Role Playing Games - Ambition vs. General Fun

After the first mindlessly enthusiastic months of my return to the hobby I began to realise that the seemingly uniform brotherhood of gamers is in fact a complex society torn with internal controversies, disputes and full blown conflicts.

Once you're 'within' you can easily argue about nearly everything. Games, game versions and editions, game accessories, gaming styles and tactics, gaming principles of any kind... Well, there's probably not a thing you cannot argue about or bring to dispute. 

Against any non-gamer the gamers will stand firm and united. Leave them to themselves however and they begin to create their own personal hell on earth. A conclusion surprisingly similar to the quote of one of the Russian Tzars about the Poles.

I, myself, am not free of this quality though I would rather support unity than difference of opinions, most of the time.

But there is one thing that touches me personally that I just need to point out.

I see it as a symptom of degeneration of the gaming society. Or at least a part of it.

It was the principal reason my gamers' pack disbanded. 

It's, in a few words, treating RPGs too seriously.

What do you mean, I hear you ask. Aren't RPGs the best thing under the sun?

Well, Bill Shankly once said about football;

"Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that."

I need to be frank with you. This will never work with RPGs. Stop fooling yourselves right now.

One thing is worth remembering at all times. RPG is 'just' a game.

That's the first step for a healthy approach to it. It's probably the best game in the world. I will not argue about that.

This post is not about how RPGs are great though I could probably bore you to death proving it.

I love the game. I like it more than any other game. The best thing about it is that it becomes what you want it to become. The players make the game. They set it to match their needs. So cool!

You can't do that with a video game. You can't do that with a boardgame.

But you know what's unhealthy? When you start to believe there's only one way to play it right.

When you start setting your expectations so high, that at a certain moment it feels too scary to even start playing. Too easy to fail in your attempt to match the expectations. When you expect to experience a catharsis on every gaming session. When you expect to discover yourself and your soul through the game.

When you start building your self-esteem on the basis of what you play and how you play. Or more importantly what you do not play ('because it's so lame and naive').

In the late 90s on the polish gaming arena I noticed a strong tendency to go into this 'ambitious' direction with all games available at the time.

The appearance of the WoD games on the market, which I find most pretentious. The sudden turn that Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay took into the dark and gritty game with almost no magic (try using a mage in 1ed) and basically human vs human conflicts (it had its merits).

I have played sessions of CP2020 that had nothing to do with the flamboyant and gaudy tone of the '80s in the future' as it was originally intended. More like a Blade Runner after a heroine trip.

Yeah, maybe we were teens back then and we craved for some deeply emotional experiences, downright depressive... To feel that we're doing something more than just playing games. To feel that we're crossing some invisible line, experiencing something extraordinary. It was all around, everyone played like that. Well, at least people that counted back then.

But somewhere on the way we also lost fun from playing.

In the years that followed I managed to look at RPGs with a fresh eye. It does not seem naive or childish to me anymore to play a heroic paladin who saves a village from the bandits or crawls through narrow dungeons to find some forgotten relic. I don't feel bad that the setting I use is not populated solely by degenerate people who only think of survival and their own gain. I don't actually expect to feel frustration, pain, misery and depression during a gaming session that I need to overcome in order to feel more mature and think better of myself.

You know, I have that everyday in life. It started the moment when I took responsibility of myself and my life. And when I play RPGs I just want to have fun, that or another way. 

I believe that RPGs are on of the best things you could ever play. I believe it's really worth sharing with other people.

And here's another important aspect of having a healthy distance to it. I can't help but notice, that people who take RPGs too seriously tend to either be too ashamed to publicly admit they play or too socially awkward to care.

Once you get a more balanced view of what RPGs are it's easier to draw new people in. It's easier to show them how really entertaining and educative they can be. I tried it and I know. Trust me.

And we can only benefit from promoting RPGs in the society. Not only among the 'blessed elite'.

So go on, play your Vampire, Werewolf, Cthulhu (great game), Kult, Paranoia, Conspiracy X, Idee Fixe, gritty WFRP etc. if it turns you on. Someone else will play Old School sandbox. I will play my cheesy AD&D and occasionally something else. We're really riding on the same cart down the mine shaft. 

Anyone's brought a torch?......

