GM's Day/Gary Gygax Memorial Post

I will not be posting a Hump-day Hildebrandt picture.  This is the day, in 2008 that the community lost E. Gary Gygax Sr. Gary was one of the creators of The Game, that is now many, many games. Without him and his work, the hobby  would be very different today.  Without his work, I would be a very different person today.  Today, I present you with some quotes from the man himself:

 

 

There is no winning or losing, but rather the value is in the experience of imagining yourself as a character in whatever genre you're involved in, whether it's a fantasy game, the Wild West, secret agent or whatever else. You get to sort of vicariously experience those things.

  

Role-playing isn't storytelling. If the dungeon master is directing it, it's not a game.

The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules.

 

The worthy GM never purposely kills players' PCs, He presents opportunities for the rash and unthinking players to do that all on their own.

 

Even the most outspoken of the critics must admit that long before we had print and film media to "spread the word," mankind was engaged in all forms of cruel and despicable behavior. To attribute war, killing, and violence to film, TV, and role-play games is to fly in the face of thousands of years of recorded history.

 

Games give you a chance to excel, and if you're playing in good company you don't even mind if you lose because you had the enjoyment of the company during the course of the game.

 

The essence of a role-playing game is that it is a group, cooperative experience. 

 

I would like the world to remember me as the guy who really enjoyed playing games and sharing his knowledge and his fun pastimes with everybody else.

 

 



Unboxing the D&D Starter Set... One Month After the Fact.

Good afternoon, folks.  If you pay attention to this blog, you will know that I have been meaning to do 

post on the unboxing of the new D&D Starter Set and that, due to the video falling through, I made the decision to wait until I had played the game.  So, yesterday, I had the opportunity to play it.  First off, I will post a few pics from our unboxing, just so you know that this actually happened, also it is proof that these Michigan OSR guys +Adam Muszkiewicz and Ryan Thompson really exist.  

In case you have not had the pleasure of meeting either of us, Adam is on the right with the Mountain Dew and super cool Star Wars backpack.  I am on the left in in the golden rod tee, Hunter Thompson hat and Fu-Manchu 'stache.  Yeah, we're pretty much the awesome.

Here you see a couple of Grognards complaining about the ability score adjustments.

More of the same.

I believe that the game plan at this point was that my Fu-Manchu mustache would distract viewers while Adam was using his hypnotic stare to make you buy multiple copies of the Metal Gods Zine.

The ancient Sumerians were known to offer human sacrifices to my Fu-Manchu

So, just to run down what I remember of what we did here.  Right off the bat we opened the box and bitched about the dice.  They aren't precision (I think we assumed that anyway) buy neither are they anything special.  They were six blue pearlescent dice.  That's it.  Not even a full set by today's standards.  No second D10 to make a D100.  I see what they did here, they were six blue dice to make us remember the set that came in earlier boxed sets, but they were weak by comparison.  One HUGE factor that we noticed, is that there is ONE D20.  That might seem normal, but as there is a mechanic in here that makes you roll 2D20 (Advantage/Disadvantage) and take the better or worse roll (depending upon whether you are ruled to have an advantage or disadvantage.)  Yes, you can roll the same d20 twice, but with everyone doing it (especially if you are truly using this Starter Set as your first RPG and thus only owning this ONE D20) will eat a fair amount of time.  Bottom line, if you have to roll 2d20 in a game and that game provides you with dice, it should come with 2d20.

That said, between that unboxing and actual play, I like the Advantage/Disadvantage mechanic (as described in the above complaint) and I can see it being used as a house rule in an Old School game.  

Pardon me for being brief with all of this, but I am certain that most of what I am bringing up here has been covered elsewhere.

During the un-boxing and still holds, is that Adam and I were disappointed the ability score bonuses. We both seemed to be hoping that WOTC would be pushing it back to the B/X ability score modifiers, but we ended up with a repeat of the D20 System scaling.  I can get over that bit, but it isn't my preference.  

