If D&D Next Fails, It Won't Be the Fans' Fault!

http://yourbusinesssucks.wordpress.com/2012/05/25/why-are-we-surprised-that-dd-next-is-bad/

Mostly an okay post, but there was a bit that stuck in my craw:

"They’re done throwing that kind of effort into a brand full of toxic fans and endless bickering about products that won’t get sold."

Meh.

It wasn't the fault of fans that a toxic atmosphere was created, nor is it the fault of fans that 4e wasn't well-received.  Nor will the success or failure of D&D Next be due to anything other than the success or failure of WotC to put out a good product, market that product well, and undo to whatever extent they are able the ill-will their handling of the 4e release created.

And they have definitely taken some steps in the right direction, although I think that the NDAs for the beta playtest are a really bad idea (not required by most recent rpgs, including Pathfinder and Dungeon Crawl Classics, despite Mike Mearls' claim to the contrary), and I don't think 5e will fly without the OGL.

The systems that are doing well right now have the right combination of "good system + goodwill", and I don't think Hasbro is going to allow WotC the leeway needed to recreate the goodwill that was seen with the advent of 3e.

EDIT:

See this post:  http://timbrannan.blogspot.ca/2012/05/d-next-playtest-first-thoughts.html

I can't help but feel that some comments are pointed at things I've said.


"Every game company on the planet uses an NDA. There are exceptions of course, but those companies are exactly that. Exceptions.  Plus the two that are often mentioned, Pathfinder and Dungeon Crawl Classics, are so derivative of the SRD that there is not really much in the way of new material to protect."

Out of curiosity, what was the last time you were required to sign a NDA for a Beta Playtest other than D&D Next? Especially one described as an "open" playtest?  It is simply an untruth to state that  "every game company on the planet" requires an NDA for this sort of material.

It is also untrue that Pathfinder and DCC "are so derivative of the SRD that there is not really much in the way of new material to protect."  A funny comment, actually, when one considers the relationship between D&D Next and the rules solutions figured out by others.

Normally, one hopes that people WILL talk about a Beta. Talk volumes, talk specifics, talk, talk, talk, talk.

That talk certainly helped Pathfinder, it certainly helped DCC, and it could certainly help WotC.

AFAICT, the NDA in this case is about nothing other than who owns your comments and any ideas you might let drop. No more; no less.

So, here's the challenge: List who does require an NDA in the rpg industry.  It is easy enough to come up with who does not.  If those who do not are "exceptions", it should be easy to demonstrate this by exampling those who do.

I agree that Paizo and Goodman Games are exceptional publishers.  They are publishers who have garnered enormous goodwill from their fans.  They did this by following the tracks laid down in the early days of 3e....not just the ruleset tracks, but the fan appreciation tracks.  WotC used to be the leader in fan appreciation; now they are not.  But they would be wise to get back on that road, even if others have now gone far ahead.

It's as simple as that.

Pandas, Pirates, Players, and Funnels

If you’ve been following the discussion on pandapirate.net, there is some discussion of my post on initial adventures forthe Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG.  Paiji wrote:

Certes, mais j'ai l'impression qu'il s'éloigne un peu de l'esprit du jeu.

Si j'ai bien compris, il prévoit à l'avance de lier sa première aventure (son entonnoir) aux suivantes et de fournir des opportunités logiques pour que ses persos, arrivés au niveau 1, choisissent leurs carrières (notamment pour les jeteurs de sorts). Ca me parait dévier de l'idée que je trouve assez amusante de tirer 4 persos niveau 0 complétement au hasard, de les jeter dans une aventure et de voir lequel survit et arrive au niveau 1.

On perd le petit coté Highlander/Koh Lantah et, à mon goût, c'est dommage.

Après, faut voir comment tout ça est mis en place.

(see http://www.pandapirate.net/casus/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=20324&start=75).

As far as I can tell, given the limitations of Google translation and the fact that I am sadly not bilingual (or multi-lingual), Paiji is concerned that my observations go against the spirit of the game.  Specifically, he seems to believe that the idea of seeding the adventure area to prep for 1^st level characters is antithetical to the idea of throwing four 0-lvl nobodies per player into the funnel and seeing who comes out.

Not so!

Providing the means for religious experience doesn’t mean that any survivor will be a cleric, nor does seeding the area with potential spell knowledge or patrons mean that any survivor will be a wizard.  What it does mean is that, if some survivor should end up being a cleric or a wizard, that decision will make sense.

Likewise, the idea that the characters then have a chance to see how their schlubs have grown, and to discover a new facet of the original funnel – that some of their initial assumptions and understanding were wrong – is pure Appendix N.  It is also good game structure, and need not assume anything about who survives, or what class they will be.

