Nothing ventured, nothing gained

A new look at skills and skill-checks

Sometimes when using skills in an RPG there are a few things that can happen. For instance, there is the "if I fail, the scenario ends"-variant. The GUMSHOE-system is a response to this problem. Basically it's where you have a skill-check that decides if you find the clue/ pass the gate/ avoid the death-trap. If you fail that check, there is no clue for you to be found.. or you can't ever pick the lock.. or bluff the guard or whatever. In a way that's also a sign of bad scenario design, but nevertheless it's still a problem.

Another version of this is the "I try until I succeed"-version. That is where you try to use your skill until you succeed in a certain task. This makes the skill check rather pointless, since sooner or later you will succeed.

So, in the first version, you risk stopping the scenario altogether, and in the second, the test becomes an excersice in rolling until a certain number shows. Now, these issues have been addressed before with things like adding a time-limit in the scenario, avoid "dead-end" skill checks etc.

I will here present a couple of other ways to use skill checks, that I hope will make it a little more exciting.

Success, but with a price

As long as you are reasonably trained in a skill, you will always succeed with it (within reason). You will always pick the lock, bluff the guard, find the trap etc.
In spite of this, you still roll the dice to see if you make the check or not. If you make the check, nothing happens. However, if you fail the check the following happens:

You still manage to pull off whatever you tried. There will however be some negative and significant drawback. Yes, you picked the locks, but you broke your picks so that they are stuck in the lock. You loose your tools and someone will discover this very soon.

The guard bought your bluff, but he will talk to his mate rather soon, and the mate isn't as stupid, and raises a bigger alarm than the first guard would (since you are now intruding).

You discover the trap, however, you discover it by standing on it. If you move an inch, you will trigger it. Someone else will have to try to disarm it.

When you search through the library, you find the information you need. However, someone else notices that you are there, and the word spreads to your enemies.

These are just a few examples how a failed skill check doesn't make the module come to a grinding halt, but still adds some excitement and story.

I want more

Start with the same premise as above: All skill uses will result in some small advantage for the players/ characters. A search through the library will give some rudimantary clues. Bluffing the guard will get you inside the door etc. Basically, the skill use will give you the absolute minimal advantage.

The player can then choose to make a skill roll. If the roll succeeds, there is some additional advantage. Like more precis info on how to defeat the monster, the bluffed guard will also tell his colleagues not to pester you etc. However, if the roll is failed, something bad.. really bad.. will happen. The guard will call his mates at once.. the trap sets of and since you are looking close at the wall, it will hit you for damage and you are blinded etc.

Summary

This was two suggestion on how to add a little more excitement and drama around skill checks. I havn't been able to try them out myself, but I hope to do so in the near future.

DnD4 - Quick and dirty class-less solution

The DnD-classes are made to fit different roles within a combat. As such they do a good job. However, some genres don't lend themselves to hard and fast classes.

Here comes my humble suggestion on how to make DnD a bit less classy. The following factors are decided by class

• Hit Points and Healing surges
  
• Armor and Weapon profficiencies
• Bonus to defence
• Trained skills
• Class Features
• Powers and Utilities

I don't have suggestions to all of these, but I'll give you the ones I have

Hit Points
Hit Points = 2 x CON-Score. This seems about right for most classes. The Fighter, for instance, has hit points 15+CON. 15 also seems about right for a fighter to have as CON, so the hitpoints would be about 2xCON anyway.

Hit Points / Level
Most classes has 5 HP/ Level. The more fightery classes has 6/ Level, but to make things easy, go with 5

Healing Surges/ Day
6 + 2 x CON-modifier. Quickly eyeballing it from the other classes and following the same reasoning as for Hit Points.

Defences
It seems all the classes has +2 in defences to divide as they want

Class Features and Profficiencies
Don't know about these for the moment

Powers
I don't know how well this one works, and this is also the hardest one to balance. All characters have 2 at-will, 1 encounter and 1 daily power. These can be picked from any class. To put it another way around: Build a list of powers where you gather all the powers sorted according to level and "type" (at-will, encounter, daily or utility). The players can then choose from this list and don't have to care about classes at all.

Skills
This is a tough one as well. It seems most classes has 4-5 trained skills. Maybe you can start with 5 skills, or trade one skill for having more profficiencies.

That's my suggestions so far. I'll gladly accept feedback on this.

Discovering the Force - Star Wars Saga

This is an excerpt from when my Bothan Explorer Bieter Ke'frey discovers that he has an affinity for the force. In game terms he reached a new lvl and got himself the Force Sensitive-feat for that level.
---------
Bieter sat down on a wicker chair in the outskirts of the village square. The celebration had died of a little, it was late.. well, actually it was almost early again. His head throbbed a little, probably from the strange local wine they had been drinking all night.

A few people were still up dancing around the big bonfire in the middle of the square, others were sitting in the shadows talking or just enjoying the night.

Bieter looked at the cup in his hand as if waiting for it to speak, to give him answers. It didn't. In a way he wanted to fill it up again so that the wine could at least give him some rest for the remainder of the night. That wasn't the right way though, he knew he had to discover this on his own.

He stood up and walked over to the small shrine in the village. He couldn't understand the writing or the pictures there, although he guessed they where part of their local mythology and traditions. Normally, he would take pictures of them or at least try to sketch down what he saw. He would take notes and cross-reference with databases on his small datapad. Not this time. He sat down in front of the altar and just tried to experience.

He was a bothan, and therefore, he valued information, knowledge and hard facts. What he was looking for now was something different, something that may actually be weakened by hard facts. He just had to feel.. to sense and be a part of.

There it was... he wasn't sure exactly what it was.. but some kind of sensation. He felt sad, people been mourned for at this place. He felt happy, people had celebrated joyful occasions here.

He felt!

Within the silence of the shrine, that nagging feeling he had been carrying the last day or two grew stronger. He had felt it for the first time many years ago, the first time he entered the ruins of an old jedi temple. A feeling of connection. After that, he hadn't felt it again for many years.. not until he was chasing that stormtrooper. When focusing on the hunt, on the task, his senses had become sharper, his movements more intuitive and fluid.

Only thing was, this time the feeling didn't go away. It stayed with him, vague, weak and easily overwhelmed by the other things around him. Now, with all distractions gone, he felt it grow stronger. He couldn't explain it better than it beeing a feeling of connection. He was connected to all things.

A few minutes later he stood at the edge of the forrest. He had to know if this was for real. After some hesitation he started to run into the woods. Extending his senses, he started to feel the trees and the bushes around him. Finally he closed his eyes as he continued running. He didn't need to see anymore, he knew where to put his feet, he knew where to turn to not run into any trees. He smiled as he realised that this was true, that the mysterious thing he had been studying this whole time was there, was in him, guiding and helping him.

Some time later he woke up again, with a black eye proving that while the Force may be in him, it was still a fickle helper. Somehow he had missed that big old rock potrouding from the ground and it had sent him flying a few meters through the air before hitting the ground again. Well, well, it was better than nothing.

One final test left. He went back into the village and sought out Dreyne. He had something important to ask... and he had to do it in a special way.

20 meters away he saw Drayne. In his mind he spoke
- Dreyne, I need to ask you... are we gods?

Although no sound was heard, no voice was used, Dreyne looked up in his direction.

So many games, so little time

I admit it: I suffer from gamers ADD! In my case that means that I am so easily distracted when I find a new shiny (or not so shiny. Just today I was reading about Don't rest your head) game. It's not just limited to new games. Sometimes it's enough with a new neat idea for an old game.

Problem is that there are so many nice games out there. If I were to write a list of games I've considered just this year it wuold propably at least ten games long. On it you would find games like changeling, DC universe, hunter, mutants &masterminds, true20/ Freeport,castle fallenstein and nobilis, just to mention I few.

I try to focus. There are definite plusses with playing a game a little longe. That way you get a stronger connection to your character, the world and the game itself. This is especially true if the game has a slightly unusual premise like nobilis, dogs in the vineyard or castle fallenstein.

