greyhawk Wars </i>occupies a middle ground between being simple enough a newcomer can easily pick it up and so complex that only a hardened veteran of <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/06/retrospective-rise-and-decline-of-third.html">Third Reich</a> </i>could ever play it. The game rules are relatively short – only 8 pages – and straightforward. While there are lots of <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/04/for-love-of-counters.html">counters</a> (representing military units), there are no hexes. Instead, the map of the Flanaess into movement "areas" of varying size, based to some extent on terrain. Also included in the game are a number of cards, some of which represent random events and treasures that can be used to augment the abilities of military units. Named NPCs (called "Heroes") play a role in the game, too, which lends it a <i>slight </i>roleplaying flair, though, for the most part, this is still very much a standard wargame.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Greyhawk Wars </i>is intended for 2 to 6 players, depending on the scenario, each with its own victory conditions. These conditions, though, are solely for gaming purposes and have no bearing on the canonical versions of these events, much in the way that a Confederate player in a wargame about the American Civil War can emerge victorious, contrary to history. The 32-page <i>Adventurer's Book</i>&nbsp;lays out the "true" conclusion of the Greyhawk Wars, the one I described above, with Evil ascendant and Good on the defensive. This is in contrast to the earlier <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/10/retrospective-red-arrow-black-shield.html">Red Arrow, Black Shield</a> </i>module, which, while assuming a particular outcome for its world war, nevertheless considers the possibility of other outcomes and how they might affect ongoing campaigns. <i>Greyhawk Wars </i>allows for no such possibility and all subsequent Greyhawk products would follow the canonical version of history detailed in the <i>Adventurer's Book.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>As I alluded to at the start of this post, my own experiences with <i>Greyhawk Wars </i>weren't great. That's not a fault of the game, which is fine, if unexceptional. Rather, I had difficulty in finding others interested in taking the time to play any of its scenarios. Between setting up and playing, most took 3 hours or more – a short time compared to many wargames, I know – and that limited my pool of potential players. As a result, I don't think I ever played <i>Greyhawk Wars </i>more than a half-dozen times and rarely to conclusion. My perpetual quest for more wargaming knowledge and experience was thwarted once again.</div><div><br /></div><div>All that said, I can't help but find <i>Greyhawk Wars </i>a fascinating window into the last decade of TSR's existence. The mere fact that the company published something approximating a classic hex-and-chit wargame set in Greyhawk is remarkable in its own right. That it was also the first part of a larger plan to reboot Gary Gygax's campaign setting into something they hoped would be more attractive to fantasy roleplayers in the 1990s is just as remarkable. I can't speak much about the success of the former, since, as I said, I didn't get the chance to play it much. As to the latter, that's the subject of next week's Retrospective post, so stay tuned.</div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/2255575325529533500/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/retrospective-greyhawk-wars.html#comment-form' title='28 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/2255575325529533500'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/2255575325529533500'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/retrospective-greyhawk-wars.html' title='Retrospective: Greyhawk Wars'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXw6MKlK6lyx0_grl2aFi5j1IMeAOGG8OrVwzI2vPhBut7bICWIIQRFKohIxinSXwjECERIu2WCMHUmko1d1VzS3HMyHbQgv9E4vXOYM7ry3riMaueUHZTK3IgkuXdNYXfDIgThOUu7i2lLfqB8OebvsO6eeJR_GqdiKzChpeXUk0rLnj-IIJLpefsUnD/s72-w304-h400-c/greyhawkwars.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>28</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-6802564594575026072</id><published>2024-05-21T13:31:00.004-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-21T13:31:45.524-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="ADnD"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="alignment"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="dwarves"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="gamma world"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="magic"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="magic-user"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="mars"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="marvel"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="pendragon"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="polyhedron"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="psionics"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="rpga"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="star frontiers"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="superheroes"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tsr"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="ward"/><title type='text'>Polyhedron: Issue #27</title><content type='html'><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4bLDVXMj_-tTyD89BZVI8y0Ip26aOVvxHVgOPCcZkGofin61apZc0YAAxPva3rLBCZ5Xf6QOqe1V6qWpo7sr5FJrcRyQu4HF49xl4mV7nPoGLegE8Al5eAzUROpM5pkJDOokTACTFee42q-u2YoctkuUpVrk8vymQ6C3rf_iX6kDzgVCa67jTSqTm2gdB/s854/polyhedron27.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="648" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4bLDVXMj_-tTyD89BZVI8y0Ip26aOVvxHVgOPCcZkGofin61apZc0YAAxPva3rLBCZ5Xf6QOqe1V6qWpo7sr5FJrcRyQu4HF49xl4mV7nPoGLegE8Al5eAzUROpM5pkJDOokTACTFee42q-u2YoctkuUpVrk8vymQ6C3rf_iX6kDzgVCa67jTSqTm2gdB/w304-h400/polyhedron27.jpg" width="304" /></a></div>Issue #27 of <i>Polyhedron </i>(January 1986) features yet another cover by Roger Raupp, this time depicting a clan of dwarves. Raupp was a very prominent artist in the pages of both <i>Polyhedron </i>and <i>Dragon </i>during the second half of the 1980s – so prominent that, for me at least, his illustrations strongly define the look of that era. I also remember Raupp's work on many of the later Avalon Hill <i>RuneQuest</i>&nbsp;books, which, as I understand it, are very well regarded among Glorantha fans.&nbsp;<p></p><div>Leaving aside the forgettable "Notes from HQ," the issue properly kicks off with "Dominion" by Jon Pickens, which introduces a new type of spell for use by <i>AD&amp;D </i>magic-users. Unlike previous collections of new spells by Pickens, this one looks not to magic items for inspiration but rather <i>psionics. </i>All of the dominion spells concern "controlling the victim's voluntary muscles and sensory linkages." This is not <i>mind </i>control but rather <i>bodily </i>control of another being (with the senses being considered part of the body). It's an interesting approach and ultimately, I think, a better one than <i>AD&amp;D</i>'s psionics system, which, in addition to being mechanically dubious, didn't really mesh with the overall feel of the game.</div><div><br /></div><div>"The Thorinson Clan" by Skip Olsen presents five dwarves, related by <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2021/01/love-and-marriage.html">blood and marriage</a>, from his Norse mythology-inspired <i>AD&amp;D </i>campaign. These are the characters Roger Raupp portrayed on the cover. They're an interesting bunch and I must confess I appreciate the fact that Olsen's campaign is multi-generational, a style of play I think is under-appreciated (and one of the reasons I think so highly of <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/05/retrospective-pendragon.html">Pendragon</a></i>). Almost certainly coincidentally, this issue's installment of Errol Farstad's "The Critical Hit" offers a very positive review of <i>Pendragon</i>, which he calls "the stuff of which legends are made." Needless to say, I agree with his assessment.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next up is "She-Rampage" by Susan Lawson and Tom Robertson, a scenario for use with <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/02/retrospective-marvel-super-heroes.html">Marvel Super Heroes</a>. </i>As you might guess based on its title, the scenario involved She-Hulk but also a number of other female Marvel characters, like Valkyrie, Spider-Woman, Thundra, and Tigra. There's also an original character, Lucky Penny, who's based on the <i>Polyhedron</i>'s editor, Penny Petticord. The background to the adventure is rather convoluted and involves alternate Earths where one sex dominates the others. The male-dominated Earth, Machus, has learned of the existence of our Earth and sees the existence of super-powered women as a potential threat to be eliminated. This they attempt to do by traveling to our world and then – I am not making this up – releasing doctored photos and scurrilous stories in the pages of "a girlie magazine known as <i>Pander.</i>" Naturally, the superheroines take exception to this and it's clobberin' time. I have no words.</div><div><br /></div><div>Michael Przytarski's "Fletcher's Corner" looks at "problem players." More specifically, he's interested in two different types of players who can cause problems for the referee. The first is the "Sierra Club Player," who's memorized all the rulebooks and uses his knowledge to overcome every obstacle the referee sets before him. The second is the "Multi-Class Player," whose experience is so wide that he tells other players the best way to play their class. In each case, Pryztarski offers some advice on how best to handle these players. Like most articles of this sort, it's hard to judge how good his advice would have been at the time, because most of what he says is now commonsense and has been for a long time.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>"Alignment Theory" by Robert B. DesJardins is yet another attempt to make sense of <i>AD&amp;D</i>'s alignment. Like all such attempts, it's fine to the extent that you're willing to accept its premises. DesJardins argues that "law versus chaos" is a question of <i>politics</i>, while "good versus evil" is a question of <i>heart </i>(or morality). He makes this distinction in order to fight against the supposed notion that some players believe Lawful Good is <i>more good </i>than Chaotic Good – in short equating "law" with "good" and "chaos" with "evil." Was this a common belief then or now? I suppose it's possible players who entered the hobby through <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons </i>might have carried with them echoes of its threefold alignment system, but, even so, how common was it? I guess I long ago tired of alignment discussion, so it's difficult for me to care much about articles like this.</div><div><br /></div><div>This month, "Dispel Confusion" focuses solely on rules and other questions about <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/12/retrospective-star-frontiers.html">Star Frontiers</a></i>, which surprised me. Meanwhile, "Gamma Mars: The Attack" by James M. Ward offers up a dozen new mutants to be used in conjunction with the "Gamma Mars" article from <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/polyhedron-issue-26.html">last issue</a>. Most of these mutants are mutated Earth insects, but one represents the <i>original </i>Martian race, whose members have been lying beneath the planet's surface in wait for the right moment to strike against human colonists to the Red Planet. I find it notable that Ward was long interested in introducing extra-terrestrial beings into his post-apocalyptic settings, whether <i><a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/04/retrospective-gamma-world.html">Gamma World</a> </i>or <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/07/retrospective-metamorphosis-alpha.html">Metamorphosis Alpha</a>. </i>I wonder why it was an idea to which he returned so often?</div><div><br /></div><div>As you can probably tell by this post, my enthusiasm for re-reading <i>Polyhedron</i>&nbsp;is waning. I'm very close to the end of the issues I owned in my youth, so I may simply be anticipating the conclusion of this series. On the other hand, I also think there's a certain <i>tiredness </i>to the newszine itself. The content has never been as uniformly good as that of <i>Dragon</i>&nbsp;and it's become even more variable as it has depended more and more on submissions by RPGA members, few of which are as polished or imaginative as those to be found elsewhere. The end result is a 'zine that's sometimes a bit of a chore to read, never mind comment about intelligently.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Ah well. I'll soldier on.</div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/6802564594575026072/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/polyhedron-issue-27.html#comment-form' title='15 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/6802564594575026072'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/6802564594575026072'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/polyhedron-issue-27.html' title='Polyhedron: Issue #27'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4bLDVXMj_-tTyD89BZVI8y0Ip26aOVvxHVgOPCcZkGofin61apZc0YAAxPva3rLBCZ5Xf6QOqe1V6qWpo7sr5FJrcRyQu4HF49xl4mV7nPoGLegE8Al5eAzUROpM5pkJDOokTACTFee42q-u2YoctkuUpVrk8vymQ6C3rf_iX6kDzgVCa67jTSqTm2gdB/s72-w304-h400-c/polyhedron27.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>15</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-6633197808420025732</id><published>2024-05-20T15:00:00.100-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-20T15:00:00.235-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="ads of dragon"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="goblinoid games"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="memories"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="other games"/><title type='text'>Ever Want to Be a Vampire?</title><content type='html'><p>As a kid, something I really enjoyed about reading <i>Dragon </i>magazine was looking over its <i>advertisements. </i>Most issues had a couple of dozen (or more), often from companies I'd never heard of offering products I'd never seen. In too many cases, the ads were vague to the point of being cryptic. Consider this one that I saw in issue #80 (December 1983):</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTeHFMcZ8PNd5dBFRQBJ0jPNCb_mbS8xFROqra9TsYVZnvOqyYNaEJmbnSuo9urIO96HbbqdUTI6HpAKpea8NDrJGnwF3RKruUG7NWCsocC4E3YgdXQ6DdiZcUslk90pNxbXTcBSZvWxDWrQwY2NylAJlYp1brwBhsaJXps7a8JvHM90xZPei6RVCRd-6/s390/ww.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="361" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTeHFMcZ8PNd5dBFRQBJ0jPNCb_mbS8xFROqra9TsYVZnvOqyYNaEJmbnSuo9urIO96HbbqdUTI6HpAKpea8NDrJGnwF3RKruUG7NWCsocC4E3YgdXQ6DdiZcUslk90pNxbXTcBSZvWxDWrQwY2NylAJlYp1brwBhsaJXps7a8JvHM90xZPei6RVCRd-6/w370-h400/ww.jpg" width="370" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What exactly is this advertisement for? Is <i>Wizards World</i>&nbsp;a roleplaying game or something else entirely? At the time, I had no way of knowing, since I wasn't willing to risk $10 (over $30 in today's inflated currency) on a whim. I wouldn't find out the truth until nearly three decades later, when <a href="https://goblinoidgames.com/doku.php?id=start">Goblinoid Games</a> acquired the rights to <i><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/102024/wizards-world-original-1983&amp;affiliate_id=244071">Wizards' World</a></i>, making it available in both print and electronic forms.