What I am suggesting is meant to deepen the funnel experience, not to subvert it.

Hopefully, completion of When Cowled Men Creep and Beachhead (two 0-level funnels utilizing the theories in the original post) will make what I mean more clear to those who read and/or play through them.

A Really Bad (Good) Egg

Mike at Really Bad Eggs (http://black-vulmea.blogspot.ca/) mistakenly decided that this blog was worth a Kreativ Blogger Award, but his mistake is my gain, so thank you very much!  I tried to find the Kreativ Blogger rules using what turned out to be pretty poor Google-Fu in this particular case.  I hope, therefore, that I am doing this correctly.

(Really, though, thank you Mike.  I enjoy your blog, too!)

Seven Questions

1. What's your favourite song?

That changes a lot.  It’s been REM’s “Losing My Religion” and it’s been Crystal Gale singing “River Road”.  I suppose, right now, I’d have to pick either “Common People” (Pulp) or “The Log-Driver’s Waltz” (Canadian traditional, Mountain City Four rendition). 

2. What's your favourite dessert?

Usually some form of cheesecake.  But I am partial to vanilla ice cream with maple syrup poured over it.

3. What do you do when you're upset?

Go quiet.   Or fix the problem that made me upset.  Depending upon the cause.

4. Which is your favourite pet?

I have no pets at the moment, and I like both dogs and cats. 

5. Which do you prefer? Black or White?

Black.  It always looks good.

6. What is your biggest fear?

Another tough question!  I try to avoid being motivated by fear.  When my eldest was my only, and was going to school for the first time, I used to have nightmares about things happening to him.  When he got old enough to be near the end of his school days, I started to have nightmares about him doing something that would mess up his life…something he couldn’t fix.  Thankfully, neither one was founded in reality.

My biological father has cerebral ataxia, which is a genetic disorder, and I would have to say that, right now, my biggest fear is that I may carry that disorder.  Not only fear for me, but fear for what that might mean for my children.

7. What is your attitude mostly?

Cheeky, amused, calm.

Ten facts

      1.       Although I live in Toronto, listed a Canadian folksong as one of my favourite songs (at the moment), and enjoy vanilla ice cream with maple syrup, I was not born in Canada.  I am an American by birth.

      2.       I once had the misfortune to fall 35 feet, breaking my right calcaneus into four pieces (severing the Achilles tendon and requiring 4 screws to repair), my left subtalar, and vertebrae at L1, L2, L3, and L4.  It hurt a bit.

      3.       I have also had the bad misfortune of having a car door slammed on my head.  Twice in a row.  It hurt even more.

      4.       I have a terrible love of bad jokes, puns, and all manner of things that I think are funny, but that are pretty hit-and-miss (with an emphasis on the miss) as far as those around me are concerned.

      5.       The best compliment I ever received as a GM was from someone who had never played in a game I had run.  I was visiting the University of Madison, and was in the elevator overhearing a guy telling someone else about his new player and the fantastic DM he had played with previously.  From the details of the games I heard, I was able to identify the player, and when I casually asked who the DM was, and who the player was, I was right.  I said nothing, but it felt really, really good.

      6.       I know far, far too much about Doctor Who…from An Unearthly Child right through to Matt Smith’s latest outing.  I own a fez, which I was given as a Christmas present, and a 14-foot scarf, also a present, hand-knitted.  Both were given to me by my excellent brother-in-law, James.  The quest to have a Doctor Who rpg that actually does what I want it to do has led me from FASA to Time Lord to Cubicle 7 to home design…and I still don’t have one.

      7.       I used to own half of Golden City Comics in Scarborough, Ontario.

      8.       I have been to the Disney Compound in Florida and the Disney Compound in California.  I was living in Los Angeles before I moved to Toronto, and it seemed like something I should do before I left.  Later, I drove to Florida from Toronto with my ex-wife, son, and older daughter.  Both were a lot of fun, but I am far more a Warner Brothers guy than a Disney guy!

      9.       I strongly believe that it is better to tilt at windmills than to meekly resign oneself to supporting something one believes unethical.  This has sometimes been difficult to balance against needing a roof over my head and food on my plate.

      10.   Even as a child, I loved liver and onions, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.  And I still do.

      11.   BONUS:  I think far too much about rules systems, both for games and the apparent background rules of fiction.  When my daughters were watching Dora the Explorer, I was trying to figure out the rules by which her world worked. 

Seven Awardees

In no specific order, here are some bloggers who write things I wish I’d thought of:

Grognardia (http://grognardia.blogspot.ca/):  I always find it interesting.  I recommend it to you.

Tenkar’s Tavern (http://www.tenkarstavern.com/):   Always insightful, and sometimes inciteful (Grumpy Dwarf, I’m looking at you!).

