Fortune Cards

I like D&D 4th edition. It certainly has its flaws and it can easily move into a style of play I don’t care for unless you work at it a little. I actually need to write up a full post on 4e at some point to go into my feelings on it. This post though, I want to talk about a new product for 4e from WOTC: Fortune Cards.

Each card has a little character buff on it. Plus +1 for this or that in a particular situation or you knock someone prone in another situation.To get a better idea of what they are read up on fortune cards here: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/drdd/20110223

There is not much if anything I like about fortune cards. 4e is “gamey” enough as it is with how abstract a lot of the mechanics (powers, hit points, and healing surges) are. To add another level on top of that with the fortune cards doesn’t sit well with me. 4e already has a billion powers and feats built into it from the get go. This is adding another layer of unneeded complexity. I don’t want to play in a game where the players are fumbling with cards trying to figure out what they want to do. 4e has enough options for the players and fumbling around with powers as it is. Players have enough options in combat as it is without fortune cards. That’s a major factor in long combats and now you adding in extra options with cards or trading cards with players. I think the Essentials approach of reducing complexity for players was the right way to go and this going in completely the opposite direction.

Also, I don’t like the idea of player built decks either.  They come in random booster packs, so you don’t know what you’re getting. They’re adding this collectible card game element to a game that doesn’t need it. Giving a player mechanical advantages in the game for buying real world stuff is just antithetical to how I want to play the game. Further, I don’t want to play in a game where I have to buy cards to so my character can be better. It makes sense (I guess) in a competitive game like Magic, but not in a collaborative game like D&D.

It feels like Wizards of the Coast is flailing around with 4th edition. Essentials, Fortune Cards, canceling the minis line, the focus on boards games. They are really going in a lot of directions at once.  Maybe they are taking some risks in trying new things, to give them the benefit of the doubt. But, it feels more like they are struggling to find a direction. The Fortune Cards are certainly a misstep.

Of course, Fortune Cards are entirely optional and you can play the game how you want. That’s one of the wonderful thing about tabletop RPGs, it’s your game to play how you see fit. If there are people who want to play with Fortune Cards, that’s fine, I just don’t want to play that way.

March 10, 2011 | Level 1 Gamer | No Comments »

RPGs: Creativity Catalysts

I’ve been in a creative mood for quite some time.  More than in any other time in my life, I have been spending a good chunk of my free time (as little as that is) on creative endeavors. Most of this creative energy is a result of RPGs and gaming. At least, RPGs have been a catalyst for much of this.

Pen and paper RPGs are necessarily creative. As a player, you bring a character life – giving it a name, a personality, a back story. You are also imagining the events of the game – the flow of a battle, the atmosphere of a tavern. As a Dungeon Master, you are doing all that as well as crafting a story and building a world. In case of my gaming group, there is also a ridiculous (disturbing?) amount creativity put into dick jokes. All this creative activity is bound to spill out of the realm of playing RPGs.

It certainly has for me. For starters, I created this blog which is absolutely a direct result of playing games. My enthusiasm for gaming drove me to express myself. I’ve written almost 30 posts (not so much lately unfortunately) including stories about the characters I’ve played in the regular Swords & Wizardry game I play in. My last post was one such story. This is something I never would have thought I’d do before getting into this stuff. I’ve always felt character stories were silly, a little self-serving, and bit too much like writing fan fic. But, I had fun with it, so I’ve got learn not to judge until I’ve tried it myself.  I started painting minis after going to a workshop at Rincon. I’ve found the hobby to be extraordinarily relaxing and creatively rewarding for me.

Finally, my big creative project, the one that has been most rewarding for me,  is a short story. It’s not related to gaming, but it came about because of gaming. Really, it came about because of the people I game with. I’m fortunate to game with a group of very creative people. Our DM, Paul Fini, runs his own RPG blog, The Warlock’s Home Brew, publishes game modules and aids, is an accomplished artist, and has published several comics through Indie Only Comics. Many of the other players are artists and have blogs themselves. Check out: Gedleesmote’s Grumblings, Rambles of a Lost Viking, Never Crit, Rebirth of Classic Comic Art!, and Boom Culture. Being around all these creative folks is inspiring.