So, how do you solve that dilemma? How do you stick with one game long enough to get to know it at the same time as you are curious to try out new games or ideas?

So far, my solution (and that of my gaming group) has been to combine slightly longer campaigns (6-9 months) with shorter mini-campaigns (3-5 sessions) and the occasional one-off.

This way you get to do some longer gaming, but with an insert of the odd indie-game-try-out now and then.

Does telepathy cross language barriers?

Does telepathy automatically cross language barriers? This was a question that popped up in a gaming session lately. I didn't consider it much then, but after a while I started to think about it.

Many modern cognitivists claim that it is our language which form our thoughts. This makes sense.. when I think, I tend to think in Swedish (me being a swede and all). So, what happens if I send my thoughts to someone else? I propably would send Swedish thoughts (or English, if I put some effort into it). This line of reasoning makes it at least plausible to me that telepathy may very well be language dependent.

Imagine what would happen if I knew telepathy, and tried to telepathically communicate with an italian? His mind, his thoughts are all italian. All of a sudden he would have swedish thougths in his head. He would here them but he wouldn't know what these thoughts mean.

However, and this is a big however. Telepathy is a made up concept anyway. There is no "right" and "wrong", but rather a telepathic concept as it fits into any given setting. In these short paragraphs I have at least presented a line of reasoning for why telepathy mustn't need to be language independent.

My Star Wars Indiana Jones character

My vision is that of a daring explorer that seeks out the farthest and most secret ruins. His goal is to find the hidden knowledge of the force, the Jedi and the Sith.

Basically, I want to make my character into some kind of Indiana Jones-wannabe. However, I also have a plan for how he will develop. At first his knowledge of the force is purely theoretical. As time goes on, his explorations and his exposure to force-intensive locations will make him force capable.

In game terms the plan is as follows:

Start out with a Bothan Scout. Nothing extraordinary here.

At 3rd level, he gets a feat that is not from his class feats. This is where I choose Force Sensitive (with the permission of the GM). With this feat, he will be able to use the skill Use Force untrained. This won't let him do much, but there are some simple things he can do. It's nothing powerful, but it adds to the feeling that the character is on a journey to something new. He will also get his first Force Talent.

At level 4 he gets a bonus feat from his class. With the Skill Training feat, he picks the Use The Force skill as a trained skill (which is possible for all Force Sensitive characters). This expands his number of force tricks radically. As contradictory as it sounds, this is the reason I'm not sure yet if I want to pick this skill at lvl 4 or at lvl 6. My goal is that he should progress slowly into the secrets of the Force, and picking the Use The Force-skill at lvl 4 might be to fast. Keep in mind that I also want to preserve the explorer/ scout part of the character.

An alternative would be to pick any nice, agility-based feat from the scout feat list.

At levels 5 and 7, he will add two additional force talents. This is because I intend to move him into the Force Adept class at lvl 8, and for that he needs 3 force talents.

So, finally, at lvl 8, he should cover all the prerequisites for moving into his first prestige class, the Force Adept. His long studies and his deeper knowledge of the Force has let him build his own understanding of the Force and he has embarked on an even deeper journey.

Finally, as a homage to the original character, he will also build himself a Light Whip as soon as he can get the Weapon Profficiency (Light Sabre) feat.

Star Wars Saga - Latest purchase

Last weekend I finally cracked and bought Star Wars Saga. My impression so far is that it looks like a nice game.

After the first read-through I decided to do a little experiment. I wrote four one-sentence character descriptions on one page each. I tried not to think about what classes and possibilities there was in the game. Then, after I wrote the descriptions down, I tried to make PCs fittting those descriptions.

The result was good, I thought. After an hour I had four characters that fitted the descriptions close enough for me. This meant no tweaking or shoe-horning the concept into what's in the game. Since it was my first go with the system, and it didn't take that long, I consider that a promising start with the game.

For those interested, the concepts were:

• A brawler that makes his living through fighting for money in illegal tournaments.
  
• A female jedi that was a victim of abuse when she was young. Her menter wants her to find calm through the force, but her background makes her a target for the dark side
• An Indiana Jones-archeologist that looks for old temples dedicated to the Sith and the Jedi to learn more about the force (even though he is not force sensitive himself)
• A trained fighter following ancient fighting philosophies to perfect his body and his soul

As soon as I have entered these into a digital format I will post them here

Results and relations - The purpose of a gaming system

In my last post I put up a small thought experiment about character generation. The aim was to point at two different roles that a gaming system has.

My own answer to the question is that even if I make a purely random character, making the rolls myself gives me a stronger connection to and better understanding of the character. This implies one thing: The rules has two purposes

First of all, it helps me to decide what happens in the game. If my character fails a Jump skill check, he fails to make a jump he tries to make.

Second, it helps me to get a relation to the world and to my character. When I roll the dice, there is a symbolic aspect of it as well: My dice-rolling is my character jumping.

A well designed game approaches the rules from both these functions. It seems, however, that it's not as easy as it sounds. I have encountered a number of games that focus to much on either of these two.

One extreme is a game that focuses purely on a good statistical simulation. In this particular context I mean that the world says that something should happen, and the rules actually supports this. Someone who is extremely strong actually does more damage and lifts heavier weights. However, if this is the only aspect of the game, the rules and the character can be quite dry and fail to convey the sense of a strong character. A small example: In the game Heroes Unlimited, the "Strength"-attribute is called P.A (Physical Affinity). It's perfectly valid, and it doesn't take you long to learn what it means, but it's still P.A, it's not "Strength" or a similar straightforward english word. In other words, it's technically correct, but fails to relate directly what it means.

The other extreme could be a game that is very good on giving out an impression of someone who is strong. This game could use a dice pool system, having more dice to roll gives you a tactile sensation that the character is more powerful. However, if the statistical outcome of the rules doesn't support the description, the suspense of disbeliefe get's harder. One example for me would be the old Marvel RPG (The old version known as FASERIP). Since it used descriptive words and clear steps of their attributes, you quickly got a good sense of how strong or fast someone was supposed to be. If I read that a character had Incredible strength, I knew that he was about as strong as Spiderman or Iron Man.

The problem with this game was that, to some extent, the results of the rolls failed to support the descriptions of the attributes. In the real game, at least in my experience, my character with Incredible strength and Amazing Agility couldn't do what Spiderman could do in the comics.

This to me is an example of where the rules support the sense and impression of the character, but fails to live up to it's "promises".

In earlier posts, I've looked at these parts as Layers of a gaming system, where the core is about the statistics and the outer layers are about the interface. After looking at some different games through this layer system I had to abandon that idea, at least partly. This is because in some cases, the core statistics and core mechanic is closely related to the "Human Interface"-layer, and to make a distinct separation between what parts are Interface and what parts are Engine is basically impossible.

What is a gaming system?

When does one system end and another begin! Where does the system end and the fluff begin? Does system matter? What is the purpose of the system? A number of threads on rpg.net lately has raised a number of questions for me. Basically it all comes down to the role and effect of the rules system in an rpg. I will start this little series with a small example, if it can be called that. Imagine that you have a game with a purely random character generation. No choices whatsoever, or at least a very limited amount of choices. Now, consider these two options:

1 - you roll up your character with dice, one roll at a time and write
down the result

2 - you use a computer to generate all the rolls and calculations for
you. A click on a button and a second later you have got a finished
character.

Now, which of these characters will you have the strongest connection
to?

Running DnD4 for the first time - An interview with the GM Part IV: The Future and broken chairs

So, we have come to the final part of the interview. Basically this is where we talk about your post-game impressions. What went wrong, what went right and how will you proceed from here?

What did you do after your first game?

Well, first I removed the remains of the chair that, well, succombed to the pressure. In mid-combat, suddenly one of our players almost disappeared from view, due to the chair braking under him. That woke us up a bit :-)

Anything else?