Personally, I like the way that ability checks work (though the game seems a little too Check-centric ala D20 to me,) and that aspect reminds me of the way that Castles & Crusades works.  The difference here being that rather than adding your level to your checks, you add a bonus based upon what proficiencies you have. By the same token, the game uses six saving throws, based upon the six ability scores, also just like C&C.

Combat...

Combat itself is pretty straightforward and I'm OK with how it works.  That said, I despise how cut & dry the mechanics of "conditions" are.  It makes it less role-playey and more "gamey."  This has been an issue since 3E and remains here.  Dislike. I prefer "conditions" to be in the realm of DM Fiat.

Resting.  Here is one of two things in this game I despise.  Short rest & long rest.  Short rests are little things that take an hour and you can role your hit dice to regain HP.  Um... yeah.  A long rest is your entire night's rest.  During this you get ALL lost HP back.  That's right.  A good night's sleep gives you back all of you HP.  I HATE this as both a player and Judge.  Hate, hate, hate.  Another area that takes the RPG into the realm of "game" and out of the realm of simulation.

Spellcasting...

Again hate what they did with it.  I'm always down for Ritual Magic rules, but not like this.  I dislike that you have some spells (mostly utility spells) that you can now cast without using spell slots if cast using a ritual allows you a free spell.  Included in these rituals are Identify, Comprehend Languages and Detect Magic.  Also, you can use your spells per day to cast any of the spells you have memorized. This is another modern mechanic that removes us from the aspect of requiring resource management into the realm of instant gratification (a side affect of our modern world I suppose.)  Lets see what Abraham Simpson has to say about it.

All said and done, "I know what I hate. And I don't hate this."  This will NOT be a preferred system for me.  That remains with Swords & Wizardry/OD&D, OSRIC/AD&D and C&C.  I will, however, be willing to play this.  It's probably the best official New D&D product to come out since the 1990's.

Celebrating International Heraldry Day

Here at Gamers & Grognards, Grognard the Dragon and I are having great time digging into family history and Coats of Arms in celebration of International Heraldry Day!  I have managed to turn up A coat of arms (or more than one) for each of my grandparents.   The authenticity of at least one is currently in question, and I may update as I delve further into my lineage.   What does this have to do with gaming?  Not much outside of the interest in heraldry that should play some part in fantasy games.

This is the Coat of Arms of the family of my grandmother on my mother's side, Rohde.  It may be in question.

This is the Coat of Arms of my grandfather on my mother's side, Jurkiewicz.

This may be the Coat of Arms of the Mazi side of my father's lineage, his mother's family.  This Coat of Arms is in question, as I have found several others and all seem to have crossovers with other families in the same regions.

Any of these three may be the Coat of Arms of my family.  The first is from England, the second may be English or Irish and the third is Irish.  I am not entirely certain, but I believe we are Irish Thompsons.  I must investigate this further.

FIGHT ON!

Yet Another Treasure Horde of TSR Ads

Treasure Trove of D&D Ads Part the 3rd: The Sears Catalog

Behold a time when RPG's were available in the Sear's Holiday Catalog (which I used to make check marks in to show relatives what I wanted for Christmas.) 

R.I.P. Last Man On Earth...

The world has lost yet another great literary mind.  In the wake of the loss of Jack Vance, we lose yet another extraordinary Science Fiction author, Richard Matheson.  For those who may not know who he was, Matheson authored such great pieces of fiction as "I Am Legend," "What Dreams May Come," "Hell House," Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," and "The Box."  He was assuredly a thinker's writer and he will be missed.

Tor Eulogy

In Memory of Jack Vance

It seems to me that many have not yet heard that over the weekend we lost author and D&D inspiration Jack  Vance.  From http://www.jackvance.com/:

"Jack Vance passed away at home on the evening of Sunday May 26, 2013, ending a long, rich and productive life. Recognized most widely as an author, family and friends also knew a generous, large-hearted, rugged, congenial, hard-working, optimistic and unpretentious individual whose curiosity, sense of wonder and sheer love of life were an inspiration in themselves. Author, friend, father and grandfather – there will never be another like Jack Vance."

It seems a bit of a shame that we have lost to of the great influences on old school gaming at once.  Harryhausen and not Vance.  You can write a memorial to Vance here.