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>Wizards' World </i>is nothing special. It's similar to many other independent RPGs produced at the time in being amateurish and derivative but nevertheless made with great enthusiasm. Still, I'm glad to have solved this particular mystery. Do any readers recall any other similarly enigmatic advertisements? If so, I'd be interested in knowing what they were.</div><p></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/6633197808420025732/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/ever-want-to-be-vampire.html#comment-form' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/6633197808420025732'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/6633197808420025732'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/ever-want-to-be-vampire.html' title='Ever Want to Be a Vampire?'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLTeHFMcZ8PNd5dBFRQBJ0jPNCb_mbS8xFROqra9TsYVZnvOqyYNaEJmbnSuo9urIO96HbbqdUTI6HpAKpea8NDrJGnwF3RKruUG7NWCsocC4E3YgdXQ6DdiZcUslk90pNxbXTcBSZvWxDWrQwY2NylAJlYp1brwBhsaJXps7a8JvHM90xZPei6RVCRd-6/s72-w370-h400-c/ww.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-4444208322122948700</id><published>2024-05-20T00:00:00.438-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-20T00:00:00.235-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="3e"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="art"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="DnD"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="memories"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="musings"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="wotc"/><title type='text'>Heretical Thoughts (Part II)</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgejhoz810uP0MI-7aqaGkyzX1Lf7yCgJXjWHjaE_Cr91FY2J8n7vDKJ5fxRAFtwsVvXEB2QuqRCnhwhPlC1BUR09ejfhPOQvP9ai2RKGeJXA3khr6uC-FS_Pn4Zn1VzZ3mEke8HVhvM9YODoUz3TiLYuVgOEg6ZvZBoV0ZqGzC_MUEzJN85FLUli9APHrS/s526/3e-logo2.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="166" data-original-width="526" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgejhoz810uP0MI-7aqaGkyzX1Lf7yCgJXjWHjaE_Cr91FY2J8n7vDKJ5fxRAFtwsVvXEB2QuqRCnhwhPlC1BUR09ejfhPOQvP9ai2RKGeJXA3khr6uC-FS_Pn4Zn1VzZ3mEke8HVhvM9YODoUz3TiLYuVgOEg6ZvZBoV0ZqGzC_MUEzJN85FLUli9APHrS/w400-h126/3e-logo2.gif" width="400" /></a></div>Was Third Edition <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons </i>really that bad?<p></p><p>I know that it has a poor reputation among fans of old school <i>D&amp;D</i>, which is really to say, <i>TSR D&amp;D</i>, but is that reputation deserved? Was it truly a bad edition of "the world's most popular tabletop roleplaying game," to borrow a phrase – or does it simply catch a lot of grief for things not directly related to it <i>as a game</i>?&nbsp;</p><p>To place my thoughts in a little more context, let me provide a little <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-personal-gaming-history.html">personal history</a>. I played <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons – </i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/09/long-shadow-of-ad.html">mostly </a><i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/09/long-shadow-of-ad.html">AD&amp;D</a> – </i>more or less continuously from late 1979 till about 1996 or thereabouts. That's around the time TSR released the "Player's Option" series of books. By that point, I'd already begun to tire of <i>AD&amp;D </i>and had started to spend more time playing other RPGs, but something about the "Player's Option" volumes really vexed me. They were, in my opinion, a step too far, contributing further to my growing sense that <i>AD&amp;D </i>was bloated and directionless.&nbsp;</p><p>During the period between 1996 and 2000, I largely abandoned playing <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons </i>in any form, in favor of many other roleplaying games. Late in this period, I also began to make my first forays into professional writing. One of my earliest employers was <i>Wizard World, </i>publisher of&nbsp;the magazine <i>InQuest Gamer</i>. <i>InQuest </i>initially focused on collectible card games, but eventually expanded to cover games of all sorts, including RPGs.&nbsp;</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy446kG7309IzgonUAin-MyZHjrGIkJ3bVT0B7-vdUwcOwzZHib8O68gVAAmVX4Or50PRszVA4-lczhxbVDL1WwutZ7bFqoYibrPGp0lwN3V_IbVt-1NZqIbbgofqDMOav02L_qDck2EQRkNztzroEC6ISKQ6ynZ8oy2RWHSR_8vBzTwGULEl8TQH1RXdY/s537/phb.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="405" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy446kG7309IzgonUAin-MyZHjrGIkJ3bVT0B7-vdUwcOwzZHib8O68gVAAmVX4Or50PRszVA4-lczhxbVDL1WwutZ7bFqoYibrPGp0lwN3V_IbVt-1NZqIbbgofqDMOav02L_qDck2EQRkNztzroEC6ISKQ6ynZ8oy2RWHSR_8vBzTwGULEl8TQH1RXdY/s320/phb.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>Though I was a freelancer, I was often assigned articles that gave me access to people and materials that would otherwise have been hard to come by. In early 2000, for example, I was given a major assignment: <i>write about the upcoming new edition of D&amp;D. </i>To help me with this, Wizards of the Coast sent me pre-release proofs of the 3e&nbsp;<i>Player's Handbook. </i>I spent several weeks reading the text and giving the rules a test drive with my gaming group.&nbsp;<p></p><p>This was the first time I'd played any version of <i>D&amp;D </i>in several years – and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Indeed, I enjoyed it so much that, after I'd written the article for <i>InQuest</i>, I kept playing a Frankenstein version of "3e" cobbled together from the proofs WotC sent me augmented by 2e books to fill in any gaps (like monsters and magic items). We continued playing in this fashion until all three of the 3e core rulebooks were released between August and October of that year.&nbsp;</p><p>Third Edition brought me back to playing <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons</i>&nbsp;after a long hiatus. For that reason alone, I find it difficult to bear any ill will toward the edition. Then, as now, I had qualms about certain aspects of its design – its emphasis on "system mastery," for instance – but the fact that it reminded me just how fun <i>D&amp;D </i>could be is a huge point in its favor. 3e simultaneously felt <i>fresh and vibrant </i>while also remembering its roots. Unlike late Second Edition, which was, to put it charitably, a chaotic mess without any clear sense of what it was about, Third Edition proudly advertised itself as a "back to the dungeon" edition. This restored to <i>D&amp;D </i>a much-needed focus.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXAvzzljRLz6dp2rU1Zp4DybOp0JkMuyQmJLhkuVuoahvKUj0l5wOYBReO613A2hsKfwBa1reMqk_InsylkV09xdQB6j3xAEdmFO7Q7mJp5KCu0KxL0d0unv-7smvo_6foAvSJtyN-j82AnbzrPy-TWpzBIxwpmOpMghojLapTEGWt90RXH0YQog8oEOz/s538/dmg.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="414" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXAvzzljRLz6dp2rU1Zp4DybOp0JkMuyQmJLhkuVuoahvKUj0l5wOYBReO613A2hsKfwBa1reMqk_InsylkV09xdQB6j3xAEdmFO7Q7mJp5KCu0KxL0d0unv-7smvo_6foAvSJtyN-j82AnbzrPy-TWpzBIxwpmOpMghojLapTEGWt90RXH0YQog8oEOz/s320/dmg.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>Of course, this wasn't the only way that 3e remembered its roots. A careful reading of the text of its three rulebooks revealed just how much of its verbiage it shares with previous editions, particularly when it came to the descriptions of spells, monsters, and magic items. This might not seem like a big deal, but it would prove to be very important. That's because Third Edition was the first "open" edition of <i>D&amp;D</i>, most of whose contents (via its System Reference Document, or SRD) were made freely available for use by other publishers through either the Open Game License (OGL) or the D20 System Trademark License (STL). For the first time ever, the publisher of <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons </i>was offering a <i>royalty-free</i> means to produce adventures, supplements – and even whole games – compatible with <i>D&amp;D.</i><p></p><p>The SRD and OGL quickly proved themselves <i>very </i>important and not just to the plethora of game companies that sprang up like mushrooms overnight to support 3e. By opening up the mechanical and conceptual "guts" of <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons</i>, Wizards of the Coast inadvertently gave birth to the Old School Renaissance. <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2021/04/before-osr_12.html">As early as 2004</a>, independent publishers were experimenting with using the SRD and OGL to create RPGs that resembled <i>earlier editions </i>of <i>D&amp;D</i>. The rest, as they say, is history, with the OSR quickly becoming both a movement and a genre, not to mention a permanent part of the larger hobby.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVl7xfBpUJv6fpgrga-rdew-T8dWIZJTUQsgZar6a_Q66LuvwxMPyy1CG9MKBGuWud4BU6Ozfp3-EKIcz-ZDg7ZWX5GZb4nmCDOt29IrKIM-jtP97Tci7RsmaoVZ6LmzqkNFeKP9ZDY8SQtr1Pl41VfhNw-f8l-rcQmmyfe4fyvzUvH9I62xowjWY8ceeH/s534/mm.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="403" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVl7xfBpUJv6fpgrga-rdew-T8dWIZJTUQsgZar6a_Q66LuvwxMPyy1CG9MKBGuWud4BU6Ozfp3-EKIcz-ZDg7ZWX5GZb4nmCDOt29IrKIM-jtP97Tci7RsmaoVZ6LmzqkNFeKP9ZDY8SQtr1Pl41VfhNw-f8l-rcQmmyfe4fyvzUvH9I62xowjWY8ceeH/s320/mm.jpg" width="241" /></a></div>Now, one might reasonably argue that neither of these qualities has anything to do with Third Edition as a game either. That's a defensible position, though I don't completely agree with it, as I'll soon explain. However, I think historical context is important here. After the mess that was late Second Edition, 3e was a surprisingly clear, rational, and accessible restatement of the classic RPG. Most of its major deviations from TSR era <i>D&amp;D</i>, like ascending armor class or new saving throw categories, served good purposes, even if I am no longer wholly on board with many of them. Nevertheless, <i>they worked </i>and facilitated play that, in my experience anyway, was quite reminiscent of how we played <i>D&amp;D </i>in the early to mid-1980s.&nbsp;<p></p><p>That's the important thing for me. Had Third Edition <i>not </i>played at the table as well as it did, I very much doubt that I'd have stuck with it. 3e brought me back to <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons </i>precisely because its designers wanted to produce a "modern" game that played enough like its predecessors that earlier materials were <i>roughly </i>compatible with it. Wizards of the Coast even released a short <a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/175363/dungeons-dragons-conversion-manual-2e-3e">conversion booklet</a> intended to help 2e players convert characters, magic, and monsters to the new edition. This demonstrates, I think, how seriously WotC at the time took its role as the new custodians of the original roleplaying game. The company wanted to retain old players even as it hoped to reach a new audience.</p><p>Of course, Third Edition had a lot of flaws. <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2022/01/heretical-thoughts.html">Like 2e</a>, its presentation left a lot to be desired, particularly its absurd "dungeonpunk" art style. Likewise, several of its new mechanical elements, like feats and prestige classes, soon overshadowed everything else, to the point where the elegance of its core rules design began to buckle and burst. By the end of its run, Third Edition was every bit as bloated and directionless as its predecessor, to the point that I once again abandoned official <i>D&amp;D</i>, this time for good. Fortunately, the SRD and OGL made retro-clones of earlier editions possible and my abandonment of WotC's subsequent versions didn't mean I couldn't keep playing a version of <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons </i>I still enjoyed, even if it now bore names like&nbsp;<i>Labyrinth Lord </i>or <i>Swords &amp; Wizardry </i>instead.</p><p>In the end, I don't see how one can reasonably claim that 3e was either a bad game or a bad edition of <i>D&amp;D</i>, except on the basis of very narrow criteria. I'm as curmudgeonly as they come – remember that I hate <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/12/if-you-meet-cthulhu-kill-him.html">plush Cthulhus</a> and <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/fake-nerd-holidays.html">fake nerd holidays</a> – and even I am no more willing to indict Third Edition for its worst excesses than I am to indict First Edition because of&nbsp;<i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2023/04/retrospective-unearthed-arcana.html">Unearthed Arcana</a>. </i>From my perspective, 3e injected some much-needed vitality into <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons </i>at a time when it needed it most. This not only ensured the game's continued pre-eminence among RPGs, but also laid the groundwork for the OSR. That's a legacy well worth celebrating.&nbsp;</p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0snU_7K1hYzBOdJ5STF-P-inrlrDFblOw_DwJlcDm0O-YO1y5pPHxG8tGXfIQ1ctrAAImVQ1Kl_ZbqdohUHf1G21EL0NHF7RL6mjDKnuWMYwzEANo_jZJfd4rvOjrg_30-q5euf4yOjT8G5LLlLeO8Ze-Qz_zGCEnufoQlVPI3_Vi6WBhDxjsOySiKvL/s566/sorcerer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0snU_7K1hYzBOdJ5STF-P-inrlrDFblOw_DwJlcDm0O-YO1y5pPHxG8tGXfIQ1ctrAAImVQ1Kl_ZbqdohUHf1G21EL0NHF7RL6mjDKnuWMYwzEANo_jZJfd4rvOjrg_30-q5euf4yOjT8G5LLlLeO8Ze-Qz_zGCEnufoQlVPI3_Vi6WBhDxjsOySiKvL/w283-h400/sorcerer.jpg" width="283" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That said, 3e's art really did suck.</td></tr></tbody></table></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/4444208322122948700/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/heretical-thoughts-part-ii.html#comment-form' title='56 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/4444208322122948700'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/4444208322122948700'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/heretical-thoughts-part-ii.html' title='Heretical Thoughts (Part II)'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgejhoz810uP0MI-7aqaGkyzX1Lf7yCgJXjWHjaE_Cr91FY2J8n7vDKJ5fxRAFtwsVvXEB2QuqRCnhwhPlC1BUR09ejfhPOQvP9ai2RKGeJXA3khr6uC-FS_Pn4Zn1VzZ3mEke8HVhvM9YODoUz3TiLYuVgOEg6ZvZBoV0ZqGzC_MUEzJN85FLUli9APHrS/s72-w400-h126-c/3e-logo2.gif" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>56</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-5189251066510639616</id><published>2024-05-17T12:00:00.093-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-17T12:00:00.256-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="2e"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="ADnD"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="art"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="grubb"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tsr"/><title type='text'>The Flammarion Engraving</title><content type='html'><p>In the foreword to the <i>Lorebook of the Void</i>, one of the two volumes included in the original <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/retrospective-spelljammer-ad-adventures.html">Spelljammer</a> </i>boxed set, <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/08/interview-jeff-grubb-part-i.html">Jeff</a> <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/08/interview-jeff-grubb-part-ii.html">Grubb</a>&nbsp;talks about a bit about its creative origins. One paragraph of that foreword has long stuck with me.