Yeah. I have a tradition of whenever I have run a new game, I go back and read through the rulebook to see what I did wrong, right etc.

Was there anything that struck you at first?

Well, nothing much actually. Some powers we may have done slightly wrong, but as a whole it played out as written. The one thing I remember is that we did slightly wrong on death saves.

Is there any area where you still feel unsecure in 4th ed?

Actually there is. I still don't feel really at home with Skill Challenges. I like the idea, but I think I need to find a way to use them that suits my style of gaming before I can use them to their best advantage.

In what way doesn't it suit you?

Even though I tried to enforce descriptions to each and every roll, there is a risk that it gets reduced to a series of skill checks. I also had problems with hitting a good level of difficulty for the skill challenges.

Was it too easy? Or too hard?

Well, both actually. When this interview was made, I have had the time to play 4th ed a second time. The first time, they where to easy, the second time they where too hard.

What did you do when a skill challenge was failed?

Well, first of all, in one of the challenges, I used the rule that for each failed skill check, a healing surge was lost. This mirrored that the challenge was a physically demanding task. Another problem that I had to think about was what to do if the players failed a challenge that was needed for the module to continue.

How did you solve that?

I don't know if it was the best of solutions, but it worked. Basically I withheld the XP for the encounter, and in the case I mentioned above the players lost all their healing surges. However, they got the information they needed, got where they where supposed to. This meant that the module moved on, but there was still some penalty for failing the challenge.

Will you use this in the future?

I think I will build upon that idea. I will try to find other ways to make a success mean an extra perk, and a failure to be a penalty. I will also try to make skill challenges more scripted. For instance making a success with a specific skill open up other uses for skills. This is mentioned in the DMG, but I havn't really used it much yet.

Speaking of the future, will you continue playing 4th ed

Well, of course. If nothing else, because that one of my groups will be playing Living Campaigns with 4th ed in a couple of months.

So, will you be using it outside of that?

I do believe so, I've enjoyed it so far, and the modules we've played are starting to form the beginning of a campaign.

What will you be using it for?

The campaign so far is meant to be some kind of dark fantasy. The focus is on combat and digging out the evil creatures that threaten the few remaining bits of civilisation.

In an earlier post, you talked about a starting setting that you perhaps should use. Do you still hold on to that?

No, not really. It turned out that the imagery I got from that setting didn't fit with how DnD vibes with me. I will however keep to the same principle.

Which one is that?

Start simple, build outwards from that.

Fair enough. So, we are running out of space here. Now that you've tried 4th ed, how will you place that in relation to other rpg's out there. Is it a revolution? Evolution? Neither?

Neither I'm afraid to say. There's very little in DnD4 that made me go "wow, I've never seen this before". They have taken a number of bits that works in other games (rpg's and otherwise), polished them so that they fit together, and then made a game out if it. And it works. It's simple, fast and gets the job done. Perhaps not without it's quirks, but it works.

Running DnD4 for the first time - An interview with the GM Part III

We have now come to the actual play and your experiences with DnD4. So, how did it go?

It went well, I'd say. We all had a good time, and play was fun even though it was the first time for all of us.

Did you use pregens or did you make the characters hat session?

We made the characters that evening.

So, how is character generation in 4th ed?

It's fast. Or, rather, it can be. If you boil it down to the bare bones, it's a couple of choices (about 10), and then you are set to go. And since most of these choices are from a rather limited list, you don't have that much to go through to find out what you want.

On the other hand, if you wan't to optimise your character and really find that ultimat build, I guess it'd take a bit longer.

It's also very helpful to write down or print out the different powers that your character has. Otherwise combat will take a bit longer.

Did you have a full party of 5 characters?

No, we actually had three characters. One warlord, one paladin and one warlock

Did they live up to their roles?

Very much so! The paladin stood and took a lot of punishment, challenging his enemies so that they attacked him. The warlock spread destruction on his enemies. In the middle of it all, we had the warlord shouted orders and inspired his little band.

While we are still in combat, how was combat?

I won't say it was fast, that's for games like savage worlds or similar. With that said, it worked well, and it was faster than 3.5. As has been said numerous times before, each character had something interesting to do each round.

Also, at least I felt that each combat played out as a story.

What do you mean?

Well, combat wasn't just an exchange of blows, but rather interesting things happened. It felt more like a battle-scene than an excercise in rolling dice. I can't really explain why, but it was fun.

That was the good points with combat, how about the down-sides?

I don't know. Since most enemies had a fair amount of hit points, combat did drag on a little to long at times. Also, if you hadn't written your different powers down, it took some time looking them all up.

So, did it feel like a roleplaying game or a board game?

I was afraid that it would be a bit like a board game, but it wasn't. If anything, it felt more like a roleplaying game than 3.5 did. One of my players said that since you had less die rolling, you could spend more time roleplaying. It's something I didn't expect, but I agree.

A personal thought is also that since the classes have clear cut roles, it's easy to roleplay them. Take the warlord, for instance. Many of his powers can be interpreted as him shouting out orders to his companions. It's easy to go this route and almost shout out orders yourself. He really is the brave commander that he is supposed to be.

How about other situations? You had some skill challenges. Did they work out ok?

They did, but ironically it took some more effort to actual roleplay these. It's easy for these to turn into a series of rolls and nothing else. Next time I think I'll be a bit harder on my players, demanding more explanations for their rolls before the actual roll.

Now you are looking forward, and that's what we will be doing in the next part. So, let's finish this of: What is your verdict of playing DnD4

It was fun. I enjoyed it a lot. As I've stated before: I'm glad it's not the only game I'll be playing in the future, but it's a very nice little game. As long as you try to play with it and not against it (read: it = the intentions of the game designers) it is a solid game.

Preparing a module for DnD4 - An interview with the GM Part II

So, in this part we are going to talk about your role as a GM in preparing a module for the game. Can you just give as a quick rundown on the adventure.

It was a fairly short module that played out over an evening (including chargen). It started out with the characters encountering a ghost and some skeletons. When they later arrived at a nearby village, they learned that the undead had started to haunt the area some weeks ago.

The players then made some investigations in the village. They learned that there is an old story about the Traitor. A man who supposedly betrayed a local knightly order so that evil creatures could attack them in their sleep. It seems like the ghost is the ghost of that traitor. Perhaps the answer to his haunting lies in the knights tower, where the betrayal took place.

During this time, they also got to know some of the villages. One of these was a warlord who didn't fit in with the rest of the farmers and fishermen of the village. He basically came across like a protector of the village.

The players then left for the knights tower to see if they could solve the riddle. On the way there, they had to pass through some goblin-infested hills.

When they reached the tower, they had to make a rather ardous climb to get there. Inside the tower, they where attacked by small winged drakes. In the combat, they accidentally set of a rockslide.

After the battle, the players search the tower, and realise that the knights wheren't betrayed. It was them that was the betrayers. They sold themselves to the foces of evil to get richess and power. The so called betrayer discovered this and was slain by the knights.

With this redeeming knowledge, the players headed back to the village. Before they got there, the encountered the warlord. He had armour that revealed that he was a member of this knightly order. Of course he wanted to stop the PC's, so with the help of two bandits he attacked them. After this final battle, the players continued to the village and released the restless spirit from his haunting.

Wow, that was some story. How would this translate into encounters?

4 combat encounters. One against the ghost and his skeletons, one against some goblins, one against the spiretop drakes in the tower, and finally one against the warlord and his bandits.

We also had two skill challenges. One to do research in the village and one to get to the tower.

Did you first come up with the story and then find the encounters suitable?

No, actually I did it the other way around. I used the Random Encounter-section of the DMG to get three encounters. My original plan was to do three battles and two challenges. With that I got my encounters with type and level. After that I flipped through the MM to find enemies that suited the encounters.

So, finally I had three encounters of different types and different creatures. From that I sat down and tried to figure out how to weave these encounters together as a story.

Did you adjust the encounters after having the story.

In this case I didn't. It all fitted together rather nicely.