That last blog, Boom Culture, is put out by Max. He is a researcher studying video games and distance learning in education (I know. How cool is that?). He wrote a short story last summer and sent it out to the group. I thought it was great and felt maybe I should try writing something. I haven’t written fiction in a while. I always had ideas, but never the follow through.  Around the same time, several of the guys came up with an idea to put out a pulp magazine called Tales of High Adventure in the style of the old pulp magazines of the ’30s and ’40s like Weird Tales and Amazing Stories. The first issue just came out. Check out Indie Only Comics for details.

This set things in motion for me. I had the inspiration and creative energy. I had a goal to shoot for: write a story that could by published in this new pulp magazine. Also, I had a style, the pulp adventure style, that I found very easy to come with ideas and fun to write. So, I set out to write a story. I decided on a pulp sci-fi story in the vein of Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers with some influences from Doctor Who and Alan Moore’s Tom Strong.  Honestly, when I started, I didn’t think it’d be good enough to actually get published. It was just a goal to shoot for and motivation to actually finish. It took me months to write it, but I finally finished the first draft of Doctor Galactic at the Edge of the Universe in “The Creeping Invaders”. I had a hell of a lot of fun writing it. I submitted it and they liked it. After some great editing work (thanks Paul!), the second draft should be close to being ready to be included the second issue of Tales of High Adventure. Exciting stuff. Once it gets close to coming out, I’ll post a preview of the story here.

To add further to all this creative energy, my good friend has started a web comic. Check out Detective Agency. He’s off to great start, so check it out.

That’s all for now. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post more often. If only I had more time to devote to my creative projects . . .

February 24, 2011 | Level 1 Gamer | 1 Comment »

Pathfinder

I went to the most recent Tucson RPG Guild gathering this weekend. It was much better attended than the last one I went to in June when I ran my first public game. There were over twenty people there with four games going. Thankfully, the venue had fixed their cooling problem, so it wasn’t hot and uncomfortable like the one in June. I also managed to score the latest Dragon Magazine Annual in the prize give away which was a fun bonus. I was hoping to play in a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen game using the Savage Worlds game system. Unfortunately, the guy who planned to run couldn’t make it due issues outside of his control. I ended up jumping into a game of Pathfinder.

Pathfinder is a fantasy RPG put out by Paizo. Paizo took Dungeons & Dragons Edition 3.5, cleaned up some of the rules that bugged people, and created Pathfinder. Basically, people who love 3.5 and don’t like 4th edition can move to Pathfinder for new content. I think adventures written for 3.5 are easily portable to Pathfinder as well. For all intents and purposes it can be considered D&D 3.75. I had fun during the game session. The DM did a great job, the other players were good, and the story was interesting with a nice twist at the end. But, I didn’t care much for Pathfinder itself. The first game of D&D I ever played (and subsequently the first campaign I played in) used D&D 3.5. That was only a little over a year ago. While, obviously, I fell in love with the hobby, I wasn’t particularly crazy about D&D 3.5. Pathfinder really hasn’t change anything about 3.5 that would improve upon my initial impression.

I have several problems with Pathfinder (and 3.5 in general). First of all, it’s a very rules heavy game. Combat rules are complicated without adding any tactical depth. While Pathfinder has apparently cleaned up some problems from 3.5 like grappling and combat maneuver rules, they still seem too complex. Also, the game seems to expect you to have a near encyclopedic knowledge of spells, potions, and items. I played an Alchemist which was a fun class in concept, but I spent a lot of time looking up the effects of potions and mutagens. I wasn’t the only one looking up things for their character either. When you do look up something, you are presented with a wall of text that you have to wade through in order to figure out how it works. I feel like 4th edition (which is rules heavy, too) does a better job of managing the complexity with concise, standardized stat blocks for items, spells, and abilities. Also, a lot of the rules heavy lifting for PCs is taken care of by the character builder. The 4th edition game I recently ran involved mostly people new to 4th edition and I don’t anyone needed to crack a book. With Pathfinder, several people needed to spend time looking things up. It just seems like you need to keep track of a lot more minutiae in Pathfinder and 3.5 and I don’t care for that.

Also, the combat wasn’t any more tactically compelling than combat in my regular Swords & Wizardry game (an Original D&D clone and very rules light game) but ran longer because of the more complex rules. So, Pathfinder combat ends up being the worst of both worlds for me. It can be long and tedious without the tactical complexity of 4th and without the drama, danger, and speed of S&W combat.