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cdV0tF-rTPvpyB9WV2UZiX-66qWhY8-Rkr182ohuAeUm8vdjhwRy5rIUmS9SyFc7muV0FGRzu6dzwgJUKRUAEA-3JcVFsEl78cUG-JbgbiWovaSa3aL8ThbKJdsHchfui8gA4QtOKiQddn8pdXrLHnPqrhL064qT314wh5gKf-wrwEA85VHOVy18fiVg/s330/sj.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="330" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cdV0tF-rTPvpyB9WV2UZiX-66qWhY8-Rkr182ohuAeUm8vdjhwRy5rIUmS9SyFc7muV0FGRzu6dzwgJUKRUAEA-3JcVFsEl78cUG-JbgbiWovaSa3aL8ThbKJdsHchfui8gA4QtOKiQddn8pdXrLHnPqrhL064qT314wh5gKf-wrwEA85VHOVy18fiVg/w400-h226/sj.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When I first read this, I thought it was very cool, because, even at the time, I thought <i>D&amp;D </i>could do with a little more genuinely&nbsp;<i>medieval </i>influence on its fantasy. Even if, in the end, the cosmos presented by&nbsp;<i>Spelljammer </i>bore only the most superficial resemblance to the conceptions of medieval thinkers, it was still (in my youthful eyes anyway) a step in the right direction.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I spent some time in the early '90s trying to find these "medieval woodcuts" to no avail. This was before Internet search engines were very good, so I wasn't completely surprised that I might not find a good example of what he might have been referring to. However, some years later I did come across one image that looked like it <i>might </i>have been the kind of thing Grubb had seen.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8dWZPPL7RZ0FP7EfSbr1LQRIS0Ihn5Ci7Czqx1lHwVJTyPIuD5OkG_Ucds0X8QQKSEkMam5D5AYp8vhhmTypAATQ7g_GIRf-inHIxzKp2062MVQchSNuIMLAkpwN5GVoJL1PUO0O48eVP2N5n2FJVjhAF0QwX20YfCyAarZO1uVWruHyPjM6FCLwgfGH/s1280/Flammarion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1280" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8dWZPPL7RZ0FP7EfSbr1LQRIS0Ihn5Ci7Czqx1lHwVJTyPIuD5OkG_Ucds0X8QQKSEkMam5D5AYp8vhhmTypAATQ7g_GIRf-inHIxzKp2062MVQchSNuIMLAkpwN5GVoJL1PUO0O48eVP2N5n2FJVjhAF0QwX20YfCyAarZO1uVWruHyPjM6FCLwgfGH/w400-h335/Flammarion.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is the so-called "Flammarion engraving," which first appeared in the 1888 book,&nbsp;<i>L'atmosphère : météorologie populaire, </i>by Camille Flammarion. Apparently, its artist is unknown, but it became very popular in the 1960s as an illustration of psychedelic experiences, the opening of the human mind to new realities. Regardless of its original intent, it's a very striking and evocative image, so I can understand why it is that Grubb might have been inspired by it, if indeed this is the "medieval woodcut" that David Cook showed him all those years ago.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Looking around online, I discovered <a href="https://grubbstreet.blogspot.com/2011/02/spelljamming-innnn-spppaaaaaace.html">a blog post</a> by Grubb from more than a decade ago in which he talks a bit about the creation of <i>Spelljammer. </i>It's a very interesting post, filled with plenty of details I didn't know. Among those details is Grubb's admission that, yes, the above image was indeed the one that inspired him, though he connects it to Daniel Boorstin's 1983 book, <i>The Discoverers</i>, rather than Flammarion. I'm glad to know that my guess was correct. Anyway, read the whole blog post if you'd like to know more about the prehistory of <i>Spelljammer</i>.</div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/5189251066510639616/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-flammarion-engraving.html#comment-form' title='10 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/5189251066510639616'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/5189251066510639616'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-flammarion-engraving.html' title='The Flammarion Engraving'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cdV0tF-rTPvpyB9WV2UZiX-66qWhY8-Rkr182ohuAeUm8vdjhwRy5rIUmS9SyFc7muV0FGRzu6dzwgJUKRUAEA-3JcVFsEl78cUG-JbgbiWovaSa3aL8ThbKJdsHchfui8gA4QtOKiQddn8pdXrLHnPqrhL064qT314wh5gKf-wrwEA85VHOVy18fiVg/s72-w400-h226-c/sj.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>10</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-460965805427674058</id><published>2024-05-17T00:00:00.319-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-17T00:00:00.421-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="brandification"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="DnD"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="television"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tsr"/><title type='text'>The Path to Adventure</title><content type='html'><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRKCm4-HDhKWoI8UpoVkeWZL6P5lkYqAzjBjS1BJi7vFQLq6nzc1-2uiUP3CwXsfVGIYZubY0Ss8VOHj53LIXF_dE02SgkjOS4zb8W1k0ODmnX2A2iACKOaBrTMcaVs81IivfBd1gsZOfrQaS4u2WuY12guL0TwQ7U4CwW3bmybvjdAuhZPHdTP-eueoQz/s1136/dtoon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="783" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRKCm4-HDhKWoI8UpoVkeWZL6P5lkYqAzjBjS1BJi7vFQLq6nzc1-2uiUP3CwXsfVGIYZubY0Ss8VOHj53LIXF_dE02SgkjOS4zb8W1k0ODmnX2A2iACKOaBrTMcaVs81IivfBd1gsZOfrQaS4u2WuY12guL0TwQ7U4CwW3bmybvjdAuhZPHdTP-eueoQz/w276-h400/dtoon1.jpg" width="276" /></a>I've commented in several previous posts that the period between 1982 and 1984 is a fascinating one for both TSR and its most famous product, <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons. </i>This period, I believe, represents the peak of game's&nbsp;faddish popularity, when the company was so flush with cash – and keen to ensure its continued flow – that it slapped the <i>D&amp;D </i>logo on almost everything, from <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/11/brandification-in-action.html">woodburning</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-future-of-tsr-hobbies-inc.html">needlepoint</a> sets&nbsp;to <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/09/power-creatures.html">toys</a> and <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/09/surfs-up.html">beach towels</a>, to name just a few. Of course, this same period also saw the publication of the Frank Mentzer edited <i>D&amp;D Basic Set</i>, the best-selling version of that venerable product that TSR ever released, whose sales no doubt contributed greatly to the company's bottom line.</p><p>Right smack in the middle of this same period is the premier of the CBS animated television series for which Gary Gygax is credited as a co-producer. The series, which ran for three seasons between 1983 and 1985 and a total of 27 episodes, was part of an effort to increase the <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-limited-pop-cultural-footprint-of-d.html">pop cultural footprint</a> of <i>D&amp;D </i>beyond the realm of RPGs. So far as I know, the cartoon was the only fruit of that effort, despite Gygax's <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2023/12/gygax-on-d-movie.html">frequent reports</a> that a <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2023/12/polyhedron-issue-13.html"><i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons </i>movie</a> of some sort was in the works. Readers more knowledgeable than I can correct me if I am mistaken in this judgment.</p><p>Because I was too old for its intended target audience, <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/04/gimme-break.html">I never paid close attention</a> to the <i>D&amp;D </i>cartoon during its initial run. Consequently, I took even less note of the various cartoon-branded products released in conjunction with it. I could probably write several posts about this topic and perhaps I eventually will, but, for the moment, what most interests me are the six "Pick a Path to Adventure" books published in 1985 by TSR. As you might expect, these books are all very similar to the <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2021/02/retrospective-dungeon-of-dread.html"><i>Endless Quest</i></a>&nbsp;series (themselves modeled on the earlier and more well known <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2021/02/retrospective-dungeon-of-dread.html">"Choose Your Own Adventure"</a> books), but drawing on characters and elements of the cartoon.&nbsp;</p><p>As I said, I was completely unaware of the existence of these books until comparatively recently. I certainly never saw them at the time of their original publication. Even if I had, there's zero chance I'd have read them, given my superior attitude toward the series and its perceived&nbsp;<a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/03/kiddie-d.html">kiddification</a> of my beloved <i>D&amp;D. </i>Now, I find myself somewhat curious about them, if only because some of them apparently introduce new characters (like Eric the Cavalier's younger brother) and concepts unseen in the series. In addition, each of the six books uses a different member of the ensemble cast as its viewpoint character, which is actually not a bad idea. (Take note as well that first book in the series was written by Margaret Weis of <i>Dragonlance </i>fame).</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9HhGRvcAq8YdNJgqHTTUBS3wtfWHVa5Gt2FVUaohGvDmMmPoGTiN5mIEnVEt-z6vVP3oF2p9qfHmmZXfzV6HLN3nmGY9I_hsEoe5FugZHDv3pBuERG3a5HjWkafluysMa2ogLoNDDn8HVapWV6qN_JdCqesJSlvaWn1cc5PkJk4BCeJhUXg_5Br-otVny/s1136/ffb1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="796" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9HhGRvcAq8YdNJgqHTTUBS3wtfWHVa5Gt2FVUaohGvDmMmPoGTiN5mIEnVEt-z6vVP3oF2p9qfHmmZXfzV6HLN3nmGY9I_hsEoe5FugZHDv3pBuERG3a5HjWkafluysMa2ogLoNDDn8HVapWV6qN_JdCqesJSlvaWn1cc5PkJk4BCeJhUXg_5Br-otVny/w280-h400/ffb1.jpg" width="280" /></a></div>Looking into these books online revealed that, contemporaneous with the <i>Endless Quest</i> books (and a few years before the cartoon-branded books), TSR produced <i>another </i>series of "Pick a Path to Adventure" books under the <i>Fantasy Forest </i>brand. From what I can tell, they appear to have been geared towards a younger audience than the <i>Endless Quest</i> books. Likewise, these books don't carry the <i>D&amp;D </i>logo anywhere, though some of them, like <i>The Ring, the Sword, and the Unicorn</i>, proclaim "From TSR, Inc., the producers of the DUNGEONS &amp; DRAGONS cartoon show."&nbsp;<p></p><p>Once again, these are books of which I was completely unaware at the time and that I've not seen, let alone read, in the years since. If anyone among my readers has read them, I'd like to know a bit more about them, specifically whether they contain anything that connects them to <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons. </i>I would assume that they do, because what other purpose would TSR have had in publishing them beyond creating a potential new audience for its games? However, judging solely on the basis of the books' covers, they all look fairly generic. Their connection to <i>D&amp;D</i>, if any, would seem to be limited.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuweC5Nuc2iTLBHQOQERBh9GFOYF4xxMC0EabdltgNBy0muLZN2_lV2UEHUzoBv61X5CKrbX8dbij6MVgukmkaziU46C3DoAGxnqlA6iGSvOGhpxpW4hdGfYfsuv46METK1iurCHQZZY2emP9zCAf9bSBSrUJDd-_BTBJlVN6wjJ19X566XelFNh2oGTIx/s2164/hq1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2164" data-original-width="1268" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuweC5Nuc2iTLBHQOQERBh9GFOYF4xxMC0EabdltgNBy0muLZN2_lV2UEHUzoBv61X5CKrbX8dbij6MVgukmkaziU46C3DoAGxnqlA6iGSvOGhpxpW4hdGfYfsuv46METK1iurCHQZZY2emP9zCAf9bSBSrUJDd-_BTBJlVN6wjJ19X566XelFNh2oGTIx/w235-h400/hq1.jpg" width="235" /></a></div>TSR produced another series of "Pick a Path to Adventure" books – or should I say "Pick a Path to <i>Romance </i>and Adventure?" – the (in)famous <i>HeartQuest </i>series of fantasy romance novels. Unlike the other two series, I <i>did </i>know about these. I have a vague recollection of first seeing mention of them in the pages of <i>Dragon</i>, but, despite all my best efforts, I can find no evidence of this. In any case, I saw these in either Waldenbooks or B. Dalton sometimes in 1983 or '84 and had a strongly negative reaction to their existence. Their covers, reminiscent of the Harlequin romance books from the same time, certainly did nothing to endear them to me.<p></p><p>Like the <i>Fantasy Forest </i>series, <i>HeartQuest </i>does not seem to have been explicitly connected to <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons</i>, at least as far as branding goes. From what I've gathered, they're not actually bad books for what they are, though nothing special. I would imagine that they were another prong in TSR's attempts to expand the audience of their products (and thus their sales). Given that, unlike the <i>Endless Quest</i> books, which had several dozen titles, <i>HeartQuest </i>only had six, suggesting that, whatever its quality, they failed to achieve the goals TSR had set for them.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>I've sometimes jokingly called 1982–1984 the period when TSR was throwing a lot of spaghetti against the wall in the vain hope that some of it might stick. The company certainly tried many different approaches to expanding its customer base to what appears to have been limited success. On the other hand, these book series may well have played a role in helping to build up the company's publishing division. That division would eventually prove <i>very </i>successful – so successful, in fact, that, by the 1990s, it would become the cart pulling the horse of TSR's fortunes. That's a story for a different day (and probably a different writer, since I don't know enough about its fine details). Still, it's always fascinating to look into the forgotten corners of the hobby's history like the "Pick a Path to Adventure" books.</p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/460965805427674058/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-path-to-adventure.html#comment-form' title='11 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/460965805427674058'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/460965805427674058'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/the-path-to-adventure.html' title='The Path to Adventure'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRKCm4-HDhKWoI8UpoVkeWZL6P5lkYqAzjBjS1BJi7vFQLq6nzc1-2uiUP3CwXsfVGIYZubY0Ss8VOHj53LIXF_dE02SgkjOS4zb8W1k0ODmnX2A2iACKOaBrTMcaVs81IivfBd1gsZOfrQaS4u2WuY12guL0TwQ7U4CwW3bmybvjdAuhZPHdTP-eueoQz/s72-w276-h400-c/dtoon1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>11</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-4362647886297446674</id><published>2024-05-15T00:00:00.292-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-15T00:00:00.436-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="2e"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="ADnD"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="grubb"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="retrospective"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tsr"/><title type='text'>Retrospective: Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUJ5BUCvYwo7UvTfDdMhvHtfQIsABOvjexB_DmcnCs-q9-fh3bBlJOZege67oPxIVKsha8xuW94fkSUUX33SFXIaRPmeEgFVrgzX7fjKyS_111ZuCVL7RKDlL1IMMgVT-T89_7x_5O8Esil5-khXFUL9cJ3q1Z1IS7LL_g27ONTWw5m6nlE-97x3Atcc8/s857/spelljammer.