DM Miscellany - a word of comment and a minor correction

Dear Guests,

One serious deviation from the original AD&D2E rules I use in my game is the duration of the combat round.
The PHB clearly states 1 round = 1 minute. This is surprising in the face of the fact, that D&D has always assumed it to be 10 seconds. Now, I am not really sure about the 1E but why 1 minute?
In combat situation this is hell of a long time. In one minute the fight can easily be over and with much more that one swing of a sword.
Also, such solution is impractical to my mind. Given the pace of action in a combat round, extending it to 1 minute doesn't really serve any logical purpose.
So, for the slightly modified combat system I assume 1 round is equal to 6 seconds. Thus, 1 turn equals 10 rounds. This should also solve the movement problem. If a character can pass 12 yards in 1 round, then do the authors imply that the character is dragging 12 yards in 1 minute?
Take 6 seconds and start ahead in a brisk pace. How far have you've gone? 12 yards is a quite probable result. Even more maybe.
Of course in close combat situation you are forced to slow down unless you want to expose yourself to the enemy. I give it a 1/2 penalty. Obviously this is arbitrary.
It just makes much more sense to me, feels more natural.

Then I stumbled upon the issue of ROF (rate of fire) of shooting weapons. Given my direct experience with archery I thought that a skilled bowman can fire much more rapidly that normally you'd imagine. Remember the famous English bowmen from Agincourt.
However, not as fast as to fire 2 arrows in 6 seconds (which was implied by the initial version of DM miscellany). Bows fire a standard one arrow (1 attack) per round, though specialisation bonuses should apply (I bet Robin Hood could fire 2 accurate arrows in 6 seconds, heh).
There is a disadvantage for the crossbow, true. But it balances the severe damage it makes and if you have it loaded on the spot, you're at a definite advantage over the bow.

With this short comment, please help yourself with a corrected DM miscellany file.

Until then!

Doom of Daggerdale - module review

Dear Friends,

In July I finally managed to start up my great project which is actively running a AD&D 2e Forgotten Realms campaign. Those of you who occasionally visit my humble abode already know that I have a soft spot for the 2E (hmmpf). And the Realms are for me what Greyhawk was for the 1E veterans. The classic and core setting. Since I have to divide my spare time between various activities and also because of mostly sentimental reasons I decided to recall that "good ol'times" feeling and base my campaign on published material only.
And so I took all the modules at hand and connected them with one superior plot. As some of my players happen to visit this site I cannot disclose too much details in advance.
However, our adventure began with the module "Doom of Daggerdale".
And here are my thoughts on it.

The plot

As one of my players concluded, "it is a very cliche premise but there is a certain charm to it".
The heroes are called to visit Dagger Falls in order to investigate a strange disease that torments the local folk, both honest farmers and Zhentish lackeys alike.
As it however often happens, it is not the general idea that matters. The devil is in the details.
There is some serious backstory, several sub-plots and options for the players, though the dungeon is always the same.
We are given an opportunity to familiarise the heroes with the Freedom Raiders and their cause.
Some interesting NPC can be introduced with just a bit of GM effort and creativity (Kessla for instance).
The story itself can develop in several interesting directions.
Altogether a solid, albeit not particularly original work.
My players had some fun with it. It worked as an introductory ("10 years after" kind of introduction) adventure. They chased some shadows in the dark, pursued some false traces, underwent some lethal family drama and finished the plot without actually having discovered most of the plot details. All the better for the GM as their past actions will haunt them in the future in the most unexpected way. (Muahahahaha)

The text editing

This is were the nightmare begins :)

First of all, particular parts of the module are "a bit mixed up". It results in the GM feverishly leafing through the module in order to find a particular information which apparently is not where it logically should be.

Whenever some details are not included - it is not stated clearly. So you find yourself at times in a situation where you don't know whether you "just can't find it" or it was left "up to the GM to decide".

Also, several elements of the plot stand in contradiction (not major though) and this might puzzle those less experienced gamers.

My favourite bit was with the sleepers (necormancer's hostages in a magic slumber). They are once mentioned to be in the same chamber as the necromancer's tomb, then suggested to be in "the chamber of the sleepers" which is a separate room altogether. 

I also scratched my head seeing a "beastman" monster which is actually a native of 1E Greyhawk and cannot be found in any 2E Monstrous Manuals (well, maybe in the annual appendices published later on).

All in all, it does make the impression of being messy and poorly edited. They're details, but I had some hard time with them and because of them.

Summary

This is a module aimed at low level heroes. An introduction to Forgotten Realms. I like the idea of a short module in contrast to the long campaigns like "The Haunted Halls of Evening Star" or "Ruins of Adventure".

It is a good choice for GMs who prefer to come up with their own ideas and particularly ones that are fond of the Dales. For obvious reasons they could work like magic with the later published Randall Morn module trilogy. We will see what the future brings :)

Favourite Moment

In a small abandoned dwarven factory which is one of the subplots the heroes find a magic sword - Magekiller. It was crafted by the dwarves to fight with the evil Lord Mage Calderan. They did not have the opportunity to use it though as Calderan killed them all beforehand.

It did keep all of its qualities which is, among others, harming any magic-using character on touch. My players had all the bad luck when the first hero to touch it was a mage. They immediately judged the sword to be cursed. And obviously would not use it against Calderan's wraith form spell.