Did you add anything special to the encounters?

Yes, one of the encounters had a hazard. After looking through the section on traps, I figured that a rock slide would fit the overall arch perfectly.

You said you generated three combat encounters, but in the story there was four.

Yeah, the last encounter was added when my players told me that they propably would have pregenerated characters. So, in order to make the session a little longer, I added a final encounter the the module. This was the final battle with the warlord.

When you had the encounters, how hard was it to prepare these for actual play.

Not hard at all. All enemies (except for the warlord) was statted out in detail in the MM. This includes the human bandits. The only thing I had to do was to draw up the maps, and then the encounters where ready.

So, what's your verdict on preparing modules for DnD4?

As long as you stick with what the designers intended and use the material in the books as presented, it's very easy to build an adventure with a couple of encounters. If you want to go more free-form it's not easier or harder than any other game system. To sum up, the more you go with the intended flow, the easier it is.

Playing 4th ed for the first time - Interview with the GM Part I

This is where I interview myself after our first session of playing DnD 4th ed. It was a home made adventure that lasted one evening. The interview is split up in 4 parts.

So, I figure you have just run your first full game of DnD 4th?

That is correct. We ran a short module with a couple of encounters and two skill challenges.

Was this a pre-made module, or something that you created yourself.

This was something I wrote. We didn't have a module available, and also I wanted to see how 4th ed was to write modules for.

That's an interesting topic, and we'll get back to that later. Now, Can you in one sentence describe the overall impression with 4th ed?

That's a hard one... but I think I'll have to go with this: It's not a set of tools, it's a box of parts that fit together

Can you elaborate on that?

Well, many RPG's are labeled as toolboxes, with which you can build whatever you like in detail. My impression with 4th ed is more that it gives you a number of parts or modules. You can then combine these parts in a number of ways, but each of the parts are fairly ready-made.

What are the effects of this?

I'd say it's both good and bad. The bad thing is that you are more bound to how the creators of the game intended things to play out. The good thing is that it's a lot faster to prepare and run modules, or to build characters.

Can you give details on how this would effect character creation?

I'll do my very best. In DnD 3.5, and many other games, if you wanted to build a fighter, you built him from the ground up (more or less). You could choose if you wanted him to be fast or strong and so on. You had a lot more freedom in how to build the character. In 4th ed, the fighter is limited to what the game designers envisioned him to be. On the other hand, chargen is much quicker, you assign your stats, choose race and class, pick one or two feats, assign a few trained skills, pick your powers (four choices all in all), choose a weapon and armour and then you are ready to go.

Speaking of quicker. 4th ed is said to have been more streamlined and fast. What is your take on this.

To some extent I'd say they succeeded with this. The combats played out fairly fast, and as long as you had your power descriptions in front of you, even the more colorfull attacks where resolved in about a minute or so.

Did you get some comments from your players?

Yes. I think we all had a good time with a game, which is the most important thing. However, the number of new terms in the game caused some confusion at times.
Another comment was that 4th ed made roleplaying easier, because there where fewer die-rolls, so you could spend more time on actually playing the character.

Finally, I think that we where a little surprised on how it played out. I think we anticipated the "gamey" aspects of the game to be more noticable and up front, but on the contrary, the game felt more roleplaying-y than we thought it would

Interesting, I guess that we will come back to that more in part III of this interview. For now, thanks for your answers. We'll see each other again for part II of this interview, which looks at your experiences in preparing a game for DnD4.

Cantrips - A charming detail with 4th ed wizards

Today I made a number of characters for 4th ed to get a better grasp of the system. When I got to making a wizard, I saw it: Cantrips!

It's nothing spectacular, and definately nothing new, but that doesn't matter. This is what makes a wizard a wizard. Not blasting fireballs or bolts of lightning. It's the small things. Like magically pouring himself a glas of wine, or lighting the candles on the table with just a wave of his hand.

These things are worthless in combat, but golden for roleplaying situations.

Komran, Human Paladin for DnD4

Here's another character. This time I opted for a Paladin. Since I wanted him to be a competent warrior I focused a bit on the physical stats. This meant that I had to sacrifice either Wisdom or Charisma. This time, I went for a charismatic but maybe not to bright paladin. Later on, when choosing powers, that was rather limiting, since many powers used wisdom-modifier in one way or the other.



Komran, Human paladin of Pelor

Str 16 (+3); Dex 12 (+1); Con 14 (+2); Int 10 (0); Wiz 11 (0); Cha 15 (+2)
Hit Points 29; Bloodied 14; Healing Surge 7; Healing surges / day 12

AC 19; Fortitude 15; Reflex 13; Will 14
Size: Medium Alignment: Good Vision: Normal Speed: 5
Initiative +1
Languages: Common, Draconic

Armor: Plate armor (+8, -2 to physical skill checks), light shield (+1)

Class Feats
Channel Divinity , Divine Challenge (At-will, minor, close burst 5 one creature, mark target)
Lay on hands (At-will, 1/day, minor, touch, spend healing surge to let ally regain points)

Feats
Healing Hands (+2 to lay on hands), Blade opportunist (+2 to OA w. heavy or light blade)

Skills
Religion (+5), Diplomacy (+7), Insight (+5), Heal (+5), Endurance (+7)
Passive insight 15, Passive perception 10

Basic attack
Longsword (+6, damage 1d8+3)

At-will powers
Enfeebling Strike (Std, Melee, one creature, +5 vs AC, 1D8+2, if target marked gets -2 to attack for 1 round)
Valiant Strike (Std, Melee, one creature, +6+1/adj. nmy vs. AC, 1D8+3)
Holy Strike( Std, Melee, one creature +6 vs. AC, 1D8+3 radiant, if target marked +wiz dam)

Encounter powers
Radiant smite (std, Melee, one creature, +6 vs. AC, 2D8+3)

Daily powers
Paladins Judgement (std, Melee, one creature, +6 vs. AC, 3D8 +3, one ally within 5 sq. spend healing surge)

Zirath - Dragonborn Warlord for DnD4

So, after reading through the DnD-books, I decided to build myself a Warlord (something I've mentioned in some of my previous posts). For my race, I choose Dragonborn, since that's something I've (obviously) never played, and I wanted to see what they where about.

From what I can judge, he is a decent warrior, able to attack and deal out fair amount of damage himself. I guess that against a Fighter he will having some serious problem. However, already at 1st lvl he can give his allies increased maneuverability, speed and endurance. He has a couple of ways to make his allies fight just a little longer with some extra hit points.

Zirath, Dragonborn Warlord

Str 18 (+4); Dex 12 (+1); Con 13 (+1); Int 10 (0); Wiz 11 (0); Cha 16 (+3)
Hit Points 25; Bloodied 12; Healing Surge 7; Healing surges / day 8

AC 16; Fortitude 15; Reflex 11; Will 14
Size: Medium Vision: Normal Speed: 5
Initiative +3

Armor: Heavy Chainmail (+6 armor, -1 speed)

Class Feats
Combat Leader (+2 init within 10 sq), Inspiring Presence (ally spends act.pt heals 3 and is allowed to roll saves),
Inspiring Word (Encounter x2, Minor, close burst 5, one ally incl self, target can spend healing surge and regains additional 1d6 hit points)

Racial Traits
Dragonborn Fury, Draconic Heritage,
Dragn breath (Encounter, Fire, Minor action, blast 3, +6 vs. Refl, 1D6+1 dam)

Feats
Inspired recovery

Skills
Endurance (+6), Heal (+5), History (+7), Intimidiate (+10)
Passive insight 10, Passive perception 10

Basic attack
Flail (+6, damage 1d10+4)

At-will powers
Wolf Pack Tactics (Std, Melee, one creature, before attack one ally may shift, +6 vs AC, 1D10+4)
Vipers Strike (Std, Melee, one creature, +6 vs. AC, 1D10+4, If target shifts provokes OA from ally)

Encounter powers
Leaf of the Wind (std, Melee, one creature, +6 vs. AC, 2D10+4, Target and you or ally swaps places)

Daily powers
Bastion of Defence (std, Melee, one creature, +6 vs. AC, 3D10 +4, hit: all allies within 5 sq gets +1 to all defences to end of encounter, effect: allies get temp hit points of +8)

DnD4 Countdown 0 - It's here and I've got it

So, it's finally here!