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="857" data-original-width="645" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUJ5BUCvYwo7UvTfDdMhvHtfQIsABOvjexB_DmcnCs-q9-fh3bBlJOZege67oPxIVKsha8xuW94fkSUUX33SFXIaRPmeEgFVrgzX7fjKyS_111ZuCVL7RKDlL1IMMgVT-T89_7x_5O8Esil5-khXFUL9cJ3q1Z1IS7LL_g27ONTWw5m6nlE-97x3Atcc8/w241-h320/spelljammer.jpg" width="241" /></a></div><p><i>Spelljammer: AD&amp;D Adventures in Space </i>is a guilty pleasure of mine. Written and conceived by <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/08/interview-jeff-grubb-part-i.html">Jeff</a> <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/08/interview-jeff-grubb-part-ii.html">Grubb</a>, this overstuffed boxed set was first released in 1989, just as I was transferring between two colleges. For a lot of reasons, this was a very tumultuous time in my life and, as a result, my memories of it are very vivid, even thirty-five years later – memories that include purchasing <i>Spelljammer </i>from a Waldenbooks in a <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2022/02/mall-memories.html">suburban mall</a>&nbsp;and then poring over its contents for some time afterwards.</p><p>As its subtitle suggests, <i>Spelljammer </i>took <i>AD&amp;D </i>2e into "space," though not in the traditional scientific (or even science fictional) sense of the word. Rather, Grubb took inspiration from ancient and medieval conceptions of the cosmos, in which the stars and planets are embedded within <i>celestial spheres </i>made of ether. Rather than multiple nested spheres containing all the celestial bodies of a single solar system, as the ancients conceived, Grubb imagined each sphere as encompassing an entire solar system or, more to the point, <i>an entire campaign setting</i>, with all the spheres floating within a "sea" of flammable material called phlogiston.</p><p>Through the use of flying vessels equipped with magical "helms," it was possible for the inhabitants of worlds within one sphere to journey to worlds within another. This was the high concept of <i>Spelljammer</i>: the ability to travel between TSR's various campaign settings by means of magical "space" ships. It's a very clever conceit, one reminiscent not just of ancient cosmology but also of Jack Vance's <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/10/pulp-fantasy-library-rhialto-marvellous.html">Rhialto the Marvelous</a>. </i>In addition to facilitating transit between existing settings, <i>Spelljammer </i>also opened up the development of a "bridge" setting between them, namely, the larger cosmos of races, organizations, and even worlds that make regular use of space travel.&nbsp;</p><p>In some respects, <i>Spelljammer </i>is the forerunner of both <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2012/07/retrospective-ravenloft-realm-of-terror.html">Ravenloft: Realm of Terror</a>&nbsp;</i>(1990) and&nbsp;<i>Planescape </i>(1994), two other TSR boxed campaign settings whose conceptual frameworks allowed characters from Greyhawk, the Forgotten Realms, Krynn, and elsewhere to adventure side by side while also exploring entirely new locales created to flesh out the bridge setting. In the case of <i>Spelljammer</i>, that bridge setting includes a mix of the good, the bad, and the downright weird. There's the pompous Elven Navy attempting to keep the peace, xenophobic beholders at war with themselves and everyone else, mysterious <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/09/aliens-among-us.html">mind flayers</a> with their nautilus ships, the spider-like neogi, and mercantile arcane, just to name a few. As presented in <i>Spelljammer</i>, the cosmos was positively <i>filled </i>with all manner of space-faring peoples – and an equally large number of space-based locales and mysteries.</p><p>Chief among these mysteries is the titular Spelljammer, an ancient – and <i>gigantic</i> – manta ray-shaped space vessel with an equally gigantic citadel on its back. The origins and true nature of the Spelljammer are unknown, making it the subject of many legends. It's also the destination of many a spacefaring adventurer, as the citadel on its back is reputed to hold untold magic and wealth for those bold enough to venture within. The Spelljammer is thus equal parts the Flying Dutchman of space and an old school megadungeon, which is itself a pretty good high concept.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>Of course, <i>Spelljammer </i>was replete with high concepts – and that's part of the problem. In an effort to be expansive and easy to use to use with any existing <i>AD&amp;D </i>campaign setting, <i>Spelljammer </i>is something of a curate's egg. I suspect that this was due less to Jeff Grubb's own preferences and more to directives from TSR regarding the boxed set's place within their larger publishing scheme. This prevents the bridge setting from having a strong flavor of its own, which is too bad, because it contains a lot of elements that I wish had been better (or differently) developed. Instead, the whole thing has a kind of underdone quality that fails to do full justice something I still consider to be a great idea to this day.</p><i>Spelljammer</i>&nbsp;straddles the line between <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/01/ages-of-d.html">the end of the Silver Age and the beginning of the Bronze Age of <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons</i></a>, which, I think, explains a lot. Like the products of the Silver Age, <i>Spelljammer </i>is an exemplar of the era's <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/01/silver-age-obsessions.html">"fantastic realism,"</a>&nbsp;itself a metastasis of <a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/09/gygaxian-naturalism.html">Gygaxian Naturalism</a>. At the same time, <i>Spelljammer </i>heralds the start of&nbsp;<i>AD&amp;D</i>'s "boxed set era," when TSR cranked out new boxed campaign settings (and expansions thereof) almost on a monthly basis – a seemingly never-ending parade of good ideas not given sufficient time to germinate. There's reason why so many gamers of a certain age have such affection for this period of <i>AD&amp;D</i>'s development. For all of the flaws in their output, almost all of these boxed sets contained good, imaginative ideas that inspired a lot of us, <i>Spelljammer </i>included.&nbsp;&nbsp;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/4362647886297446674/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/retrospective-spelljammer-ad-adventures.html#comment-form' title='34 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/4362647886297446674'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/4362647886297446674'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/retrospective-spelljammer-ad-adventures.html' title='Retrospective: Spelljammer: AD&D Adventures in Space'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUJ5BUCvYwo7UvTfDdMhvHtfQIsABOvjexB_DmcnCs-q9-fh3bBlJOZege67oPxIVKsha8xuW94fkSUUX33SFXIaRPmeEgFVrgzX7fjKyS_111ZuCVL7RKDlL1IMMgVT-T89_7x_5O8Esil5-khXFUL9cJ3q1Z1IS7LL_g27ONTWw5m6nlE-97x3Atcc8/s72-w241-h320-c/spelljammer.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>34</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-4421544828323487532</id><published>2024-05-14T00:00:00.236-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-14T00:00:00.235-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="ADnD"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="gamma world"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="magic"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="mentzer"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="moore"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="polyhedron"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="rpga"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tsr"/><title type='text'>Polyhedron: Issue #26</title><content type='html'><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_EowVy6rQPvOwpR6-D9lMIvrZrt75q_kzMrHrsdQ_MI1SYOXq1lk-1te0kjne4xmyFR_nBHBYJPajhsAdFuCcJ_2W-1fQpNf8d5BcfR8kLJmn-Uwyvxh7VcKJAyneOm-yWMyqLAWqCG__DrkrhSu0siVLweTX4s0BZaBCERrxUwHELfdZimg2WaGF9Zz/s848/polyhedron26.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="647" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_EowVy6rQPvOwpR6-D9lMIvrZrt75q_kzMrHrsdQ_MI1SYOXq1lk-1te0kjne4xmyFR_nBHBYJPajhsAdFuCcJ_2W-1fQpNf8d5BcfR8kLJmn-Uwyvxh7VcKJAyneOm-yWMyqLAWqCG__DrkrhSu0siVLweTX4s0BZaBCERrxUwHELfdZimg2WaGF9Zz/w305-h400/polyhedron26.jpg" width="305" /></a></div>Issue #26 of <i>Polyhedron </i>(November 1985) is another one that I recall very vividly, almost entirely because of its Roger Raupp cover, depicting a reptilian alien superimposed over what looks to be photograph from one of the Viking landers sent to Mars in the mid-70s. The cover was inspired by Roger E. Moore's article, "Gamma Mars," on which <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2023/04/beyond-gamma-world.html">I've briefly commented before</a>. I have lots to say about it but will hold off on doing so until later in this post.&nbsp;<br /><div><br /></div><div>"Notes from HQ" is, as usual, mostly filled with RPGA ephemera of minimal lasting value. There is, however, a brief section worthy of mention. The "City Project" announced in the <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/polyhedron-issue-25.html">previous issue</a>&nbsp;is moving forward, though Penny Petticord asks RPGA members to "hold your actual submissions until specific procedures are announced next issue." Furthermore, she explains HQ "will be finalizing details with Gary Gygax" regarding the placement of the city within the <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/03/retrospective-world-of-greyhawk.html">World of Greyhawk</a> </i>setting. Of course, Gygax would depart TSR less than a year later and the City Project would, in turn, head in a different direction.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next up is "Squeaky Wheels," a guest editorial by Frank Mentzer, in which he tackles criticisms of roleplaying games in the mass media. Mentzer isn't talking solely about the religiously-inflected <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2021/04/badd-arguments.html">Satanic Panic</a>&nbsp;– though he does have rebuttals to offer on that score – but also to more general worries about RPGs, such as the suggestion that playing these games inclines one to suicide. I must admit that, despite having lived through these times, I encountered almost no resistance to my involvement in roleplaying. If anything, my parents and the parents of my friends were incredibly <i>supportive </i>of our hobby. Perhaps we were just lucky, I don't know. In any case, I'll never cease to be baffled when I come across articles like this one. They're yet more evidence that <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/07/past-is-foreign-country.html">the past</a> <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/02/past-is-foreign-country-take-two.html">really is</a> <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/05/past-is-foreign-country-take-three.html">a foreign</a> <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2012/06/past-is-foreign-country-take-four.html">country</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Con-Fusion" by Fas Eddie Carmien is a brief collection of thank yous to the volunteers at GenCon 18 – nothing special. "Where Chaos Reigns" by Sonny Scott is more amusing, being a fictionalized account of his time working telephone assistance on behalf of the RPGA at GenCon. Though hardly an article for the ages, it's fun and, as someone who's worked at a phone bank a few times over the course of my life, the inanity of the calls Scott recounts seems very true to life. Michael D. Selinker's "A View of GenCon 18 Game Fair from RPGA Network HQ" is a day-by-day recounting of the con from the perspective of someone involved in its operation. I've never been involved in running a con, so I found this article more interesting than I expected. It's helped by the fact that Selinker can spin a good yarn and has a decent sense of humor.</div><div><br /></div><div>The third and final part of Frank Mentzer's <i>AD&amp;D </i>tournament adventure, <i>Needle</i>, appears in this issue. Part I focused on the location of the titular obelisk, while Part II was about the process of retrieving it for transport it across the sea. Part III concerns what happens after it's been installed in the palace square of the king who wanted it in the first place. In case you're wondering: a magical door to the Moon opens in its base and the characters must journey through it to see its wonders. As premises for an adventure go, it's not a bad one and Mentzer does a solid job of presenting intriguing and challenging encounters.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>"Dispel Confusion" is short this month, tackling only <i>AD&amp;D </i>and <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/04/retrospective-gamma-world.html">Gamma World </a></i>questions, none of which are especially memorable. For me, what's most fascinating is how increasingly truncated this column has become. In early issues of <i>Polyhedron</i>, "Dispel Confusion" covered two or three pages and covered <i>all </i>of TSR's RPGs. As time went on, its page length shortened and its focus contracted, with only <i>AD&amp;D </i>and <i>Gamma World </i>being consistently covered. The former is understandably, as it was always TSR's most popular and best selling game. <i>Gamma World</i>'s continued presence strikes me as stranger, as I never got the impression it was very successful, despite its having no fewer than <i>four </i>editions during TSR's time.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>Speaking of <i>Gamma World</i>, we come at last to Roger E. Moore's "Gamma Mars," which, as its title suggests, presents information on the state of the planet Mars in the post-apocalyptic 25th century of the game. In this timeline, Mars was first visited by human beings in 2002, with a stable colony growing there over the course of the 21st century. By 2076, the colony became independent of Earth. The colonists would eventually discover evidence of alien habitation on the planet – the reptilian Luntarians – but these beings are not natives to Mars but visitors from another planet outside our solar system. A small number of Luntarians placed themselves into suspended animation in the past and were subsequently revived just in time for the Social Wars to engulf Earth and cut Mars off from the mother planet.