He escaped unharmed to the Underdark.

As he disappeared in the dark corridors the cave echo carried his words of warning: "I'll be back!"

A few words on Encounter Tables pt.2

In the earlier post I have praised the usefulness of encounter tables. After years of deliberate ignorance I embraced the idea completely. And it is quite understandable assuming that we allow to bring back the "game" aspect to the "roleplaying game".
The 90/Y2K European school of playing emphasised the storytelling and roleplaying aspect bringing in some interesting development to the genre at best, decreasing the general amount of easygoing 'fun" at worst.
Trust me, been there, done that. Actually I stopped playing rpg's at one time as the sessions became too heavy to bear - emotionally mostly. And it wasn't easy anymore to play an impromptu session, as in confrontation the players' expectations it lacked depth etc.
GMs were less and less to pick up the challenge of running a "decent" game.
Ambitious? Perhaps, but bad for the hobby in general as slowly the players played less and less.

Anyhow, in my current Forgotten Realms campaign I decided to use Encounter Tables to ease my mind and provide some instant and random fun for my players.
This simple procedure helped me focus on the main plot and main encounters, populated the world with fantastic monsters (who knows the complete Monstrous Manual by heart anyway???) which I would otherwise overlook and teaches the players that Faerun is a dangerous place and cross-country travels can be lethal.

One outcome of this pleases me particularly. By taking some time to prepare a diverse encounter tables for each terrain type you create the unique feel of each area. After all, it is the denizens of the place that make the unique atmosphere and help to bring the game to life (rise, Frankenstein, rise!).

Now, getting down to the tech specs. In my DM miscellany sheets I enclosed a random encounter table directly from the DMG 2E. In the same chapter of the manual the authors also provided 2 methods of creating the detailed tables for generating particular encoutners (what's it gonna be this time? Bugbear or Basilisk?) Since the first table covers the chance of encounter in the particular terrain and the particular day/night time, what we need now is the table to draw a monster encounter sorted by appearance frequency (so to speak). I must admit that the d8+d12 appeals to me. For one, it is not a common dice set in my experience. Then, it already delivers a random result table with weighted results. Bingo!
Now, basing on the 2 previous table sets with beasts and intelligent races I drew from the Monstrous Manual I put up a collection of tables that should be quick and easy to use and spice up your game with interesting encounters whenever you need them. Feel free to review them in the Bibliotheca:

AD&D Encounter Tables - Complete

And remember, Encounter Tables should only be used when you need such solution, not as a rule. Tomes have been written about it. Maybe a topic for another post...

Yours Sincerely,

Yarivandel

Forgotten Realms Hex Grid Overlay

Dear Friends,

I have recently decided to include map exploration system to my Forgotten Realms campaign. To my great surprise it turned out that the Grey Box I possess (I can't honestly say own as it is borrowed for an unlimited term) lacks the fantastic hex grid overlay sheets that would be so handy for that purpose. As it is not a popular product and as such is not commonly available I thought - let's make one. There surely must be a good template on the web. Surprise again! I could not find a single remark on the web about the actual template of the original hex grid overlay.
Fortunately, the authors of the box were kind enough to give some general indications of the scale. And as it is said in the "Running the Realms" manual that on "1 inch = 30 miles" map 5 hexes equal 1 inch, thus 1 hex equals 6 miles. Splendid. Now we should calculate a proper hex grid scale so that a flat-to-flat hex distance (or height) is equal 1/5 of an inch.
I will spare you the details of my laborious calculations, but thanks to an online hex generator Incompetech ,which I gladly present here, I was able to get the desired result.

But what now? You can print it on paper, but it will hardly do as a transparent plastic overlay now, will it?
"That's where some studio engineering comes in handy my hard-rocking amigos!"
You will need:

• A4 plastic sheet from your local graphic arts store
• A black alcohol marker, one that writes on CD's & DVD's
• some scotch tape

stick your hex grid printout with the scotch tape to the plastic sheet, so that you can see the hexes through the plastic. Now trace all hexes' sides with your marker. The hex printout serves as a pattern so that you can draw your hex grid flawlessly. Voila!

The milage controversy

Now, since I reviewed the map exploration system for Forgotten Realms 2E I noticed that the 1 hex = 6 miles scale is slightly flawed. In a nutshell, it implicates, that during a day of walking over a clear land, a man can cross a distance of 12 miles, while the PHB2E clearly states it should be 24 miles. 

In Forgotten Realms 24 miles can be done only while using roads. I dare to disagree. I am used to cross country walking and there isn't much difference between walking on a dirt road and meadows or fields. Not twice the difference at least. So as an experiment I suggest you could use a different scale hex grid.

1 inch = 10 miles or in other words 3 hexes per 1 inch

This brings some improvement to the scaling and distance crossing. See for yourself.