Yog-Blogsoth (http://yog-blogsoth.blogspot.ca/):  Because I love me some Cthulu, and the combination of quotes and illustrations is good stuff.

Gluten Free Chickie (http://www.glutenfreechickie.com/) :  Not a role-playing blog, but a good model to follow regardless of what you’re interested in. 

Eggplant Productions (http://eggplantproductions.com/?cat=21):  Because I cannot help but plug Raechel Henderson whenever possible.  She was the first person who ever paid me money (rather than contributor copies) for a piece of writing, and I wish all the best to her.

MilaNoelleFaulkner (http://milanoellefaulkner.blogspot.ca/):   Because I am also interested in poetry, and in people.

Dreams of Mythic Fantasy (http://dreamsofmythicfantasy.blogspot.ca/):  Because James is interesting, and has interesting things to say. 

Once again, thank you, Mike at Really Bad Eggs for this award!  I’ll have you know that your notifications about interesting movies have been useful to at least one person!

Dungeon Crawl Classics – How I Do Love Thee!

Having read the Dungeon Crawl Classics core rulebook rather exhaustively now, I am coming to the conclusion that this will be my go-to game for all time.  Indeed, it accomplishes nearly everything I wished to accomplish with my own ruleset, and what it does not can be carried over from RCFG with a bit of tweaking.

Some of my posts here have already been house rules for DCC RPG.  No doubt, there will be more.  I am currently working on two DCC RPG modules, and a persistent city setting that will form the core location of my home milieu.

I had earlier expressed some concern about long-term play.  Specifically, I found the idea of creating unique monsters and magic items for every adventure – as well as the focus on questing and adventures as opposed to setting exploration – as potentially detrimental to long-term play.  I am no longer concerned on this score.

The philosophy of DCC RPG rather forces the Judge and players to create a mythology for their game milieu.  I don’t mean mythology is a strictly “deities & demigods” sense (although that, too, is strongly encouraged), but rather that the creation of a milieu’s setting elements mandates or suggests the creation of supernatural patrons, gods, spells, and magic items.  In a world where each magic item is unique, the creation of these objects further reinforces the mythology and history of the milieu.

The process of creation, therefore, seems to create elements that will remain in play for many years of adventuring, effectively ensuring that you get at least 5 hours benefit from each hour of design work.  This will mean re-using locations, maps, and (some) monsters.  When creating setting elements, the Judge should be keeping in mind that some creatures are unique, while others are representative of a kind….and that “kind” is very likely a “local kind”.  When the group travels, they may encounter superficially similar creatures that have been tweaked in some way.

As a real-world example, imagine bears.  Locally, bears are black bears.  But there are also grizzlies, polar bears, spectacled bears, sloth bears, etc., in the world.  As a fantasy example, imagine giant spiders.  The spiders of JRRT’s Mirkwood are not so potent as the unique Shelob or Ungoliant, nor are they the same as the giant spider Conan encountered in The Tower of the Elephant.  In effect, the same idea, seen through different lenses, keeps the players guessing.  Likewise, think of all of the varieties of snakes (venomous and otherwise) in the real world, and all of the varieties of the same in fictional worlds.  It is desirable to mimic this sort of uniformity (in order to give the players context), but also to mimic this sort of variety (in order to keep things fresh).

Dungeon Crawl Classics also revels in the joy of the random table.  It offers means to randomly alter humanoids, un-dead, and many specific monsters (such as skeletons and primordial slimes).  You can build dragons and magic swords using random tables, and then slot them into the milieu where you see fit.  This sort of creation is fast, fun, and opens up new ideas while you’re doing it. 

Early role-playing games developed their rosters of monsters through play.  These rosters were then packaged and sold, originally as examples of monsters to be used in a game.  Often, modules would include new monsters, new magic, and subtle variations to keep the players on their toes.  Players were encouraged to not read the Dungeon Master’s Guide, as it would ruin some of the fun of learning the game milieu and the rules thereof.

Dungeon Crawl Classics gets back to that, and does so by the simplest expedient possible – the Judge himself is the DMG…and to some extent the Monster Manual.  He produces or adapts the creatures and magic he intends to use.  Each game milieu is therefore a unique creation, which cannot be predicted by the players. 

This is very much what was intended by the founders of the hobby…and very much against certain new games that include magic items in the player’s materials so that they can be selected from like cabbages at the greengrocer’s.

I am going to be posting bits and pieces of the player’s materials for the Golden City of Shanthopal (my campaign hub for DCC RPG) here as they are ready.  Meanwhile, I am still waiting for my preorder copy of the core book to arrive.  I really want to read Doom of the Savage Kings, the module packed along with it!