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was a big fan of the articles from <i>Dragon </i>that described <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/04/plants-vs-macrobes.html">the state of the Moon in </a><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/04/plants-vs-macrobes.html" style="font-style: italic;">Gamma World</a>, so I was understandably excited to learn more about the wider solar system of the game's setting. As described by Moore, Mars has only been partially terraformed. Its atmosphere, for example, remains too thin for humans to breathe unaided. In addition, pure strain humans predominate, since Mars largely sat out the conflict that devastated Earth. The result is a very different take on <i>Gamma World</i>, one where rival cities jockey with one another for power and rumors of alien ruins and technology form the basis for adventure. At the time, I found it compelling stuff; even now, I think there's something remarkable about it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jon Pickens provides "Unofficial Illusionist Spells" that are actually fairly interesting, at least when compared to the cleric and magic-user spells from previous issues. I think that's because, in <i>AD&amp;D</i>, there are comparatively few illusionist magic items and thus the spells here don't exist primarily to act as means of explaining how such items exist. Michael Przytarski's "Fletcher's Corner" also deals with magic, in this case magic items, which he first divides into the categories of "mundane, powerful, deadly, and ridiculous" with the goal of suggesting how common each type should be in a good campaign. He also addresses the question of "magic shops," something I get the impression was becoming increasingly common in mid-80s <i>AD&amp;D</i>&nbsp;(based on how often it was criticized in official TSR publications). The issue ends with Errol Farstad's positive review of <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/02/retrospective-twilight-2000.html">Twilight: 2000</a>.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Twenty-six issues in, <i>Polyhedron </i>continues to lack a solid, consistent foundation on which to build. As I have repeatedly said in this series, you never know what to expect from an issue, with some having numerous useful and excellent articles and others ...<i> less so</i>. While I completely understand why this was the case, it's disappointing and played a big part in why I'd eventually let my subscription lapse, even as I continued to read <i>Dragon </i>for many more years to come.&nbsp;</div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/4421544828323487532/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/polyhedron-issue-26.html#comment-form' title='4 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/4421544828323487532'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/4421544828323487532'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/polyhedron-issue-26.html' title='Polyhedron: Issue #26'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7_EowVy6rQPvOwpR6-D9lMIvrZrt75q_kzMrHrsdQ_MI1SYOXq1lk-1te0kjne4xmyFR_nBHBYJPajhsAdFuCcJ_2W-1fQpNf8d5BcfR8kLJmn-Uwyvxh7VcKJAyneOm-yWMyqLAWqCG__DrkrhSu0siVLweTX4s0BZaBCERrxUwHELfdZimg2WaGF9Zz/s72-w305-h400-c/polyhedron26.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>4</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-6626037696508624947</id><published>2024-05-13T00:00:00.065-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-13T08:27:47.993-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="character classes"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="sha-arthan"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="thief"/><title type='text'>Secrets of sha-Arthan: Tomb Robber</title><content type='html'><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2516" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-1SThTwGYNFzWtB-l0ahQfo6mEk0_qAdZHNhQUlpbK9U7VCYaJeNIMNJkchYwa35Al6TKn1S-H_Dq9SjiZsyyuFxBpJEDWyhRF-E-LkKGMrlDgPtXapnSc8gcsd8BT8M7KFoIbvM1omQjQdAStlCA3-xSzyym8sSvrsk0v1u84K5F7voCzYKUGO7sfYu/s320/tom%20robber-%20web.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="229" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A tomb robber by <a href="https://realmofzhu.blogspot.com/">Zhu Bajie</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-1SThTwGYNFzWtB-l0ahQfo6mEk0_qAdZHNhQUlpbK9U7VCYaJeNIMNJkchYwa35Al6TKn1S-H_Dq9SjiZsyyuFxBpJEDWyhRF-E-LkKGMrlDgPtXapnSc8gcsd8BT8M7KFoIbvM1omQjQdAStlCA3-xSzyym8sSvrsk0v1u84K5F7voCzYKUGO7sfYu/s2516/tom%20robber-%20web.jpg" style="clear: right; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">&nbsp;</span></a></p><h1>Tomb Robber&nbsp;</h1><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div><b>Prime Abilities: </b>DEX and INT</div><div><b>Hit Points:</b> 1d6 per level&nbsp;</div><div><b>Starting Possessions: </b>Leather breastplate, dagger, one-handed weapon, tool bag, 3d6 × 5ul</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>An almost universal custom among the myriad peoples and cultures of sha-Arthan is the burial of grave goods to aid the deceased in his journey to the afterlife. A tomb robber is someone who makes his living by stealing these goods, despite the strong taboos against it. The skills he acquires in these illicit endeavors make the tomb robber a valuable addition to expeditions into the Vaults.&nbsp;</div><h3><br /></h3><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span>Alertness</span></h4><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Thanks to his keen awareness of imminent danger, a tomb robber reduces the chance of his party being surprised to 1-in-6.</span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></h3><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span>Skills</span></h4><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A tomb robber begins with four +1 bonuses that may be applied to any of them following skills: Architecture, Climb, Lore, Luck, Search, Stealth, Survival, and Tinker. Each bonus must be applied to a different skill. Every level thereafter, he gains two additional +1 bonuses that can be applied to any of the aforementioned skills.&nbsp;</span></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Dead Languages:<span style="font-weight: normal;">&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Because of his familiarity with inscriptions in ancient ruins, the tomb robber does not suffer the usual –3 penalty for attempting to read dead languages.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span>Improvisation:&nbsp;</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">If specific equipment is normally required to use a skill he possesses, a tomb robber does not require it. If he does possess the equipment, he gets a +1 bonus to his roll.&nbsp;</span></span></li></ul></h3><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span>Trap Avoidance</span></h4><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">To succeed in his chosen professional, a tomb robber develops a knack for avoiding traps. This knack grants him a +2 bonus to saving throws to avoid the effects of traps.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVcLQK89q8hjo0aB1r4rwHF07Uur-AUuMUwxKUQ9Tx1geMYOxybZKXLouW5Q5qNRZB2Cy7vkIuqpJn34TERajVMPlUW01JTu_vjt1ytDidVrVLcN7grpqZsMKrM14k14SqDrm-rQjqfrMR9oUeNppz5h1-IKseEsHtkzskBGYECAUkdhu0y_zw7TwroMOk/s529/tombrobber.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="529" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVcLQK89q8hjo0aB1r4rwHF07Uur-AUuMUwxKUQ9Tx1geMYOxybZKXLouW5Q5qNRZB2Cy7vkIuqpJn34TERajVMPlUW01JTu_vjt1ytDidVrVLcN7grpqZsMKrM14k14SqDrm-rQjqfrMR9oUeNppz5h1-IKseEsHtkzskBGYECAUkdhu0y_zw7TwroMOk/w400-h174/tombrobber.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/6626037696508624947/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/secrets-of-sha-arthan-tomb-robber.html#comment-form' title='14 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/6626037696508624947'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/6626037696508624947'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/secrets-of-sha-arthan-tomb-robber.html' title='Secrets of sha-Arthan: Tomb Robber'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-1SThTwGYNFzWtB-l0ahQfo6mEk0_qAdZHNhQUlpbK9U7VCYaJeNIMNJkchYwa35Al6TKn1S-H_Dq9SjiZsyyuFxBpJEDWyhRF-E-LkKGMrlDgPtXapnSc8gcsd8BT8M7KFoIbvM1omQjQdAStlCA3-xSzyym8sSvrsk0v1u84K5F7voCzYKUGO7sfYu/s72-c/tom%20robber-%20web.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>14</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-8565519352213037556</id><published>2024-05-10T17:00:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-10T17:00:00.234-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="humor"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="miniatures"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="runequest"/><title type='text'>Speaking of Miniatures ...</title><content type='html'><p>Behold! <a href="https://www.infinity-engine.com/index.php?id_product=86&amp;controller=product">Qualos</a> – guardian of the <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2021/05/cheese-and-quackers.html">Duck</a> Temple. This is an official <i>RuneQuest </i>miniature produced by <a href="https://www.infinity-engine.com/index.php">Infinity-Engine</a>. Whether you use miniatures in your games or not, it's hard to deny that this one is pretty amazing.&nbsp;</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5orFDdP2HDLLag6_VaAHY2cVKhQLJDQQP7JdOYNyW_tIBlXpgn1a4JXRnrgRpgUI_H7b3wnUSeXu-8wqiMUWE4vuHzIKKslwBWhFjkudsYQOUm8Vd4bIJUM_2a-iKV7UUX5OV9tac4KQXcEnHMnr5nKnqaxfLRudOTbik9x6TjIsTHeVgsx_h8TwyCy-U/s800/qualos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5orFDdP2HDLLag6_VaAHY2cVKhQLJDQQP7JdOYNyW_tIBlXpgn1a4JXRnrgRpgUI_H7b3wnUSeXu-8wqiMUWE4vuHzIKKslwBWhFjkudsYQOUm8Vd4bIJUM_2a-iKV7UUX5OV9tac4KQXcEnHMnr5nKnqaxfLRudOTbik9x6TjIsTHeVgsx_h8TwyCy-U/w400-h400/qualos.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/8565519352213037556/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/speaking-of-miniatures.html#comment-form' title='15 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/8565519352213037556'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/8565519352213037556'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/speaking-of-miniatures.html' title='Speaking of Miniatures ...'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5orFDdP2HDLLag6_VaAHY2cVKhQLJDQQP7JdOYNyW_tIBlXpgn1a4JXRnrgRpgUI_H7b3wnUSeXu-8wqiMUWE4vuHzIKKslwBWhFjkudsYQOUm8Vd4bIJUM_2a-iKV7UUX5OV9tac4KQXcEnHMnr5nKnqaxfLRudOTbik9x6TjIsTHeVgsx_h8TwyCy-U/s72-w400-h400-c/qualos.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>15</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-5266481258523273901</id><published>2024-05-10T13:00:00.019-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-10T13:00:00.155-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="CoC"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="grenadier"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="memories"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="miniatures"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="musings"/><title type='text'>What's Behind That Door?</title><content type='html'><p>It is, of course, well established that roleplaying games as we know them today grew out of the hobby of miniatures wargaming. I suspect that's why 25mm miniature figures continued to be made and sold for use with RPGs, even though, in my personal experience, very few people had much use for them at the table. That was certainly <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2012/09/retrospective-grenadier-models-ad.html">the case for me</a>. Despite this, lots of games continued to recommend the use of miniature figures as an aid to play, including some rather unexpected ones, like <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/10/game-for-grown-ups.html">Call of Cthulhu</a>.&nbsp;</i></p><p><i>Call of Cthulhu </i>quickly became one of my favorite roleplaying games and I acquired all of the support products for it that I could both find and afford – like the miniatures sold by Grenadier Models. After losing the <i>AD&amp;D </i>license in 1982, Grenadier tried to maintain its presence in the RPG world by picking up licenses to produce figures for other popular roleplaying games, like <i>Traveller </i>and <i>Call of Cthulhu. </i>They also tried their hand at <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/10/retrospective-horrible-secret-of.html">publishing adventures</a> for <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/10/retrospective-disappearance-on-aramat.html">both games</a>, with very mixed results.</p><p>I owned the two boxed sets of <i>Call of Cthulhu </i>miniatures, the first of which was dedicated to adventurers (though the box says "adventures," which I assume was an error). Here's the cover, showing Indiana Jones, Al Capone, and Professor Plum preparing to burst into the room behind a closed door.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsrdJ5W7zvOGwAH-ZEZh67LbgdiBB0wBsOY4VsHZAiX6jlsG6RJDLs9_LtXD6W4F1YXyxxyUPTDbBUM1iLLMiAOzqJKSuJub_Vux3-dw98ltYk30J6ozCJ-OBRBwjS6PNirTHpveq0a9b8k5bfXEuqmbEcR-ez4xbBNLlc6uJU39rLqVe_OgrcuC5uaWm/s500/coc1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="500" height="349" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsrdJ5W7zvOGwAH-ZEZh67LbgdiBB0wBsOY4VsHZAiX6jlsG6RJDLs9_LtXD6W4F1YXyxxyUPTDbBUM1iLLMiAOzqJKSuJub_Vux3-dw98ltYk30J6ozCJ-OBRBwjS6PNirTHpveq0a9b8k5bfXEuqmbEcR-ez4xbBNLlc6uJU39rLqVe_OgrcuC5uaWm/w400-h349/coc1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The second boxed set depicts a night gaunt, a deep one, and a ghoul, who lie in wait behind the very same door the adventurers are about to open. Taken together, they form a fun little diptych that, to my shame, I don't think I even recognized until several years after I'd bought them.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmfYIOf_2dZAvLiVMX1ltMNBa-QPoUpBlWz9H2ZyWUUWqTuYSxntK6suAqLckNiLbbT5wSggyzONh1FYYTN4UqxNlsQwb9XJupYFZG9bY18W2hO_hkqID_fAPQ1aEsPh8pmUUxDnAnumixkZsIOLMMcF8vIH3bdPYN7yuXaDnX1w2Yb9ARcU2LagLpm83f/s432/coc2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="432" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmfYIOf_2dZAvLiVMX1ltMNBa-QPoUpBlWz9H2ZyWUUWqTuYSxntK6suAqLckNiLbbT5wSggyzONh1FYYTN4UqxNlsQwb9XJupYFZG9bY18W2hO_hkqID_fAPQ1aEsPh8pmUUxDnAnumixkZsIOLMMcF8vIH3bdPYN7yuXaDnX1w2Yb9ARcU2LagLpm83f/w400-h355/coc2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div>Because I rarely painted or used these miniatures, I'm not completely sure why I bought them. I suppose it's because I thought I was <i>supposed to do so. </i>The rulebooks recommended their use, companies sold them, and nearly everyone I knew had at least a handful of minis they'd carry around in their dice bag, even though, like me, they almost never did anything with them. Owning miniatures was simply part of the culture of the hobby at the time. Like dice, they were part of the "uniform." You <i>had </i>to have them, if you wanted to be part of the "team." I don't think that's as common a feeling anymore, though I still see plenty of miniatures for sale in game stores.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>What are your experiences with miniatures? Do you own many and, more importantly, <i>do you use them</i>? I'd be very curious to know.</div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/5266481258523273901/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/whats-behind-that-door.html#comment-form' title='22 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/5266481258523273901'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/5266481258523273901'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/whats-behind-that-door.html' title='What's Behind That Door?'