After a visit to my gaming store, I got home with the three books (and a 16 minis and a voucher for a dm screen and some character sheets).

So, after a quick look through it, what are my first impressions?

• The books doesn't look as good as the 3.5 did. I'm sorry, but I don't like the new design. It's a bit to plastic. Oh yeah.. the new D20-logo? Sorry, it's pure ugly.
  
• The interior, on the other hand is very nice. Perhaps not winning any design awards, but definately good looking.
• Another aspect of the design is readability and overview. In this area, the game shines. On the hour long trip on the train I flipped through it, and many concepts where easy to grasp and very clearly described. Chapters and pages are very nicely layd out, with accesibility and readability as high priorities.
• The sections for each class are big. All powers (at-will, encounter and daily) are described in this part. I'm not sure it's good or bad, but it feels strange after being used to class-sections no longer than 1 or 2 pages.
• My guess about the warlord seems to hold true. It's definately a class I will be playing soon. Perhaps with a dragonbord, that seems like an interesting class (which is interesting since I never considered that race before getting the books.

So, time to create a couple of characters and go out and play.

DnD4 Countdown 1 - Almost there!

About a year ago, wizards posted a semi-cryptic message on their website, hinting at something big was to be announced. They even had a big countdown-clock on the site.

We all know what happened: They announced that 4th edition of DnD was in the works (and also that their servers crashed right after the counter reached 0:0:0).

Since that day, there have been rumours, speculations, previews, simple playtests etc. Of course, we saw allegations that 4th ed is a dumbed-down version to cater for the WoW-infected children of today. There's also the usual "DnD has turned into a miniatures game" and similar complaints.

This is exactly the things that was said when 3.0 and 3.5 was released, and I guess we will hear it again when a hypothetical 5th ed is released.

Yes, you can use it as a boardgame/ miniatures game. There are propably some elements from WoW in DnD4. But, at it's core, I still believe that DnD4 can cater to different tastes and can be played in a multitude of ways.

During the year, Wizards have given us lots of previews, statements and hints. They have made some hefty claims about how the game will play, and I for one am looking forward to see how these claims are met.

One point which is met with a lot of scepticism is the dnd insidier application. I guess no-one really knows how it will turn out in the end. It's definately something I will look into though.

To sum up: We know a lot about the game already, but tomorrow is when we (or at least I) can start get a more complete picture. Some questions will be answered directly from reading the rules, and others will require a few sessions of gaming to figure out. Either way, the wait is very soon over, and we can start to enjoy this new game.

.. as long as I can stop myself from getting Trail of Cthulhu, which I also saw on one of the shelves of my DFGS (distant friendly gaming store). If I fail my will save, my next post may as well be about that game.

DnD4 Countdown 2 - 5 additions I hope for

While the books will containg many hours of joy, there are still things I hope to see in the future.

• Rules on mass combat. Sooner or later, the characters can grow and become leaders of armies, waging wars against other kingdoms. I see no problem why the basic rules wouldn't scale so that you have troops of different classes. Each troop can have at-will powers, encounter powers and "daily" powers (maybe changing the terms slightly). The all out attack with the big cannon is a daily power, while an ordinary volley of arrows is an at will power. This and the rules for swarms should make the addition of mass combat rules quite easy.
• Castles and Courts. I'd like to se a sourcebook on how to build castles and how to do courtly intrigue. It doesn't have to be extremely detailed, but just guidelines on how a castle looks, what defences it can have etc. This way I can play Sir Huffin, brave knight. I'd save damstrels in distress, excell in tournament games and be blessed by the king himself
• More specialised magic users. Instead of just a wizard, I'd like to see intersting takes on Necromancers, Illusionists or perhaps even some kind of artificers.
• Martial arts. Let's hope for classes and powers that simulate ninjas, shaolin monks and karate experts. Come on, don't stop with just the monk, give us over-the-top action.
• The Deep Dark - Imagine underwater andventures with hidden ruins and ancient secrets. Sects of deep ones worship the horror hidden deep beneath the ocean waves, in temples with astec and incan influences.
  

DnD4 Countdown 3 - Five characters I want to play

• Any kind of warlord. The more I read about the warlord, the more fun it seems. I want to shout orders to the fighters, telling them to push on and to shake that measily flesh wound of. See my post about Warlords/ sergeants for more info.

• Half-elven Ranger. I know, this is a bit cliché, but so far the different editions of DnD have failed me in making it possible to play a decent flashy, rapier wielding swashbuckler type. I will be very interested in seeing if DnD4 can accomplish this.
• A human Paladin. You know, I want to ride in full plate armour, wielding my lance, bracing my shield and fighting for all that's good and decent. Lancelot and Ivanhoe, here I come!
• Dragonborn or Tiefling Warlock. I'm intrigued by the idea of a dark character that is basically good, but that flirts with evil powers to get stronger. Does the end really justify the means?
• The angry axe. That is, a large axe with an angry dwarven fighter attached to the non-sharp end. I know it's trite and way to old, but there's something primal and simple with a dwarven warrior.
  

DnD4 Countdown 4 - A week of fives

This final week before the release, I'll be presenting a number of lists concerning DnD4. Todays list is "Five things I'm excited about in DnD4". I know I have written a few posts that seem fairly critical to the game, so I thought I'd make up for that in presenting what I'm looking forward to in DnD4. So, here goes

1. Fantastic worlds
   
• It seems DnD4 is going back to a more simple, straightforward setting that opens up for more freedom and creativity for the DM. The basic setting, as described, doesn't contain lot's of history, politics or civilisation. It just is. This makes it easier for me to just slot in whatever incoherent and fun story I want. If I want there to be ruins that hold the secrets about who is the rightful heir to the "old kingdom" (whatever that is), there is ruins.. and an old kingdom.. and an heir. Also, take a look at my post Starting settings simple
  
2. Ease of preparation
• It seems like DnD4 will be a lot easier to prepare modules for. Take the above example. I want the ruins to be populated by goblins that are ruled by a warlock. He has a personal guard of undead around him. All these things are readily prepared in the Monster Manual, and even if I wanted to flesh the Warlock out in detail that won't take long. Focus is on the story and excitement, not adding modifiers.
3. More group tactics.
• One thing that I have noticed is that there are a lot more rules that encourages group tactics (or at least some sort of coorperation). This holds mostly true for the leader-types, but the rest of the classes also get their share of powers and attacks that can be used to good effect when used in conjunction with others.
4. Reaching lvl 30.
• This is a long term plan, but still. I like that they have added the quest for immortality in the end. It doesn't just end with "the characters settle down and become a barkeep", but the character can actually be a demi-god, influencing millions of people in the future.
5. An interesting setting publishing model
• Some time ago WotC presented a model for publishing settings. Actually, it's nothing remarkable, but that's what I find remarkable. Instead of having a small number of settings that will be bloated with sourcebooks, they will have a larger number of settings (there's even rumours of Spelljammer... yay!) with a limited series of books. Basically one GM Guid and one Players Guide for each setting, and that's it. There are those that doesn't like that, but it's a model I very much approve of.

Look forward to other lists later this week.

DnD4 Countdown 5 - Editing 101

Todays post is not so much about DnD4 as it's an observation on a trend in rpg-writing in general. Earlier today, I saw this text describing the new game from White Wolfe called Hunter: the Vigil. Although I'm excited about the game, something about the text didn't click at all.

Now, let me first point you to the writers guidelines at Steve Jackson games. In this case, take a look at #6. It's about overuse of words and long sentences. In the guidelines it's said that a lot of words can be taken away without losing the intended meaning. I will add to that, and say that in some cases you can actually add feeling and intensity through removing "padding text". I have encounterd (and read about it) numerous times.