For your convenience I provide both hex grids templates: original hex (5 hexes per 1 inch) and bigger hex (3 hexes per 1 inch).

Available at the Bibliotheca. Enjoy and good travelling!

Chase / Pursuit System

Dear Visitors,

Your host is back from the depths of role-playing abyss. After the successful expedition to the motherland of all role-playing goodness I have been involved in extensive testing of the AD&D2.1E and some side-projects that did not leave much time for writing.
However I have learned and discovered a lot. And I am ready to share my observations with you, Dear Guests.

And so, quite recently while running a classic AD&D2E Forgotten Realms module "Doom of Daggerdale" I have come across an interesting problem. How to adjudicate pursuit course and success in game environment. The DMG2E and PHB2E state merely, that an individual (or party) who possesses faster Movement Rate outruns the  slower individual (or party). If the Movement rate is equal - roll d10 and the higher roll wins. Simple? No! Simplistic? By all means.

Well, it will not work for me though. So I turned to the WWW brethren for a hint or any convenient solution.
Bear in mind, that the requirement was that any "new" rules need to integrate with the core mechanics seamlessly. So, following some very good ideas provided for D&D3.0 by mxyzplk of Geek Related I started off with this idea and translated it to the 2E language and mindset.

Chase / Pursuit Track

The chase is divided into stages or steps that together form a Chase Track. First the DM determines at which stage does the chase start. The stages reflect the distance (in game terms) between the pursuing and pursued Party. Then every round a roll determines whether the stage (distance) advances or regresses.

Chase Track	Range
Close contact	Melee or Overbear
Point Blank	Short/Blank
Short	Short
Medium	Medium
Long	Long
Outrun!	End of chase

Chase and Escape roll

The Pursuing Party's roll is called a Chase Roll.

The Pursued Party's roll is called an Escape Roll.

Both Parties roll a d10 and add the modifiers from the below table to see the final result.

Factor	Modifier
MOV rate difference	+1/each 3 pts
Familiar terrain	+2
Adaptation to terrain	+2
Encumbrance	as per PHB2E
Exceptional Agility	+1
Add. Skills (e.g. acrobatics)	+1

If Escape Roll is 2+ points higher than Chase Roll = Chase Track progresses by 1 step for each 2 points of difference between rolls (distance increases)

If Chase Roll is 2+ points higher than Escape Roll = Chase Track regresses by 1 step for each 2 points of difference between rolls(distance decreases)

If roll results are equal or differ by 1 point only the Chase Track stage does not change.

Obstacles & Stamina

The DM might add obstacles during the chase and influence the pursuit results by adding Dexterity checks. Because there might be various obstacles depending on the environment I believe it is best to leave it to the DM's discretion. Failed Dex check might either end the chase or bring extra penalties to the rolls.

Also, in case of long distance pursuits Constitution check should be made for all Parties involved to see whether thehy can keep up with the chase. Use sprint modifiers from PHB2E. If the Party fails its Consitution check the chase is over.

_________________________________________________________________________________

I hope you enjoy some dynamic and exciting pursuits using this system.

Should anyone have any comments I am eager to consider and adjust the system if need be.

Letter from the voyage 2

Dear Friends,

My research in this distant yet resourceful land brought some new, wonderful results.

It is scary at times how easy it is to overlook a gem among old, dusty trinkets. However, your host is not one that would abandon a mine until it is depleted (after hours of force mining of course).

Therefore the collection has been enriched with the following, marvellous positions:

• Forgotten Realms: The Savage Frontier
• Forgotten Realms: Shadowdale - The Avatar Trilogy pt 1 module
• Forgotten Realms: Tantras - The Avatar Trilogy pt 2 module

After having procured these findings though I have to announce there is nothing more to salvage in my current location. Fortunately I will be moving Southwest soon and I already feel the gold fever...

Until then!

Letter from the voyage

Dear Fellow Travellers,

At last I have a spare moment to sit down and pour my thoughts into (electronic) ink. Your faithful host has ventured into the motherland of tabletop adventuring, to the other side of the big puddle named after the famed ancient hero - Atlas.

Beside filling in some gaps in my own cartographic collection, the goal was also to expand my collection of tomes of AD&D lore, browse through the forbidden vaults of the indigenous bookstores and libraries in search of the lost manuscripts and parchments.

I have spent only a few days here so far, yet thanks to my luck and expert detective skills my personal library has expanded by the following positions:

• AD&D 2e - Bard's Handbook
• AD&D 2e - Barbarian's Handbook
• AD&D 2e - Priest's Handbook
• AD&D 2e - Book of Humanoids
• Forgotten Realms - Guide to Waterdeep and the North
• Forgotten Realms - Empires of Sands
• Forgotten Realms - Doom of Daggerdale module
• AD&D 2e - Monstrous Appendix - Forgotten Realms
• AD&D 2e - Forgotten Realms Adventures
• Pathfinder - Godsmouth Heresy module
• Pathfinder - Masks of the Living God module

I am certain this shall not mark the end of my hunt. I am on a track of several ancient D&D 1e books. A temptation too strong to resist.