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsrdJ5W7zvOGwAH-ZEZh67LbgdiBB0wBsOY4VsHZAiX6jlsG6RJDLs9_LtXD6W4F1YXyxxyUPTDbBUM1iLLMiAOzqJKSuJub_Vux3-dw98ltYk30J6ozCJ-OBRBwjS6PNirTHpveq0a9b8k5bfXEuqmbEcR-ez4xbBNLlc6uJU39rLqVe_OgrcuC5uaWm/s72-w400-h349-c/coc1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>22</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-7695846221935837963</id><published>2024-05-10T00:00:00.228-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-10T00:00:00.129-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="musings"/><title type='text'>I'm a Terrible Player</title><content type='html'><p>Almost from the moment I discovered roleplaying games, I've primarily been a referee. To some degree, I was thrust into this role by necessity, since few of my friends were all that interested in sitting <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/03/retrospective-dungeon-masters-screen.html">behind the screen</a>&nbsp;themselves. Fortunately for them, I <i>liked </i>being the referee. I enjoyed <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/07/speaking-of-old-d-campaigns.html">making maps</a> and creating <a href="http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/08/locale-and-plot.html">adventure locales</a>&nbsp;and thinking up new ways to challenge my players. Despite my perpetual stage fright – I <i>still</i> struggle with this before nearly every session I run – I also enjoy describing situations to my players, roleplaying NPCs, and thinking on my feet in response to their harebrained schemes. In short, <i>refereeing is fun</i>, which probably explains why I've got three different campaigns on the go at the present moment.</p><p>Of course, <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/05/my-first-character.html">I've been a player</a>, too. Right now, for instance, I'm playing in a dear friend's <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2022/11/frontiers-of-adventure.html"><i>Traveller </i>campaign</a>&nbsp;set in the Crucis Margin sector and am really enjoying it. Nevertheless, there's no denying that, by most standards,&nbsp;<i>I'm a terrible player. </i>I don't say this lightly; this isn't studied self-effacement. I really do think I'm a pretty mediocre player, especially when I compare myself to the dozens of people whom I've refereed over the years – certainly when compared to the players of my <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/search/label/house%20of%20worms">House of Worms</a> <i>Empire of the Petal Throne </i>campaign.</p><p>What do I mean when I say "terrible player?" Firstly, I mean that I rarely immerse myself in the world of any game I play. Instead, I retain varying degrees of <i>detachment</i>, sometimes to the point of treating my character as something akin to a <i>token </i>in a boardgame, which is to say, an abstract playing piece with little distinctiveness or personality. That might not seem like much of a sin, particularly if, like Gygax, you don't equate roleplaying with amateur thespianism. That's not quite what I mean here. Rather, I mean that I don't make much effort to play my character as something distinct from the rules he brings to bear on a session – abilities, skills, spells, gear, etc. He's not a fictional avatar but mostly a game construct.</p><p>Secondly, and perhaps more damningly, <i>I get bored easily </i>and <i>don't pay attention</i>&nbsp;to what's going on during a session when my character's not directly involved. To some extent, this is a consequence of my detachment. Since I view my characters mostly as vehicles for game mechanics, it's uncommon for them to engage in other activities that don't directly relate to them. Combat, for example, always catches my attention, as it directly involves all the characters present. On the other hand, lengthy discussions of in-game problems or details often leave me cold and I have to work hard to keep myself focused on the game. This second sin is an odd one. When I'm refereeing, I absolutely <i>adore </i>listening to the players spend long stretches of time discussing and debating new pieces of information their characters have just obtained or planning the strategy for their next endeavor. Indeed, those are among my <i>favorite things</i>&nbsp;about roleplaying. Perhaps I find them so appealing precisely because these are the kinds of in-game activities of which I don't seem to be capable.</p><p>I do think there's probably a connection between my long years participating in the hobby primarily as a referee and my terrible skills as a player. As a referee, I am constantly engaged in each and every session. As I mentioned above, I love roleplaying NPCs, describing details, responding to player queries, and so on. Even when I'm not directly involved in what's happening, I nevertheless have to pay attention in order to keep up with the action and determine what happens next. Likewise, after a session ends, I'm frequently thinking about the <i>next</i>&nbsp;session and what might happen during it. I can't tell how many times over the decades I've fallen asleep thinking about some aspect of a campaign I'm currently refereeing, pondering its possibilities.</p><p>Could it really be that, because a referee is such a <i>large </i>role, that having to take on the role of a "mere" player feels <i>small </i>and uninteresting? That seems the most obvious explanation, but I'm not sure if it's the right one. The difficulty in assessing this is compounded by the fact that, for all of this, I <i>still enjoy playing. </i>The aforementioned <i>Traveller </i>campaign is remarkable in its scope and imagination. I like the people with whom I'm playing and I look forward to each new session. Yet, for all of that, I still feel as if I'm not a very good player: I'm too distant and uninvolved most of the time and I worry it impacts others negatively.</p><p>Does anyone else feel this way?&nbsp;</p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/7695846221935837963/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/im-terrible-player.html#comment-form' title='22 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/7695846221935837963'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/7695846221935837963'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/im-terrible-player.html' title='I'm a Terrible Player'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><thr:total>22</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-9131269906045116092</id><published>2024-05-08T00:00:00.234-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-08T00:00:00.232-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="atari"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="retrospective"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="video games"/><title type='text'>Retrospective: Raiders of the Lost Ark (Atari)</title><content type='html'><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1zlCzjPrDNVqBesoIrUJt99mpHsplEQRnNOhzTbzOzM4Ro_7DNno9085Ap7As2Flbna0GSXYpkE4xVDA8ejtuvz1aXYpZo3dfojiRkjCeAUSy5hSkGGd3DPjfLBWQIikidE9Pj-1v87eFoc26ECAwf2_TMvyIGzpcg75BZ89ZDrTdY15Q7iOHQGzqV_7/s355/raiders.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="252" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1zlCzjPrDNVqBesoIrUJt99mpHsplEQRnNOhzTbzOzM4Ro_7DNno9085Ap7As2Flbna0GSXYpkE4xVDA8ejtuvz1aXYpZo3dfojiRkjCeAUSy5hSkGGd3DPjfLBWQIikidE9Pj-1v87eFoc26ECAwf2_TMvyIGzpcg75BZ89ZDrTdY15Q7iOHQGzqV_7/w227-h320/raiders.png" width="227" /></a>Though I've generally kept these <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/search/label/retrospective">Retrospective</a> posts to looking back at roleplaying and boardgames that I thought worthy of discussion, I have occasionally turned the spotlight onto computer and video games as well. In the '80s, I never owned a "home computer," as we used to call them in those ancient days, but I did own the Atari Video Computer System (VCS), later dubbed the Atari 2600. I also had an enviable collection of game cartridges for it, two of which I think merit a post: <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2022/10/retrospective-adventure.html">Adventure</a></i>, about which I've previously written, and <i>Raiders of the Lost Ark.&nbsp;</i><br /></p><p>Released in 1982, <i>Raiders of the Lost Ark </i>was (obviously) a tie-in product for the action-adventure film of the same name released the year before. Historically, tie-in products like this tend to be <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/11/retrospective-adventures-of-indiana.html">mediocre at best</a>, with most being little more than vehicles for making a quick buck by association with a popular book, TV show, or movie. By all rights, that's what one might reasonably expect of this game cartridge too – except that it's actually one of the more complex, imaginative, and <i>enjoyably frustrating</i> games Atari ever made for its first game console.&nbsp;</p><p>It's that enjoyable frustration that's the main reason I still have such affection for the game. Strange though it might be for some to imagine, I actually enjoyed video and computer games whose difficulty – or at least perplexity – made me want to tear my hair out. Indeed, their difficulty was a big part of their appeal, because it suggested that, if I managed to beat them, I'd actually <i>achieved something. </i>It's similar to why, as kids, my friends and I enjoyed testing our wits against a <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2022/08/in-defense-of-killer-dm.html">Killer DM</a>. Sure, it was tough and often downright unfair, but to win against such odds felt like an <i>accomplishment </i>and we cherished those moments way more than easy wins.</p><p><i>Raiders of the Lost Ark </i>was not an easy win. Completing it successfully took a lot of thought and patience, not to mention above average hand-eye coordination, owing to its unusual control set-up and the finicky nature of said controls. In very broad strokes, the game recreated Indy's adventures in search of the Map Room that will lead him to the resting place of the fabled Lost Ark of the Covenant. The resting place of the Ark is randomly determined with each game reset, meaning that, should you fail, you can't necessarily carry over anything you've learned in your previous attempts to a new one. In addition, Indy requires the aid of certain items he can find hidden in various locations and these, too, are not always in the same location.&nbsp;</p><p>This randomness is only one part of what made the game so frustrating to play. Another is that it required <i>both </i>joysticks to play. One was used in the expected way, allowing the player to control Indy's movement and actions on-screen. The other was used to control inventory. Unlike <i>Adventure</i>, which only allowed the player to possess a single item at a time, <i>Raiders of the Lost Ark </i>let you possess several, as if Indy had a backpack filled with gear. By moving a cursor among the items you possessed, the player could the one he wished Indy to use at any given time. This was very cool and quite innovative at the time, but it could also be demanding in play, especially if you had to quickly switch between items.</p><p>However, the main reason the game was so frustrating was the sparseness of its manual, which didn't tell the player much about how the goals of the game could be achieved. Instead, you were largely left to your own devices to figure out how all of the game's elements worked toward a successful conclusion. The manual includes descriptions of most of the locations and items found in the game, but not all of them. Likewise, it does include "helpful hints," but, again, these don't answer every question a player might have. "After all, what's an adventure game without surprises?" the manual asks. Consequently, even if you read the manual cover to cover, there are still very important aspects of play that you can only discover <i>through play.</i></p><p>This is what made the game so enjoyably frustrating to me. To this day, more than forty years later, I can still recall the joy I felt when I first stumbled across an item not listed in the manual the possession of which was essential to finding the location of the Ark. Similarly, I remember when, in the midst of foolishly falling off a cliff to my doom – I wasn't quick enough in making use of the parachute in my inventory – I noticed something for the first time that I would later use to solve another mystery in the game. Neither of these discoveries were in the manual; I could only learn of them through trial and (much) error.&nbsp;</p><p>By the standards of today, <i>Raiders of the Lost Ark </i>is unbelievably primitive. Heck, by the standards of games released just a year or two later, it's primitive. Yet, for all that, it remains one of my favorite video games of all time, because it challenged me <i>just enough </i>that I couldn't rack up an easy win but without so dispiriting me that I gave up completely. Not coincidentally, <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2023/12/mystifying-and-dangerous.html">this is my ideal when it comes to dungeon design</a>, too, so perhaps I was the perfect target audience for this game. This is a foundational game design for me and I suspect I've been chasing the high of enjoyable frustration I gave me ever since.&nbsp;</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMq9hCNHquzgOOuUuQZGUOSkCif4vXyEeqhq80YsaE38-i9CqBV3T4EJnFqqhrKYalA93Sf3d9B6Gi7aAFEz-fYB7UQUg_BZ7J6Zi5ycOgQFEWEYdTndTSeKFUonCRWUhwH6TNfZ7GMaInZe_gVeLmY0-hZV6pljotJpNKqpIBfDLwnptZJFN21knQY4JX/s691/fall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="691" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMq9hCNHquzgOOuUuQZGUOSkCif4vXyEeqhq80YsaE38-i9CqBV3T4EJnFqqhrKYalA93Sf3d9B6Gi7aAFEz-fYB7UQUg_BZ7J6Zi5ycOgQFEWEYdTndTSeKFUonCRWUhwH6TNfZ7GMaInZe_gVeLmY0-hZV6pljotJpNKqpIBfDLwnptZJFN21knQY4JX/w400-h296/fall.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Indy notices something as he falls to his pixelated doom</td></tr></tbody></table></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/9131269906045116092/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/retrospective-raiders-of-lost-ark-atari.html#comment-form' title='14 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/9131269906045116092'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/9131269906045116092'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/retrospective-raiders-of-lost-ark-atari.html' title='Retrospective: Raiders of the Lost Ark (Atari)'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1zlCzjPrDNVqBesoIrUJt99mpHsplEQRnNOhzTbzOzM4Ro_7DNno9085Ap7As2Flbna0GSXYpkE4xVDA8ejtuvz1aXYpZo3dfojiRkjCeAUSy5hSkGGd3DPjfLBWQIikidE9Pj-1v87eFoc26ECAwf2_TMvyIGzpcg75BZ89ZDrTdY15Q7iOHQGzqV_7/s72-w227-h320-c/raiders.png" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>14</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-528022884453363893</id><published>2024-05-07T13:25:00.001-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-07T13:25:17.001-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="ept"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="house of worms"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tekumel"/><title type='text'>How Do You Solve a Problem Like Kirktá?</title><content type='html'><p>First, thank you to everyone who took the time to make comments or send me emails regarding <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/looking-for-ideas.html">yesterday's post</a>&nbsp;about upcoming events in my <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/search/label/house%20of%20worms">House of Worms</a> campaign. I've gotten a number of excellent suggestions and I now have a better handle on how I'll likely proceed, though I'd be happy to continue receiving more suggestions. After the <i>Kólumejàlim</i>, as the Choosing of the Emperors is known in Tsolyáni, has taken place, I'll write a post or two about it, because I am sure that, no matter how it turns out, it will be of interest to my readers. That likely won't occur until sometime this summer, as the campaign is currently focused on other matters at the moment and I'm not ready to shift gears quite yet.