So, today I actually sat down and trimmed the text. Partly this was to actually understand it better myself. I'm aware that it's not perfect, but I think that the trimmed text conveys the message and substance across better than the original one.

Around the world, the vast majority of hunters face the supernatural armed with little more than their wits, willpower, and whatever supplies they can gather from the local sporting goods store.
Some hunters, though, by dint of powerful backers or stores of ancient relics or a supposed fallen angel in the family tree, have access to tools beyond those that ordinary men and women can acquire. Some would argue that these tools make them every bit as unnatural as the things they profess to hate—how much difference is there, really, between a witch who calls down lightning from the sky and a man who has implanted a swarm of insect monsters into his body to use as a weapon?
Others counter that, to destroy the monsters that hide in the shadows with any chance of success, a hunter needs every edge he can get. Endowments, unlike the powers of supernatural beings, are not their own category of Trait. They are simply a new category of Merit, and are purchased with Merit dots just like any other.

And the trimmed version:

Hunters face the supernatural armed with wits, willpower, and whatever supplies they find in a sporting goods store.
Some hunters, though have access to tools beyond those that ordinary men and women can acquire. Some would argue that these tools make them just as unnatural as the things they hunt—how much difference is there between a witch who calls down lightning from the sky and a man who has implanted a swarm of insect monsters into his body?
Others counter that, to destroy the monsters a hunter needs every edge he can get. Endowment are not their own category of Trait. They are simply a new category of Merit, and are purchased with Merit dots just like any other.

It might need additional work, but overall, this text is clearer and has more punch than the first one. One could argue that some info on the origins of these powers should be added (the "stores of ancient relics..."-part), but in this case I would make it a separate paragraph, rather than making an already long sentence even longer.

As I said, I have seen this trend in RPG-publishing some time now (with my fellow countrymen being major offenders here. Swedish RPG's are often written horribly bad). My hopes are that DnD4 will be written clearly and elegantly but not all to dry or formal.

DnD 4 Countdown 6 - I'm afraid I have to use the word Awesome!

Todays post will be short, at least my part of it. On rpg.net, a poster by the name of Mostly_Ghostly presents a setting he calls Nifflas. This is among the best and most interesting settings I've seen so far. This incudes most commersial settings as well. So, instead of talking to you myself about it, I'll provide you with the link.

Nifflas

I know the guy wrote it and had 4th ed in mind, but I can't help but thinking that it would be equally awesome (see, I had to use that word) using Spirit of the Century, Savage Worlds or even a version of Castle Falkenstein.

DnD4 Countdown 7 - The sergeant shouts: Stand up and fight

Yesterday I experienced an eye-opener that showed me the use and role of the warlord in 4th edition.

First, let me point you to a thread on rpg.net where they describe what the warlord really is: He is the drill sargeant, the tough coach, the squad leader shouting orders to his troops.

Lots of his powers let another character use a healing surge, or make an extra shift (sometimes more than 1 square) or just give them a bonus to hit.

As I said, read the thread for great examples of how to play the warlord.

Now, back to my eye-opener. Yesterday we played in our regular game of Living Greyhawk. We faced a rather nasty monster (a werecat on steroids, basically), and our fearless Fighter charged before anyone else of us had a chance to do anything. Turns out the monster was a bit to much even for our lvl 12 fighter. It made huge amounts of damage, and had a reach of 15'. So, our fighter got heavily wounded, and tried to get away. A five foot step wasn't enough, because of the range, and if he tried to make a move, he would provoke an attack of opportunity. So, basically, he was stuck with the monster and it looked pretty dire for a little while.

Now, this is where the squad lea - sorry, warlord would come in handy. Imagine if the fighter charged and tried to attack. The warlord could then shout (on his turn)
"FIGHTER, YOU ARE BREAKING RANK! FALL BACK!"

This would give the fighter a free shift out of range for the werecat. The group then can attack as a team. The warlord/ commander saves the life of the fighter once again

DnD4 Countdown 8 - Roleplaying pt.2

Yesterday I wrote a little about roleplaying and what I consider roleplaying is. This started with the notion that DnD4 is mainly aimed at combat in it's rules.

As said before, the proponents of this say that we need complex rules to simulate combat, but the rest can be freeformy, improvisational.

What I would like is more rules that simulate other aspects of the character than just his combat ability. Why is this? Because, if I have a character with a certain background or fluff, I want this fluff to have a mechanical effect. I want the game to support my persona, my character from multiple angles.

This can mean a lot of things, all from the Journal-based character sheet in Castle Falkenstein to the insanity-rules in World of Darkness. Another example that I still remember fondly is the Campaign Ratings in Golden Heroes.

I think what I'm trying to say is the following: While some people say that the only areas that need real rules are combat, I believe that there are areas outside of combat that benefits from having some kind of framework of rules, methods or guidelines.

Examples of what I mean (with that I don't say that all these have to be in DnD4):

• An interesting flora of skills and abilities that are not just combat oriented
• The Virtue/Vice-system and it's effect on willpower in World of Darkness
• The long-term rules from Ars Magica, including magical research and keeping up your village
• The exploratory magic in Mage: the Awakening
• The company rules in Reign
• The rules for Karma, Popularity and Resources in Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game
• The generic rules for all kinds of conflict in Heroquest

DnD4 Countdown 9 - Roleplaying

One discussion that is taking place on enworld and rpg.net as of now is whether dnd4 is just a combat-game without any support for roleplaying. What people are saying is that it seems that the classes are defined by their role in a combat situation, and also that the powers are focused on combat and encounters.

The counter-argument is usually that we need rules for tactical combat, but we don't need rules for "roleplaying". Rules for roleplaying only hinders actual roleplaying more than it helps. It's in this assumed that rules for roleplaying equals social interaction rules.

My take on this is that I share the worries that DnD4 is heading towards to much of a tactical miniatures game rather than a roleplaying game. When I look ahead in the pipeline for what's coming later this year, there is the Martial book and a book about magical items. The first one is more combat powers, more martial classes and paragon paths etc. The second is, well, more magical items.

So, yes, I'm worried that DnD4 is slowly moving away from what I consider to be an interesting rpg. I'll still play it, and propably enjoy it, but I'm glad I'm playing in two campaigns at the same time, so that I don't have to rely on DnD4 for my rpg-fix.

However, I think it's also fair to establish what I consider to be roleplaying. It's a very wide term, of course, but if I should trim it down to one sentence, this is it:

Roleplaying is expressing what and who the character is!

This means that roleplaying isn't just limited to social interaction. You can roleplay in a combat situation, for instance. This includes, but is not limited to, describing what the character does in a more colorful way. It can also be using special maneuvers, adapt a battle-cry etc. Nothing fancy, but the possibilities are there.

By the same token, social interaction may very well be a very complex struggle in real life. This is something I as a player isn't very good at (being the classical geek, I'm not that skilled in diplomacy or the finer details of the social game), so for me having a fairly firm ruleset regarding this kind of conflict is good, because I'm not automatically hindered for not being the socially skilled. It's the character that makes a difference, not me.

This discussion will be continued tomorrow

DnD4 Countdown 10 - Oops, there's a leak in the dam.

Apparently, some retailers, both online and stores, havn't been paying attention to the release date of DnD4. So, a number of happy campers (or gamers... I don't think gamers are much for camping, unless it's outside a gaming store or cinema) have gotten their copies already.

So, for interesting info, there are threads on both rpg.net and enworld.

• I have them - 4e Core set; rpg.net
• 4E - I also have the books (info on upcomming Power sources and more); enworld
• 4E - Just posting to make you all jealous, I HAVE THEM; enworld

On top of that, some posters also claim that stolen pdf print-files can be found on the internet.