What does this mean for RCFG?  I’m not 100% sure.  I may come back to this, if I find that DCC RPG doesn’t fully satisfy my personal rpg itch.  As of now, the materials remain available for others to build upon, as the game itself is nearly completely OGC.  If you end up using parts of it, I’d love to hear about it!

More Drama at Casa Morrus

You know what?  I'm not going to get worked up over this stuff again.  Here's a link if you're interested:  http://discourseanddragons.blogspot.ca/2012/03/fuck-enworld.html.


I used to love hanging out there.


....


BTW, I know that I should have done a review of Barrowmaze some time ago.  I have purchased it, and I am very happy with it.  That's hardly a full review, I know, but if you are sitting on the fence about this product, please allow me to push you over it!

When Cowled Men Creep (DCC 0-1st lvl adventure I'm working on)

In the isolated village of Pines Landing, some say that the Cowled Men come every generation. Others claim that the Cowled Men have never been seen before. Either way, folk are disappearing from their homes. Those who are taken are never seen again, and most of their names are quickly forgotten.

The would-be wizard, Manthus Elmarik, was one of the first to disappear. Some say he woke something unnatural. Others claim that emissaries must be sent through the Grimwald Forest to Castle Anwir, to beg protection from the Liege Lord who dwells there.

Only two things are certain: That something must be done, and that those who dwell in Pines Landing must do it.

How I Despise Timeline...Let Me Count the Ways....

Maybe it's just that I am getting old, but I find Facebook's Timeline feature to be annoying, and I dislike not being able to turn it off.  It seems invasive to me, and I dislike the erosion of privacy ongoing in our society.  That plans are underway for all electronic and telephone communications in Great Britain to be monitored and recorded, and that similar provisions are contemplated in North America for the purposes of "security" or "crime prevention" are a shade too 1984 for me.  Or maybe too V for Vendetta.

I dislike the way we are giving away our personal power with both hands, for shiny trinkets.  Maybe we really are that stupid.  Or maybe I really am just getting old.

It has hit the news that some employers in some areas are now beginning to request that employees "Friend" them on Facebook or, worse, be given their employees' or applicants' Facebook passwords so that they can surf Facebook to determine suitability for employment, and keep tabs on their activities both at work and away.  I shudder when I think about how Timeline could interact with such an agenda.

Anyway, I've decided to give myself a birthday present this year.  Either it will be to turn off Timeline and keep Facebook, or, if there is no method to disable Timeline yet, it will be to disable it in the only way I can...by deleting my Facebook account.

The more I think about it, the less of a big step that seems to be.  First off, I don't use Facebook for much more than wishing people Happy Birthday, playing chess, and playing Scrabble.  Second off, even with those few activities, Facebook is a huge time-waster.  Finally, my decision to sever ties with EN World has proven to be a good one, in terms of personal creativity and happiness.

Anyway, although I know that Facebook is bringing plenty of other people joy, and they are certainly not going to delete their accounts, you can join me if you want.  And, if you don't want to, that's completely cool, too.

http://www.facebook.com/events/372425679460634/372425682793967/?notif_t=plan_mall_activity

Second Houserule for DCC RPG

THE NOBODY RULE:  A 0-level character is nobody in the grand scheme of things, and the player need not choose an alignment for every character in a 0-level funnel.  Rather, the occurrences in play should aid the player in choosing an alignment for survivors, and these characters must be aligned prior to (or at the point of) attaining 1st level.

For example, Joe the Butcher need not be aligned, but until Joe has chosen to serve Law, Neutrality, or Chaos, he cannot progress to 1st level.  Joe can put off that choice until gaining 10 experience points and choosing his starting class....but no later.

Return to Quattro Dungeon

Here are some maps to share from my Quattro 8 x 8 Grid Notebook dungeon.  Each page is a discreet area, with each page being numbered and named.  For example, the first page is 01. The Mountain Temple.  Described encounter areas are numbered in red, while connections are simply lettered. 

For example, there are three connections on map 01, listed as A, B, and C.

Because of a desire to make finding things easier, subsequent maps follow the connection letter order.  Therefore, the next map (02. The Dusty Halls) shows the area connected by A (A on one map connects to A on another).  New connections go to D, E, and F.

Likewise, map 03. The River Caves contains connections to G and H.  There is no reason that North need be the binding edge on the notebook; this map is rotated to better fit.  Note also that there is nothing wrong with mapping to the edge of the grid!

Naming each section makes it easier to remember themes when filling in monsters, treasures, and descriptions.

Obviously, with 80 pages and multiple connections per page, letter connections will ultimately include double letters, such as AA, but by going “AA, AB, AC, AD, etc.” rather than “AA, BB, CC, DD, etc.” there should be no need for triple letters.

All maps are 1 square = 10 ft. unless otherwise noted.