</p><p>Aside from my already stated reasons for wanting to adjudicate the&nbsp;<i>Kólumejàlim </i>in this way, there's also&nbsp;another: <i>one of the player characters is secretly an heir to the Petal Throne. </i>Years ago, when a new player joined the campaign, he asked if he could base his character on one from the original Tékumel campaign in Minneapolis. Named Kirktá, he was a priest NPC whom the characters in the Twin Cities campaign later discovered was one of the emperor's <i>secret heirs</i>, whose true identity was hidden, unknown to almost anyone, including himself. I had no objection to the new player basing his character on Kirktá, largely because I never expected it to amount to anything.</p><p><i>And it didn't.</i> For many years, there was never a hint that Kirktá – <i>my </i>Kirktá&nbsp; – was anything other than he appeared to be, namely, a young and naive priest of Durritlámish, the Black Angel of the Putrescent Hand. He served as protégé and amanuensis to Keléno, one of the four remaining original player characters of the campaign, without complaint. Indeed, Kirktá had something of a reputation as being incapable of making decisions for himself, deferring instead to the wisdom and experience of his master (and any other PC who cared to offer an opinion on what Kirktá ought to do). It's a fun dynamic and soon became one of the hallmarks of the campaign.</p><p>Then, a little more than a year ago, the characters reunited with an old antagonist of theirs, an Undying Wizard known as Getúkmetèk. Like a lot of Undying Wizards,&nbsp;Getúkmetèk existed outside of normal time. Consequently, when the characters encountered him, there was no telling exactly <i>where </i>the wizard was on his own personal timeline. On this occasion,&nbsp;Getúkmetèk was quite young, early in his own career and not yet an Undying Wizard. In fact, it became increasingly clear that it was due to their interactions with him early in his life (but late in that of the characters, relatively speaking – non-linear time is weird) that he would eventually become antagonistic toward them.&nbsp;</p><p>When this younger&nbsp;Getúkmetèk met the characters, he greeted them pleasantly, since, from his perspective, he hadn't yet met any of them – or, at least, <i>most of them. </i>Somehow, he already knew Kirktá and addressed him differently than the others, using a formal Tsolyáni second person pronoun reserved only for the emperor, "you of supernal omnipotence," that is probably unknown to most characters, given its exceedingly uncommon usage. One of the characters, Nebússa, comes from a very high clan involved heavily in imperial service. He recognized the pronoun and quickly put two and two together, realizing for the first time in the campaign that Kirktá was likely a hidden heir to the Petal Throne.&nbsp;</p><p>Initially, Nebússa kept this secret to himself, not even telling Kirktá. However, events eventually required that he reveal it, to the surprise and incredulity of his clan mates. There was a lot of debate about what the characters should do with this information, as well as the realization that, if Nebússa figured it out based on very limited information, there were probably others within Tsolyánu who also knew it and might seek to take advantage of it. That's partly why the characters elected to undertake a lengthy, months-long journey outside the Imperium: <i>to keep Kirktá safe</i>. However, once the<i>&nbsp;Kólumejàlim</i> is declared, events may overtake them. What happens next is anyone's guess, hence my desire to establish a means to handle the Choosing of the Emperors, just in case Kirktá decides to participate ...</p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/528022884453363893/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/how-do-you-solve-problem-like-kirkta.html#comment-form' title='12 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/528022884453363893'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/528022884453363893'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/how-do-you-solve-problem-like-kirkta.html' title='How Do You Solve a Problem Like Kirktá?'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><thr:total>12</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-6171145226053640257</id><published>2024-05-07T00:00:00.197-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-07T00:00:00.238-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="ADnD"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="asprin"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="magic-user"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="marvel"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="mentzer"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="moore"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="polyhedron"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="psionics"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="rpga"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="superheroes"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tsr"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="west end"/><title type='text'>Polyhedron: Issue #25</title><content type='html'><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ZbHz1q7not8S8RGJ5wLrShuwnQT2t3DRfXtYIXNqbAr6o5OLdic89qyNQQwQ7ehIY-ihIG-BxY1eWQsdEM2vhkAngHW6JGkOTx7YnpTSOomTx3DgmivFyc2zl-BLFeFzU1vVC7EwrLbqUcH_iDvcyUORVQ1JU_FcqMRhvCc26eYqHl_pk-pzbkTNelQQ/s855/polyhedron25.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="855" data-original-width="652" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ZbHz1q7not8S8RGJ5wLrShuwnQT2t3DRfXtYIXNqbAr6o5OLdic89qyNQQwQ7ehIY-ihIG-BxY1eWQsdEM2vhkAngHW6JGkOTx7YnpTSOomTx3DgmivFyc2zl-BLFeFzU1vVC7EwrLbqUcH_iDvcyUORVQ1JU_FcqMRhvCc26eYqHl_pk-pzbkTNelQQ/w305-h400/polyhedron25.jpg" width="305" /></a></div>Issue #25 of <i>Polyhedron </i>(September 1985) features eye-catching artwork by the Marvel Bullpen, depicting the Hulk and long-time foe, the Abomination, bursting through the cover. Both characters appear in the issue's <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/02/retrospective-marvel-super-heroes.html">Marvel Super Heroes</a> </i>article – a first for the newszine. At the time, I was quite pleased by this expansion of <i>Polyhedron</i>'s coverage, because I was a big fan of <i>MSH </i>and was always on the look-out for new material (particularly write-ups of Marvel characters that hadn't yet appeared elsewhere).<div><br /></div><div>Normally, "Notes from HQ" is filled with RPGA-related ephemera and thus doesn't command my attention for long. This time, though, part of it <i>is </i>of greater interest, specifically the call for Dungeon Masters to submit "a store, tavern, house, city block, NPC, street encounter, guild" for inclusion in a fantasy setting to be used by the RPGA as a "home base" and possible locale for adventures. Robert Asprin's <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/07/pulp-fantasy-library-thieves-world.html">Thieves' World</a>&nbsp;</i>is referenced as an inspiration and it's stated that Gary Gygax has agreed to allow this city to be placed in his <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/03/retrospective-world-of-greyhawk.html">World of Greyhawk</a> </i>setting. If any of this sounds familiar, that's because I suspect the project was eventually retooled for use with the <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/09/retrospective-forgotten-realms-campaign.html">Forgotten Realms</a>, becoming Ravens Bluff, the Living City, an RPGA staple for years to come.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jon Pickens offers up a second part of his "Unofficial Magic-User Spells" series, again looking to existing magic items as source of new spells (like the <i>ring of spell turning </i>and <i>ring of x-ray vision</i>). It's fine, if a bit unimaginative, though I cannot forgive the consistent misspelling of "absorption" as "absorbtion" throughout, especially when the magic item that inspired it, the <i>rod of absorption</i>, spells it correctly. The "RPGA Network Player and Judge Standings" is hardly worth mentioning, since it's little more than three pages' worth of names. Looking through them, I spotted the usual assortment of TSR employees and freelancers, along with a few others whose names I recognized from <i>Dragon </i>and elsewhere. I wonder if any readers of this blog had earned enough tournament XP to make it onto the list?</div><div><br /></div><div>Part II of Frank Mentzer's <i>AD&amp;D </i>adventure, <i>Needle</i>, also appears in this issue. Having found the titular needle – a magical obelisk – in <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/04/polyhedron-issue-24.html">Part I</a>, the characters are now tasked with removing it for transport back to their homeland while dealing with hostile bullywugs and pirates. The adventure is quite fascinating, in that it's mostly a matter of resource management and logistics. The characters command a team of workers and mercenaries over the course of the several weeks needed to achieve their goal. How well they manage their resources, as well as how they respond to various threats, determine whether or not their mission is successful. I have no idea how it would be to <i>play</i>, the idea behind this scenario sounds compelling.<br /><p></p></div><div>Michael Przytarski's "Fletcher's Corner" returns, talking about high-level adventures this time. That's a topic of great interest to me, since there aren't a lot of good examples of them in my opinion and I'd love to read some good advice on how to create my own. Sadly, there's not much meat to this article. It's mostly brief nuggets ("Try not to be bring the gods into it") intended to keep things somewhat grounded and avoiding boredom ("Three red dragons are fun, but they can become tiresome"). Perhaps the article's brevity (one page) prevents Przytarski from getting into the weeds of this topic, I don't know. Regardless, I didn't find what I was looking for here, which is a shame. My quest continues.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Rampage" by Roger E. Moore is a straightforward <i>Marvel Super Heroes </i>scenario, in which four different super-strong characters – the Hulk, Hercules, the Abomination, and Titania – in the streets of New York. It's not deep, but it's fun. I also appreciate the way that Moore presents different Karma award charts for each character as a way to highlight their differences. That's something I always liked about <i>Marvel Super Heroes </i>and that's harder to implement in a game where the characters are all original creations of the players rather than established personalities.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>With apologies to Rembert N. Parker, I'm going to pass over his "How to Succeed at Judging an RPGA Network Event," because it's of minimal interest to me. "Dispel Confusion" consists of two full pages of <i>AD&amp;D </i>questions, with no other RPGs represented. By and large, the questions this issue concern ambiguities in the rules and, as such, aren't that interesting to discuss here. The most notable question concerned <i>psionics</i>&nbsp;and its use, with the answer noting that psionics will be revised "in the future." Rounding out the issue is a positive review of <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/06/retrospective-paranoia.html" style="font-style: italic;">Paranoia</a>, an old fave of mine, though it's been years since I've attempted to play it. Maybe I should change that.</div><div><br /></div><div>As always, <i>Polyhedron </i>is so much more of a mixed bag than is <i>Dragon</i>&nbsp;and it's frustrating. Most issues contain good material, but very few are <i>consistently </i>good. That probably explains why I eventually stopped reading it, while I continued with <i>Dragon </i>well into the 1990s. I suspect this is because <i>Polyhedron </i>always had a much more "amateur" quality, which limited both its audience and its submissions. It's a real pity.</div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/6171145226053640257/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/polyhedron-issue-25.html#comment-form' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/6171145226053640257'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/6171145226053640257'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/polyhedron-issue-25.html' title='Polyhedron: Issue #25'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ZbHz1q7not8S8RGJ5wLrShuwnQT2t3DRfXtYIXNqbAr6o5OLdic89qyNQQwQ7ehIY-ihIG-BxY1eWQsdEM2vhkAngHW6JGkOTx7YnpTSOomTx3DgmivFyc2zl-BLFeFzU1vVC7EwrLbqUcH_iDvcyUORVQ1JU_FcqMRhvCc26eYqHl_pk-pzbkTNelQQ/s72-w305-h400-c/polyhedron25.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-424426164113628364</id><published>2024-05-06T00:00:00.193-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-06T00:00:00.238-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="ept"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="house of worms"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="other games"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="tekumel"/><title type='text'>Looking for Ideas</title><content type='html'><p>This concerns a topic <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-emperor-is-dead.html">about which I've written before</a>, but which is likely to become more important in my ongoing <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/search/label/house%20of%20worms">House of Worms</a> <i>Empire of the Petal Throne </i>campaign, namely, the <i>death of the emperor of Tsolyánu and the choosing of his successor.</i>&nbsp;There is no primogeniture in Tsolyánu. Instead, all the children of the emperor, who are given "the Gold" (a specially engraved circular plaque) upon their births, are eligible to compete for the right to ascend the Petal Throne as his successor. To provide some additional context, here's what the <i>Tékumel Source Book </i>has to say about this competition:</p><p></p><blockquote>As soon as an old monarch has died and the great sarcophagus sealed away in the black vaults below Avanthár all of those who possess the Gold (plus any remaining undeclared heirs or heiresses who must be hurriedly produced by their patrons) are summoned to Béy Sü for the Choosing of the Emperors. There they undergo a traditional roster of tests which cover every facet of character thought by the Tsolyáni to be needful for a ruler: bravery, endurance, cunning, physical prowess, judgment, knowledge of history and the arts, competence in "magic," and a dozen other fields. A candidate has the right to name champions to represent him or her in any three of these categories but must compete in person in all the others. Each event is carefully judged, and the strongest contenders are taken at last within the sacred precincts of the Temple of Hná'lla where the Holy Adepts of all the temples and the High Princeps of the Omnipotent Azure Legion make the final selection according to ancient and secret ritual methods. The winner is then declared and conveyed to Avanthár. The losers are given over to the Temple of Karakán for sacrifice.