Although I can see that both things (leaked books and pirated pdf's) are a bad thing, I'm sorry to say I'm not surprised. To a certain extent, I'd say that WotC have made some choices that increased the incentive for these kind of things.

As some of you may recall, the first publishing plan was to release the PHB in April, the DMG in May and the MM in june. They got some criticism for releasing the books spread out over time. So, WotC respons to this was to move all books to june, the last date in the publishing plan.

So, instead of giving people the opportunity to choose if they wanted to buy them on a 1-by-1 basis or wait until all books are published, they are "forcing" people to wait as long as possible. At the same time they are showing of the books at shows and whatnot. So, we know they have got the books, they just won't sell them. This feels very arbitrary.

If I may point at a parallell process. slightly less than a year ago, Apple released the iPhone. It was bound to one operator, and only to be sold in the US. It took quite some time before it was released in the first european contries. However, by that time, I already had met people here in Sweden (where it's not even released yet) with iPhones and swedish operators. After a while, there was repors about 1 in every 3 iPhones sold worldwide was used outside of the "official" countries, running hacked versions of the OS and connected to local operators.

I'm not saying this is a good or bad thing, just that when companies make these kind of arbitrary decisions, there will be a counter-reaction.

DnD4 Countdown 11 - The online applications

One of the main points when DnD4 was presented was the online applications. Basically all the rules will be online, and you will be able to create characters, build virtual minis and even play a full game of DnD online.

All this is good, and I'm looking forward to trying it out. However, there is one thing I hope the staff at WotC takes a good look at.

That is d20srd.org. Nothing more than the d20 srd online, thoroughly hyperlinked. Simple, elegant, fast and usable. There is one hidden feature though. You can generate die-rolls for skill checks, damages etc if you click the correct value. For instance, if you click the Initiative-value for a creature, an initiative-roll is made and shown in a popup window.

So, why do I bring up this? Because this is what I want the online dnd-books to look like. Before trying to add a lot of eye-candy, make sure that the base-line functionality is solid and transparent.

Having said that, the online initiative is interesting, and I do believe that it can add interesting aspects to roleplaying, as long as it's executed well. My only real worry is the pricing. It seems like it will cost about the same as major brand MMORPGs, and to me, that is a tad to much. I now that you get a lot with that subscription, but paying 10-15 dollars/ month for something that is mainly game support is to much.

With that said, I do wish them good luck with the project, and hope that other game publishers follow suit in one way or the other.

DnD4 Countdown 12 - Supers and DnD4

One of my favorite rpg-genres is Super Heroes. After playing a short session of Mutants and Masterminds the other day I started to think about what the design principles of 4th ed would mean in a super hero game. What I came up with did leave me intrigued.

Power levels
It seems like the three tiers of play as they are presented in DnD4 could scale fairly well to a super hero game.

Lvl 1-10 would mean street level super heroes, sidekicks and unexperienced heroes. They are still more than the average Joe, but they havn't reached the higher power levels yet.

Lvl 11-20 is equivalent to most Marvel heroes, like Spiderman, X-Men or most parts of Avengers. Powerful with the ability to make a difference, but not earth shattering really yet.

Lvl 21-30 is where your cosmic powered semi-dieties come in. Either that, or very experienced characters. One could argue that Batman, for instance, would fall into this category because of his immense experience, even though he technically is a normal human that falls into the Street Level category. Other examples are the Silver Surfer, Thor and Superman

Power sources

The list of power sources for the different classes could include (but not be limited to) the following: Intense training, energy, brute force, psionics or robotics

Powers

In DnD4 there are three types of powers, at-will (usable every turn), encounter (usable once per encounter) and daily (usable once per..well.. day).

At first glance this doesn't seem appropriate for a super hero game. In the comics they never talk about that they only use a certain power once etc.

However, in practice, this holds true fairly often. To me, it seems like they are not using their most powerful attacks at all times, rather the opposite. They seem to hold these of just until they really need them. Instead, they rely on common attacks most of the time, and then once in a while they activate their magnocapacitorblast or whatever they may call it.

In the comics, I guess this could be explained with that the power takes a lot of energy, or that it is risky or whatever. In game terms, however, it just means that the power is a daily or encounter power.

Sample classes

• Super-soldier
• Intense training/ Leader
• Elemental
  
• Energy / Striker
• Brute
• Brute Force/ Defender
• Cyborg
• Robotics/ Defender
• Beastial Figher
• Intense training/ Striker
• Master Archer
• Intense training/ Controller

DnD Countdown 13 - Now you've won.. what's next?

Todays post is not so much about D20 as it's about Roleplaying in general. My hope is that it can lead to some interesting ideas no matter what the game system though.

Latel I have read a fair amount about the Gumshoe system (as can bee seen in some of my previous posts). One of the core ideas in that game is the following:

- If a scen contains an important clue for the procedure of the module, the characters will find it! The challenge lies in what to do with the clue when it's found.

Now, let's make the following thought experiment: The characters will win all combats. They are accomplished fighters, and can take care of themselves.

This might make for a very boring RPG. A lot of the excitement comes from the uncertainty of combat. So, what do we do to not make it boring?

I have a few points that could serve as a starting point for further development of the idea

• Add a condition to the victory. The fight isn't about winning, but finding out what the character must sacrifice or do to win the fight. A character with a non-killing code might realise that the only way to win is to kill his opponent. Or perhaps in order to win the character will have to leave a loved one in danger.
• Just as when it comes to the clues in Gumshoe, ask the question: "You will win, what will you do with your victory?" Will you release your opponent, letting him spread the rumour about you? Or will you torture him to get more information? Will you convert him to your ways and have him as disciple?
  

To sum them up the first point is about what you want to pay to win, the second point is about what you want to spend your victory.

Even if you don't want to go with the "always win"-idea, perhaps these other points can serve as a starting point on how to make your regular combats more interesting.

DnD4 Countdown 14 - Swarms and minons

This week we have seen the rules for minions and swarms. I'm farily fond of the later, but the former still leaves me with some doubts.

Thing is, the purpose of minions in movies is to either threaten supporting cast and/ or to make the heroes shine. For instance, stormtroopers are not a particular threat to Luke & the gang, but they manage to destroy (although temporary) C3P0. Same thing goes for orcs and uruk-hai in LotR. Aragorn fight them of by the dozen, but Merry and Pippin are captured by them.

Problem is that you don't "shine" in an RPG the same way a hero does in a movie. Most of the time, using minions that don't threaten the character just results in a couple of pointless die rolls. This is called "waste of time" and not "letting the heroes shine".

So, my suggestion is to go with the same principle as with investigations some time ago: If you want the character to easily fight of these minions: Let him! Just narrate it and move on to the bigger battles. If you wan't it to mean something just make a small damage roll and remove some resources. Then, spend time on the important battles.

The swarms, however, seems mighty cool. They look like a real threat, and convey the feeling I get from movies like the Mummy (the scarabs) or the small dinosaurs in Jurassic Park II.
One of the sample swarms has knock prone as a special effect. I like this a lot, it simulates what you see in the movies in many occcasions. Someone is run down by a swarm of something, trips and is then engulfed completely by the swarm. Very Nice!

And on another note: Today it's exactly two weeks until the release!

DnD4 Countdown 15 - Quoting Bon Jovi

We are halfway there, living on a prayer. My countdown is now halfway through. We have seen some interesting stuff the last couple of days. The most intersting must have been the Keep of the Shadowfell. In addition to that, today the character sheet of 4th ed is available for download.

So far my impression of the game can be summed up in the following points

• There is much more emphasis on movement around the table. I expect the battles to be much more flowing and dynamic due to this. Many different attacks give extra movement, either to you or your allies.
• Group dynamic is much more important. In 3.5 coorperation was an option, in 4th ed it seems like it's almost mandatory. Just as with movement, there are many feats that not only affect you, but also helps your allies.
  
• The exception-based framework allows for an almost infinite expansion of the game. Just add more powers, paths or epic destinies. This held true for 3.5, but my impression is that it's even more so for 4th ed.