On a related topic, I deem myself to possess one of the biggest collections of archaic D&D and AD&D material on the old continent. However I have not had much chance to meet other prudent librarians.

Should one of you Dear Patrons wished to present his/her collections here I would be more than happy to hear about it.

Well met and ahoy!

Encounter Tables - cont.

And what would complement the Encounter Table better than a complete, handy monstrous manual?
I have just come across a great site designed by Seva (I believe) providing access to the complete AD&D2e Monstrous Manual.
To all you GM's out there! No longer you shall fear that the players will catch you monster-less and unprepared (provided you have internet access at all times).
I added to the Bibiliotheca mainly for my convenience, but should you take advantage, all the better!

A few words on Encounter Tables

In every Game master's career there comes a time when one has to tackle the subject of encounter tables.

It is a controversial one, caught between fires of the Creationists and Referees. By Creationists I mean GMs who leave nothing to fate and accident, laboriously defining every slight detail of the campaign and the adventures. There is no place for a random encounter here, nothing can escape the almighty GM's attention.

By Referees I obviously mean the GMs who allow a certain amount of hazard, they focus more on the interaction with the players and less on creating and telling a story of their own design.

Creationists would rather invent and run their own adventures. Referees allow for a commercial campaign.

Of course I am aware that this division is superficial and does not embrace the whole complexity and variety of the GM's lot. But let's accept it for the sake of argument.

 I, being of a rather creationist sort, never ever accepted random encounters and thus deemed encounter tables redundant. 

Lately however, thanks to my deepened experience with boardgames I came to understand the usefulness of such tools.

Facing the fact that I no longer have so much time to design a new adventure and ponder over the tiniest detail I must admit that I run a risk of being repetitive. There is only so much information my troubled mind is able to store at a time with fast access to memory slots. And in order to populate an area with creatures I come to reach for a limited range that I remember at the time. And how fun it is for the players to constantly battle orcs and goblins? How much more alive the world feels if they encounter strange and exotic (or at least rare) creatures instead of bandits and wolves?

The fantasy setting is based on all things wondrous. And I don't necessarily mean there should be a  unicorn around every corner. But a well prepared encounter table might serve as a crib sheet when the GM needs to come up with an encounter right off the bat. I personally do not even need to roll the die, it suffices to look at the chart and instant inspiration is granted.

Say you want to run a game in the caverns. How many subterranean creatures can you name at this moment?

Well, my encounter table provides you with almost three dozens of interesting foes that might make the player's time pleasant in the underdark. This also helps to give its own particular feeling to every surrounding that the player's find themselves in. If you wish to provide for a deep swamp atmosphere, then beside moody descriptions use its denizens to make the players feel it. They might get the idea that the setting you play in actually makes some biological sense. This will help them get "in the zone". And help yourself focus on controlling the plot while still providing a rich background. Of course, you can create a thick atmosphere with  two zombies and all human campaign setting. But should you be toying the idea of running a high fantasy setting - consider encounter tables. They will make your life easier.

My concluding thought would be that the encounter tablea are a great idea, one just needs to find its purpose in one's gaming. I sure have.

P.S. Basing on that notion I have re-read the AD&D2e Monstrous Manual and put together a collection of Encoutner Tables to meet my needs. It can be accessed in the Bibliotheca should anyone liked to use it.

The Bibliotheca - library, is now open!

Dear Friends and Fellow Gamers.

Today your humble scribe has finally achieved his long time goal which is setting up an open & free library.

In the Bibliotheca section to your right you will be able to access parchments and scripts that you may find useful in your future journeys.
I have either tediously prepared them myself or gathered during my long and wondrous journeys.
The initial collection of documents is as follows:

• A summary sheet for the new combat rules presented in one of the first articles
• A summary sheet of the new magic system
• A summary sheet of the new combat rules & manoeuvres
• A collection of encounter tables
• An ornamental and comprehensive Character Sheet for AD&D
• A not less ornametal annexure for wizards, mages and priests

I hope you will find these documents to your liking.

Paizo's Pathfinder - Beginner Box

How to bring your wife to play role playing games

To those unfamiliar with Paizo's Pathfinder game - a word of introduction. There was a time when the publisher of the "World's oldest roleplaying game" decided that your host's (i.e mine) favourite system needs a thorough review and re-composition. Thus D&D 3.0 was born basing on the freshly designed (read: cunningly crafted from the previous AD&D mechanics) d20 game system. Ta-dah! And not too soon an update called D&D 3.5 edition was unleashed  to the world to smite yer beliefs in any other entertainment beside delving dungeons and wrestling dragons. And the GM's saw it was good. And they smiled upon it.