</blockquote><p>I've decided that I'd like to <i>play out </i>the Choosing of the Emperors in in my campaign, with each of my eight players taking the role of one of the candidates for the throne. The problem I am having – and the reason why I'm turning to my readers for ideas – is that <i>there is very little information about the competition </i>in any published Tékumel materials. The section I've quoted above is close to all we know about the competition and its trials and, as you can see, it's quite vague.</p><p>In the original <i>Space Gamer </i>article linked to at the start of this post, there is a lengthy description of how one referee (Robert L. Large, Jr.) handled the Choosing in his campaign. He made use of only three tests – a series of arena battles, a series of magical duels, and a puzzle chamber. The account is very interesting, because Large made use of <i>other games</i>, like&nbsp;FGU's <i>Gladiator</i>, TSR's <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2021/09/retrospective-war-of-wizards.html" style="font-style: italic;">War of Wizards</a>, as adjuncts to <i>Empire of the Petal Throne </i>itself. I'm very open to this sort of approach, but the bigger issue for me is: <i>what sorts of contests are employed</i>?&nbsp;</p><p>The <i>Tékumel Source Book</i>&nbsp;references "a traditional roster of tests" that includes more than a dozen areas of competence, not merely the three that Large used for his <i>EPT </i>campaign back in 1976. I suppose it could be argued that he was <i>simplifying </i>the Choosing of the Emperors for the sake of play. Certainly, I don't want the process of choosing a new emperor in my campaign to take up <i>months </i>of weekly play, especially if the roster of candidates is large. But what to do? What's the best – and <i>most fun</i> – way to pit the various heirs against one another so that the end result is <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/08/out-of-my-hands.html">unpredictable</a>, even by me?</p><p>One of <a href="https://expanduniver.blogspot.com/">my players</a> long ago suggested that the Choosing of the Emperors was probably akin to a <i>competitive dungeoncrawl</i>. This is an intriguing notion, if only because one of the features of Tékumel as a setting is that most cities have an "underworld" beneath it, representing the ruins of earlier settlements upon which they've been built. Avanthár, the ancient citadel of the emperors, is <i>very </i>ancient place, with all manner of passages and tunnels and ancient technology hidden beneath it, so I can easily imagine trials being conducted in such an environment. When discussing this with my players at our last session, we half-joked that a trap and puzzle filled maze like <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/09/retrospective-tomb-of-horrors.html">The Tomb of Horrors</a> </i>would be ideal for this purpose, if most of us weren't already intimately familiar with it.</p><p>So, that's where things stand at the moment. I very much want to play out the Choosing of the Emperors, but I have only a few ideas of how best to simulate them. I'd like the experience to be memorable and fun, as well as <i>unique</i>, but I must confess to having few ideas how best to achieve this without going to the trouble of creating an entirely new game for this purpose. Ideally, I'd be able to use <i>Empire of the Petal Throne</i>&nbsp;as the foundation, statting up all the heirs as characters and then subjecting them all to various trials. However, I'm not sure that's necessarily the best approach, which is why I'd love to hear the thoughts of others. If you have any ideas, thoughts, or suggestions, I'd love to hear them.</p><p>Thanks in advance!</p><p></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/424426164113628364/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/looking-for-ideas.html#comment-form' title='25 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/424426164113628364'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/424426164113628364'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/looking-for-ideas.html' title='Looking for Ideas'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><thr:total>25</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-3736021559596342261</id><published>2024-05-03T12:00:00.003-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-03T12:00:00.132-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="david cook"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="interview"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="news"/><title type='text'>50 years in the Dungeon</title><content type='html'>A very interesting interview with <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/07/interview-david-zeb-cook-part-i.html">David</a> "Zeb" <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/07/interview-david-zeb-cook-part-ii.html">Cook</a> about his time at TSR Hobbies, in which he talks about the<i>&nbsp;D&amp;D Expert Set, <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2009/12/retrospective-oriental-adventures.html">Oriental Adventures</a>, </i>and Second Edition, among other topics.&nbsp;<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9pH2f99-xO4?si=8PCvYQtZkH3oILyc" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/3736021559596342261/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/50-years-in-dungeon.html#comment-form' title='3 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/3736021559596342261'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/3736021559596342261'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/50-years-in-dungeon.html' title='50 years in the Dungeon'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://img.youtube.com/vi/9pH2f99-xO4/default.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>3</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-3846032088502727629</id><published>2024-05-02T10:00:00.048-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-02T10:00:00.130-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="comics"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="dc"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="dragonlance"/><title type='text'>Landfall!</title><content type='html'><p>Never having been a huge reader of comics, I keep forgetting that, during the late '80s and early 1990s, DC Comics published a number of titles based (mostly) on <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons </i>settings. One of them was set in Krynn, the world of <i>Dragonlance</i>. From what I understand, the <i>Dragonlance </i>comics were <i>prequels </i>that took place before the events of the first novel, <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2023/01/experience-legend.html">Dragons of Autumn Twilight</a></i>, and consequently introduced a number of original characters to serve as its protagonists alongside more familiar names.</p><p>Since I haven't had the chance to read these comics, I don't have much more to say about them specifically. However, I am fascinated to discover that, starting with issue #22 (August 1990), the series had a fair number of issues whose stories took place on the continent of Taladas, the setting of the <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/03/retrospective-time-of-dragon.html">Time of the Dragon</a></i>&nbsp;boxed set for which I retain a fondness. I suppose this makes sense. If the comic writers had to keep away from the more familiar War of the Lance storyline, looking to a new and mostly undeveloped part of the larger <i>Dragonlance </i>world is a good choice.&nbsp;</p><p>Did anyone read these or any of the other TSR comics published by DC? Were any of them any good?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxOKS3AmXj38CHBqPri0gSiSDCSpj7pOuNSfjbli-mN7ZSKPjXw6oQ_SulcIo7aeLwMJrJuhppQs1q82tJyLkM42wndqayj1AtweiLtx0OAMyHzIKsIZ2ROJfJ4eEPWEGSfv7dP86Qy7eHVCqpGPCElvtmOgSZ1_cA5Qpf6szii80N0Fg8uN1nrj0OY4D/s610/taladas.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="400" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxOKS3AmXj38CHBqPri0gSiSDCSpj7pOuNSfjbli-mN7ZSKPjXw6oQ_SulcIo7aeLwMJrJuhppQs1q82tJyLkM42wndqayj1AtweiLtx0OAMyHzIKsIZ2ROJfJ4eEPWEGSfv7dP86Qy7eHVCqpGPCElvtmOgSZ1_cA5Qpf6szii80N0Fg8uN1nrj0OY4D/w420-h640/taladas.jpg" width="420" /></a></div><p></p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/3846032088502727629/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/landfall.html#comment-form' title='18 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/3846032088502727629'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/3846032088502727629'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/landfall.html' title='Landfall!'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxOKS3AmXj38CHBqPri0gSiSDCSpj7pOuNSfjbli-mN7ZSKPjXw6oQ_SulcIo7aeLwMJrJuhppQs1q82tJyLkM42wndqayj1AtweiLtx0OAMyHzIKsIZ2ROJfJ4eEPWEGSfv7dP86Qy7eHVCqpGPCElvtmOgSZ1_cA5Qpf6szii80N0Fg8uN1nrj0OY4D/s72-w420-h640-c/taladas.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>18</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-2305516566892809935</id><published>2024-05-02T00:00:00.172-04:00</published><updated>2024-05-02T00:00:00.176-04:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="horror"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="musings"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="other games"/><title type='text'>Scary Enough</title><content type='html'><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSVvi4LIJXvtQmChW5kkaPHyWxNTh-ZmuEsZGqaXOnOQzNYHR8YYYD4UIV-wU1rJwWj1ukqYYgn78bv9FibsGqRYxCEWRYmVgr6evUivThEAkCSuWYr9n5anJd8w-i5PZk-gSwtH9U56ZMKNoxdmmKn2jhaF3vqE5KhEZMPkoj92deZUr-q1Y6wFCqA3nn/s3840/alien.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSVvi4LIJXvtQmChW5kkaPHyWxNTh-ZmuEsZGqaXOnOQzNYHR8YYYD4UIV-wU1rJwWj1ukqYYgn78bv9FibsGqRYxCEWRYmVgr6evUivThEAkCSuWYr9n5anJd8w-i5PZk-gSwtH9U56ZMKNoxdmmKn2jhaF3vqE5KhEZMPkoj92deZUr-q1Y6wFCqA3nn/w400-h225/alien.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I'm a big fan of the horror genre, whether books, movies, or <i>roleplaying games. </i>As a kid growing up in the 1970s, horror and the occult were in the air, so it was difficult not be exposed to it. Consequently, when I saw the <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2011/06/ads-of-dragon-call-of-cthulhu.html">first advertisements</a> for&nbsp;<i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2008/10/game-for-grown-ups.html">Call of Cthulhu</a> </i>in 1981, I knew I had to get a copy. <i>CoC </i>quickly became one of my favorite games, joining <i>Dungeons &amp; Dragons </i>and <i>Traveller </i>to form the Holy Trinity of RPGs from my youth. In the years since, I haven't played <i>Call of Cthulhu </i>as much as I've used to, but I still regard it very highly and hope one day to have the chance to play it again.<p></p><p>One of the interesting things about horror RPGs is that almost no one who plays them is ever really <i>frightened</i>. Someone might <i>play </i>his character as if he were frightened, but I don't think I've ever seen anything in a game genuinely <i>scare</i> a player, at least not deliberately. That never really bothered me, because, let's face it, it's not that easy to induce fear while sitting around a table in a well-lit room with a bunch of your friends. Plus, would it even be <i>fun</i> to play a game where you're routinely frightened in the way you might be watching a movie or reading a book?&nbsp;</p><p>Even so, there's always been part of me that, as a referee, has wondered about the question of why we play horror RPGs and what we hope to get out of them. That's why I was so taken with a section in the <i>Warden's Operations Manual</i>&nbsp;for the <a href="https://www.tuesdayknightgames.com/pages/mothership-rpg">new edition</a> of the sci-fi horror game <i><a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2020/09/review-mothership-players-survival-guide.html">Mothership</a>&nbsp;</i>that addresses this very issue:</p><p></p><blockquote>Actually scaring your players, like they might get scared watching a horror film or playing a video game is an incredibly rare thing. It is not a measure of a successful game night. Most of the time, your players simply want to have fun in a horror <b>setting</b>. This means they want to play characters who feel afraid, while they the players sit back eating chips and rolling dice. Sometimes you have players who love to be scared and really get into it. If that's the case, enjoy it! But don't feel bad if it doesn't happen every week. Instead focus on keeping the tension escalating.</blockquote><p></p><p>I think this is quite close to the truth of it, at least as I've experienced the play of horror RPGs over the years. The horror present in your typical <i>Call of Cthulhu </i>scenario, for example, is largely <i>intellectual </i>rather than <i>emotional. </i>Very few players will ever <i>feel </i>frightened or disgusted by events in the game, even if they <i>understand </i>that their characters, being ordinary people, would probably feel those things within the context of the game world. This makes for a better roleplaying experience in at least two respects. First, it doesn't set the bar so high for the referee that he'll never achieve "success." Second, it helps maintain <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/04/at-arms-length.html">a little distance</a>&nbsp;between the players and the often horrific things with which their characters must deal.</p><p>That said, even highly intellectualized fear, horror, and revulsion are all useful tools for the referee in presenting an engaging setting and/or scenario. After all, <a href="https://grognardia.blogspot.com/2010/03/fantasy-is-frightening.html">fantasy can be frightening</a>&nbsp;and confronting frightening things in a fictional context can be very appealing to a lot of people, especially those among us who are normally not very brave. In that respect, it's not much different than the more general experience of fictional&nbsp;<i>danger </i>found in many common RPG activities, like combat or exploration. It's <i>fun </i>for our characters to do or to endure things that we'd never be able to or indeed want to, isn't it?&nbsp;</p></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/feeds/2305516566892809935/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/scary-enough.html#comment-form' title='12 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/2305516566892809935'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/7487871339000666216/posts/default/2305516566892809935'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://grognardia.blogspot.com/2024/05/scary-enough.html' title='Scary Enough'/><author><name>James Maliszewski</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='32' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev5jpVNCDxkG--j9KGXv2g8wjiiKYzFnxoPoUEHa7Uqh_qT8WV4D9WHrxJtT78Ej3OapmwL2bZLLoZIuamz11PNMyWV_1hAU-DepCR9gIVXOr-537t9J-8QIspr676xE/s220/title130762054.png'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSVvi4LIJXvtQmChW5kkaPHyWxNTh-ZmuEsZGqaXOnOQzNYHR8YYYD4UIV-wU1rJwWj1ukqYYgn78bv9FibsGqRYxCEWRYmVgr6evUivThEAkCSuWYr9n5anJd8w-i5PZk-gSwtH9U56ZMKNoxdmmKn2jhaF3vqE5KhEZMPkoj92deZUr-q1Y6wFCqA3nn/s72-w400-h225-c/alien.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>12</thr:total></entry></feed>

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