While I look forward to the game, there are also a few things that make me worried

• It seems like much of the fun stuff is combat or encounter based. This could mark a move towards more tactical gaming and less roleplaying.
  
• The potential for infinite expansion could mean that all future expansions focus on just adding more powers, paths or epic destinies. Hopefully they will also add interesting rule-packages like sea combat as well.
• I have a slight fear that characters can end up looking a lot like each other, especially at lower levels. To some extent it depends a lot on the number of powers available to you at chargen, but on the other hand it can get a bit boring if that's the only differentiating factor as well.

With those random thoughts, I'll sign of for today. See you tomorrow.

DnD4 Countdown 16 - All these previews

Beginning with the DnD Experience earlier this spring, Wizards have been rather generous with their previews. Generous enough that people already have been able to play simple games with the rules. I'm not only talking about games at cons with DMs from Wizards or so, but also home games using the content that is published.

I think most of us that are interested in 4th ed have a pretty good idea about what it's all about. We don't know all the rules, but we have a fair grasp of what's going on. This goes equally for the basic setting and the Forgotten Realms.

Earlier today I read a forum post on rpg.net that explained parts of the "generosity" for me. Funny thing, the post didn't try to explain it. Instead it expressed a suspicion that perhaps DnD has changed to much, and people won't recognize it as DnD anymore. The poster drew parallells with another game that was released, a game that had changed to much for it's fans.

With that in mind, I think I know one of the reasons behind all the previews and excerpts. Wizards are making us getting used to all these new ideas. Yes, it's true that they may turn some people away, but for the most part I think they are slowly making us getting used to all the new ideas in the game, so when we get it or play it, we won't be surprised or getting caught of guard by the game. It will already feel familiar.

In the long run, I think it's a good business strategy. There may be some lost sales, but as a whole, I think they will profit from it.

DnD4 Countdown 17 - Fourth ed will save roleplaying

Well, maybe not... but perhaps. If roleplaying needs saving.

First of all, before I proceed, I'd like to point out that I'm now back on track. Perceptive readers have probably noticed that I've been one day behind on my countdown the last couple of days. I blame a couple of stessed out days at work, but as of this post, I'm back on track.

Now, where was I? Yes, I was about to talk about that DnD4 could save roleplaying as we know it. Actually, I wasn't... but I am about to present my own opinions on what the effects of DnD4 will be. I've heard a number of different scenarios, and I have some opinions on them that I thought I'd share.

From what I've come to understand, WotC hopes that DnD4 will bring back a lot of "lost gamers". One of their means is their online system, another is a shorter setup-time. From what I've seen, it should be possible to make characters and start gaming in one session. I guess that they might succeed with this in some degree. I've seen a couple of posts on rpg.net from guys talking about that they havn't gamed for the last 10 years or so, but this 4th ed sounds interesting and they want to know more about it. With that said, I don't think it will be a massive return of the prodigal sons. As for the online tools, while I like them and probably will be paying for them, I guess the price tag is a bit to steep for someone just returning to gaming.

As a counter-theory to the above, some people believe that DnD4 will drive a lot of players to other gaming systems. This can be compared to a sudden increas in Apple Mac sales when Windows Vista was released.
There is, however, a flaw in this theory. If you are happy playing 3.5 and don't like 4.0, you still have a huge amount of books available to you. Games, as opposed to computers, don't grow old. You will be able to play 3.5 in 20 years from now if you want to. There is nothing forcing gamers away from a particular system just because the publisher has gone with a new edition.
Another problem with that theory is that there is no where else to go.

Now, before you get all upset: I know that there are a huge amount of games out there. I own a great deal of them myself. From what I've come to understand, there is a large population of DnD-gamers that equates RPG's with DnD. They are the ones that perhaps heard of Vampire or Rifts, but that's about it. This is especially true if you consider that apart from DnD there isn't any well known straight up fantasy RPG's out there. Yes, I know... there's Castles and Crusades, True20, HARP, Rolemaster, Exalted etc etc etc. To that, I still believe that many DnD-gamers don't know about these games. Perhaps Exalted, but I'd be hard pressed to consider that a ordinary fantasy game. So, as opposed to the guys switching to Mac or Linux, there is basically no option for the average gamer-Joe. His options are 3.5 or 4.0.

So, will DnD4 save the industry, or be a total fiasko and drag WotC and the rest of the rpg industry down with it?
I'm guessing neither. I'm totally convinced that 4th ed will sell, and sell good. At least the first core books. This will in all probability be good news for the rest of the RPG industry, since sales generate sales. I listened to an interview with Luke Crane (of Burning Wheels), and his experience was that when DnD sells well, other rpg's get higher sales as well. So, in the short term, I think DnD4 will boost the sales of other games as well, thus helping the industry slightly.

In the long run, however, I don't think there's any specific game that will "save the industry". I'll go out on a limb here and say that the problem isn't the games as much as it is us gamers. It's up to us to invite collegues or friends to try out new games. No game will change that in the long term run. I believe Vampire did bring in some fresh blood to the gaming community, as did 3.0 when it arrived, but other than that, I think that most games are bought by gamers, not by newbies. The only way to have more gamers in the community is to invite them and not to hope that they will show up anyway.

DnD4 Countdown 18 - Minions

The latest excerpt from WotC is about minions. The idea behind minions are to simulate crowds of faceless opponents without a name or role in like a movie or a game. The Stormtroopers in the Star Wars movie is perhaps the iconic example of this.

Many games have tried to simulate this in different ways. Most of the time the solution is to make mooks go down after one hit, or to make them deal less damage etc. The problem with this, as I see it, is that mooks in fiction and mooks in games have two very different effects. In the movies the mooks often serve as a chance for the heroes to shine, and possibly to wear them down a little before the final battle.

In games, however, there is a big risk that the main effect of minions is having to roll more dice without any particular purpose.

What to do about this then? Unless you have a particular purpose with playing the combat out, just let the character describe how he pushes past the guards and focus on the main fights. If it's a particularly nasty fight, you can hand out damage or remove some resources, but other than that, just move on to the main event.

This would make it not to far removed from the ideas I presented on investigation a couple of posts ago. The idea was more or less stolen from the Gumshoe system. But in this case, instead of not getting stuck because of not finding clues, you prevent the game being dragged down by pointless fights.

DnD4 Countdown 19 - Listen up

Last year I discovered podcasts and their use. This especially goes for RPG-based podcasts, and it's a way for me to keep up with events, get an insight into the industri and generally listen to people talking about interesting subjects. For instance, my opinion on WotC has changed (at least on the guys working there) since I started listen to the WotC podcast.

My main time slot for listening is when I'm out walking or jogging. Since I've got a 40 minute walk to my job, and I try to go for 30-45 minute jogs, that time is perfect for most gaming podcasts that I listen to.

This has among other things led to the funny effect that I associate certain parts of my hometown with gaming and games more than anything else, since whenever I'm there, I listen to podcasts about gaming.

I won't list all my podcasts, but here are a few of my favorites

2D6 feet in a random direction
This is a very well made podcast, where one of the guys owns a gaming store. This gives not only a gamers perspective, but also some interesting insight in the commercial side of gaming
Fear the boot
A definate favorite. I may not agree with them at all times, and sometimes I think that the show is a litle unfocused. However, these guys are enthusiastic, love what they are doing and they are very personal. It doesn't take long until it feels like you know them. Also, this podcast is regular, with new episodes published every wednesday.

the Wizards podcast
Not very regular, at tops 1 episode/ month. These episodes are very good however, and has made me change opinion on at least the people working there. It's interesting to hear them talk about why they do certain things, why they decided to design a game they way they did etc.

Dragons Landing inn
Not as personal as 2D6 feet or Fear the boot, but they have been podcasting for a long time, and they have a well produced podcast

There are other podcasts that I listen to at times, but they havnt caught my attention like the ones above.

The Games the thing
Sons of kryos
Have games will travel
Order 66