Then the Publisher said: "Let there be OGL (open game licence) for any of you who want to create fantastic worlds and games using our ingenious mechanics". And the other publishers saw it was good. And thus Pathfinder was born.

Pathfinder is currently one of my most recent fascinations and with good reason. It all started with me being frustrated over the fact Paizo does not accept AMEX cards (shame on you Paizo, shame on you). I was half way there to plan a trip to the US to purchase a set of manuals when browsing my befriended game distributor (www.rebel.pl) I found out they were (are) in fact importing the Pathfinder books to Poland (yippee!). I read enough to get interested in the beginner's box. After all I was already an owner of the famous TSR's red box which probably deserves another note. Having played countless sessions of FFG's Descent: Journeys in the Dark boardgame with my wife and brother-in-law I was already looking for an easy mean of transition from fantasy boardgames to fantasy role playing games. But to achieve that I needed a system that is possibly close to the boardgame's setting and mechanics that are straightforward, transparent and easy to learn. Of course attractive graphics and artwork is very, very helpful. 

I found Pathfinder Beginner Box to be all that and more. 

First impressions

The box is fantastic - sturdy and well crafted. Artwork is damn solid (not Elmore though). It all smell of quality and dedication. Upon opening the solid chest I stumbled upon a one-pager introducing me to the content with a brief yet informatory guide through the box's contents. Bravo!

The two manuals (Hero's and GM's) are not intimidating to a beginner. My fantasy boardgame's campaign rulebook is thicker (sic!). Pre-rolled character sheets are a masterpiece of design containing short introduction meant for a person who's never (ever) played before, then each section of the character sheet is well explained so that even during gameplay you can never be lost (for too long) and you don't have to consult the hero's manual. Smart.

A nice touch is a folded generic dungeon map that can be drawn upon with a erasable marker and a set of paper pawns with beautiful drawings to use on the map should you decide to play Pathfinder as a semi-boardgame. Need I say more? The last part os of course a one-pager on the bottom informing you of all development options, further expansions and manuals, Pathfinder society etc. Well played, Paizo. Well played.

All you need to play - the dice

As it is a game dedicated to beginners it should and in fact it does contain everything you need to start playing right away. It does have the pre-generated characters, one of each kind (fighter, wizard, cleric, rogue). It does have all necessary and simplified rules. It does have an introductory adventure that is easy to run with merely an hour of preparation. And it does have the dice.

The set is great. Well crafted and weighted. Sturdy to the level of indestructibility. A classic set of 1d20, 1d12, 2d10, 1d8, 1d6 and 1d4. This is in fact a great addition to my collection of dice (another note on that should be available sometime). Thanks, Paizo!

Getting to play - the first adventure

I can't really tell how many publishers understand the importance of the introductory adventure in a roleplaying game. I can tell though that not many enough. Fortunately Paizo is a publisher who seems to stick by one general principle: Diligence, dedication, quality and support. Well, that's more than one principle, but it proves the point!

The introductory adventure is the first thing you see in the GM's manual. First thing! That is how you make a statement. It bases on the decades-old quest format - dungeon delving. But it does it so well. The text is easy to read, well composed and structured. You actually need to read through the adventure once to be able to run it, because all major points are so handily provided in subsections, boxes, tables etc. Flavour text is laid down in a separate box, so you can read it aloud if you're not ready to create atmosphere on your own. All enemies' stats are provided as you go. The adventure itself introduces new rules step by step so you can learn while you play. Boy, somebody has just done their homework in learning patterns. So there's cavern exploration, strange artifact inspection, traps, treasures, fighting, talking your way out of the situation, riddles, underground river swimming, crossing obstacles and a dragon. Whoaa. All in one adventure. The ending is open so you have a great starting point for a follow up. Some ideas are even written down for your consideration. This is who everyone should do it. You immediately get the gist of the game, you get the idea what lies beyond the first gaming session! Does this work? It sure does, ask my recent all newbee gaming group.

So, yes, I am impressed :)

The Boardgame mode

For those of you who feel like transitioning from a simple hack and slash treasure hunting boardgame to a fully fledged rpg is too much of a step the Beginner Box introduces a boardgame mode.

The board is provided in a form of a folded map. One side shows the first adventure from the GM's manual - the dungeon. The other side is a generic square board with tiles. You can write stuff on it with a erasable marker to create your own dungeons. Or outdoor encounter location.

The broad selection of paper pawn lets you to manage your skirmishes. There are monsters of course, the 4 generic heroes but also variants of other races and classes should you decide to play a new generated character. Nice.

The beginner box rules allow to play the game on a board in a effortless manner. They are also well composed into the rpg idea, so that you don't have separate sections for board-based sessions. I could also put it like that: the initial assumption is that beginners will play with the board, but you can easily skip that step without losing fun in reading the manuals and playing the game. It's a win-win situation.

The artwork

The graphical side of the product is beautiful. The style is a bit too cartooney for my taste, but it is stylish in its own right. I am a sucker for illustrations, I admit. The books are beautifully decorated, you immediately feel the allure of game settings (woods, caverns, dungeons, villages, towns, swamps etc.) the individual feeling of particular hero classes, the character of each monster. I love the product for the visual side alone. And knowing that all Paizo's products maintain the general quality and style of artwork I must admit they just couldn't have done it better.

Rules - general impression

A general note: this is not meant to be a review of Pathfinder rules but a overview of my impession.

Pathfinder bases on the generic d20 mechanics but introduces a lot of minor tweaks and improvements that add to the general quality of the game and the entertainment it gives. Melee system is simple but gives the players a variety of options to make it more engaging. The Wizard's spell system is nicely balanced. A bit too boardgamey for my tastes, but works very well in Pathfinder setting. The cleric finally has some some individual assignments and tasks which makes him more useful in a combat situation. The Rogue is a nice blend of thief and fighter. Generally the classes are well balanced and each type might charm a different memeber of your gaming troupe.

The skills system is consize and very playable. I personally find it very comfortable and logical as a GM and I don't have to consult the manual every time I need to resolve a problem. The mechanics is fasts and transparent. Easy and agreable to run, dynamic and transparent for the hero's to play.

A good selection of basic rules from the Core Rulebook (yes, there is of course an expanded, i.e. full version of Pathfinder game) makes up for a really successful initiation in the rpg game genre.

Support

But, one of the most important features that struck me about Paizo is the support they provide to their games and clients. Not only did they care for the great started package. On their page www.paizo.com you can download beginner box character sheets, rules expansions, sample adventures and more - for free!

They provide a guide article on how to run commercial modules (published adventures) with your beginner box. So, say that you don't feel like buying the full version yet, you can prolong the replayability of the beginner box to infinity if you like. Actually, I was that lucky once to open Paizo webpage on a "free rpg day" when they were giving some modules for free. Now I only have to wonder on which adventure to choose for our May holiday (typical string of celebration days in Poland). There will be monster whooping a plenty!

So listen game publishers, if you know how to cater your gamer-clients, follow in Paizo's footsteps. 

What I see great about Paizo is that whatever product they make, they make you feel that they are doing all their best to make it a better experience for you. And this is a principle that all of the people in the entertainment industry should follow.

Conclusion

I got the Pathfinder Beginner Box out of curiosity and faint hope to buy wy family into playing rpg's. So far we have had 2 sessions, 3-4 hours at average. Everyone is looking forward to playing the next session. No issues with the rules have been had, no complaints, just general fun all around. Of course I am a wonderful GM (sneer) but if you're looking for a great gateway into the marvellous world of fantasy role playing games - Pathfinder Beginner Box is there for you.

AD&D2E Combat - additional utensils

As previously announced here is a set of some handy tools for handling combat situations.
The stimulus I got to put this together was a string of Earthdawn sessions I had with my recent gaming companions. Earthdawn is an interesting heroic game set in an ancient fantasy world (think Howard's Hyborian age - kind of) with an interesting variation of a classic 6 character stat mechanics. However, more in a modern d20 fashion the stats are translated into a further set of bonuses or dice pools. You might see some clear differences but to me it is basically the mindset that makes them both alike.
So, whilst the combat in ED is bent towards heroism and magic (not realism and grittiness) the interesting thing is that players get to make some interesting and varied choices during a melee, choose between a set of various skills and powers which makes hand-to-hand combat a bit more than a string of "I attack" announcements followed by a universal to-hit roll (and then damage!).
I appreciate that WotC acknowledged that idea and since D&D3E and onwards fighter characters have skills and feats and whatever.
But while these options were not available in AD&D2E, there still is enough content to provide for some interesting and engaging melees.

The materia below is 100% TSR creation (and WotC property). Gathered from TSR's Players Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Player's Option: Combat & Tactics. I simply took the liberty to put it together in neat tables for your convenience and entertainment (and mine of course).

The mechanic of the "Opposed Roll"

source: Player's Option: Combat & Tactics.

Whenever an action performed by a character requires a struggle between him and the opponent the Opposed Roll (OR) applies.

The idea is simple, the acting character roll is opposed by the opponent's roll to see who prevails.

In terms of mechanics it works in the following way:

1. The active character makes a test roll (whatever its nature)
2. The opponent makes an opposed test roll
3. The result that passes the test roll while being closer to the failure threshold wins while:
1. For attributes test the higher passing roll wins;
2. For Saving Throws and To-hit rolls the lowest passing (hitting) roll wins
4. Failing the test automatically results in losing the OR action.

Example:

Roft the Fighter hand wrestles Taliona the Maiden Paladin.

Roft has a Str of 15 while Taliona has a Str of 17. Roft rolls 12 passing his Str test. Taliona rolls 9 and while she also passes Roft's roll is higher than hers. Taliona's hand gets dangerously closer towards the burning candle.

Example 2:

Roft tries blocking Taliona's swing. With Thac0 19 he rolls 15 against DC 4 (defence bonus) - barely making it. Her attack roll (Thac0 19) was 16 against his DC 10. Though her chance to hit was higher (9+ to hit) Roft's roll was lower (closer to missing) than hers so he successfully blocks the hit.

The Combat Round

The combat round is resolved following the sequence:

1. Roll for initiative - determine the action sequence (who goes first)
2. Characters take combat actions
3. Proceed to another round

Let's make one thing clear here. The combat round lasts 6 seconds.

This correction introduced in later D&D editions makes all the sense in opposition to the 1 minute (sic!) idea introduced in the AD&D2E Player's Handbook. One minute???

Even such an unskilled fencer as I can perform at least 10 swings of a sword against an opponent in that time. Or take several other actions. Well, I take it as a simple misunderstanding.

6 seconds make a round

10 rounds make a minute (a turn?)

Deal with it.

Determine Initiative

Initiative & Surprise	effect
Initiative roll weapon	1d10+weapon speed
Initiative roll spell	1d10+spell casting time
Initiative roll monster	1d10
Multiple attacks	Additional attacks resolved after action sequence ends
Surprise check	1,2,3 on 1d10
Surprise effects	Free round of attacks, no Dex DC bonus (flatfooted)

Multiple attacks. Specialist fighters who get more than one attack per round perform their additional attacks (all above one attack) after all other characters have had their chance to act.

Combat actions

source: Player's Option: Combat & Tactics and the Player's Handbook.

During a combat round a character can do so much more than simply "attack".

Here is an expanded list of manoeuvres that can be performed.

COMBAT actions	effect
Attack (a)	# as per weapon skill
Movement (a)	Normal mov rate
Movement (free)	½ normal mov rate
Charge (a)	150% mov, +2 for attack, weapon dmg / -2 Ini, no Dex bonus, -1 AC, polearms inflict 2x dmg
Fleeing (a)	1 free attack for opponent
Parrying (a)	½ lvl (round down) as DC bonus / fighters ½ lvl+1
Block (1 attack)	Opposed roll with DC 4 vs. attack – lower roll wins
Called shot (1 attack)	Standard -4 to attack roll
Disarm* (1 attack)	Opposed roll with DC 0 vs. defenders roll with DC 4
Overbear (a)	1 free attack for Defender; Hit roll +1/extra attacker; Save vs. Paralyzation
Pull/Trip (1 attack)	After hitting roll Opposed roll for Strength with opponent
Combat round = 6 sec	1 standard action (a) + 1 free action (free)
Opposed roll	Success roll closer to the subjective threshold – wins
*	Specialist action

Doesn't it look better?

For further details on the particular actions please consult the sourcebooks.

Miscellaneous

source: Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide.

To create some variety between the individual fighting styles the DM should enable the players to take advantage of their natural resources. Fighting with 2 weapons is one specifically provided for by the rules. But characters using shields or having one free hand should be given some further possibilities as well e.g. Pull/Trip action or Shield Rush/Shield Push.

Fighting styles	effect
2 weapons style	-2 hit roll / -4 hit roll
Weapon and shield style	Shield manoeuvres
Two-handed weapon style	-
One handed weapon style	Hand manoeuvres

Another important rule is one introducing consequences for being overloaded with junk (gear). One cannot simply run around carrying 4 sets of full plate armour and a collection of halberds in different colours (hello Diablo). While I don't tend to calculate encumbrance to the last gram I use common sense and when a character tries to pull off such a trick he gets some penalties in combat.

Encumbrance modifier	effect
Moderate	-1 hit roll
Heavy	-2 hit roll / +2 DC
Severe	-4 hit roll / +3 DC

Also it's worthwhile to remember how far a character can move during one round of melee.

I like to get this simple chart handy in case a player attempts to run to the opposing corner of the castle courtyard and defend his fellow mage from 3 assasins. All in one round.

Creature size	Movement rate
Halfling, Dwarf, Gnome	6 yards
Human, Elf	12 yards
Monster	Varies (consult Monstrous Manual)

Afterword

Creating a summary of combat rules in a form of a one-pager is currently a standard in modern games. I believe AD&D2E deserved one and attempted to prove it possible.

I certainly will find it handy. Hope you would too.

Cheers!