Oh, yeah. One thing that really drives me nuts is critical hits. In Pathfinder and 3.5 when you roll a 20, you have to roll again to “confirm” the critical hit. It really dulls the excitement of rolling a 20 for me if I have to roll again to “confirm” it and just seems complex for the sake of complexity. Drives me bonkers.

While I’ve been knocking Pathfinder for the past few paragraphs, like I said, I still had fun playing. With the right group of people and DM, I’d play Pathfinder again but it wouldn’t be my first (or second) choice for game system. I also really enjoyed my PC. Alchemist is a fun class to play and the concept is fun. I may see if I can find an alchemist class for Swords & Wizardry or make one of my own for fun.

I’m glad I made it out to the Meetup and hope to make it out again soon.

August 9, 2010 | Level 1 Gamer | 6 Comments »

Tales of Swords & Wizardry: Groovy

It has been too long since I’ve written a Tales of Swords & Wizardry about my regular game. Swords & Wizardry is “retro-clone” of the original edition of D&D.  It’s the only long term RPG campaign I’m currently playing in.  We play every other week and have been going strong since October of last year.  Unfortunately I had to miss two sessions recently, but got to play last week.  We have another session tonight due to the holiday.

I have a really great time playing.   Our group has really seemed to hit a groove.  Everyone has gotten more comfortable with role playing.  A good chunk of the last session was pure role playing and was a blast. Even when my character was not active in the scene, it was hilarious to sit back and watch the others.  Our DM did a great job of having our group confront some our past sins which led to some great story and role play moments.  Really a good time.  For a full write up of our past sessions, check out Paul’s (our DM) website, The Warlock’s Home Brew.  He also has created some great S&W gaming aides and even his own adventure modules, so check out his site.

The last post I wrote on this subject involved the death of my PC, the cleric Arvin Ardmore.  Since then, I’ve rolled up a new character, the Druid Gnarly Blunderbrush.  It’s been fun playing a different character and class who has a different role in the party.  Unfortunately, it’s left our group without a cleric, which due to our group’s penchant for getting, has been a little bit of a problem.  In a couple of levels, Gnarly can cast a healing spell, so that will help a little.

The number of players at the table has grown from five when we started to seven players.  I have played several games of 4th Edition D&D and seven players in that system is really too much due to the nature of combat. Combat just grinds to a halt with that many.  With S&W, it’s not really a problem, since it’s such a rules-lite system and combat is quick and furious.  Seven players has certainly added to the chaos, but it in a good way.  I can tell Paul has to work a little harder bring some order to the table and he does it well.  Seven players has resulted in raucous, slightly chaotic game sessions where we still manage to move the story forward significantly and have an absolute blast while playing.

I honestly think part of it is the game system.  We wouldn’t be having the same experience if were playing 4th ed or 3.x ed.  S&W has allowed us to have a very wild and woolly campaign that doesn’t get bogged down in the rules or combat.  Now don’t get me wrong.  I love 4th edition, but it provides a very different experience from S&W and old school D&D.

Can’t wait to dive back into the fray with our bumbling, debaucherous, slightly crazy adventuring group.

debaucherous
May 24, 2010 | Level 1 Gamer | 2 Comments »

Get Started with Dungeons & Dragons

First of all, welcome to the hobby.  It’s a very fun, very rewarding hobby that provides great opportunities to be creative and meet people who share your interests.

One thing I’ve noticed while searching online is that there isn’t a good guide to getting started with Dungeons & Dragons (and the wider world of pen and paper RPGs).  Most of the ones I’ve seen are so basic that they are less useful than the Wikipedia article for D&D.  I’m going to assume you’ve already read the wiki and done some basic research online.  This guide will hopefully help new gamers get beyond the basics and up to speed with the hobby.

- The Wide, Wide World of Pen & Paper RPGs -

While Dungeons & Dragons is the biggest and most well known pen and paper Role Playing Game (RPG), there are many, many others out there.  D&D is really the tip of the iceberg; a gateway to the wider world of PnP RPGs.  There are other RPGs that, like D&D, have a fantasy setting.  There are also RPGs for about every genre you could think of: Super Heroes, Sci-Fi, Horror, Cyberpunk, even Mice with Swords.  If you can think of a genre, especially a geeky one, someone has written an RPG for it.

In my opinion D&D is the best RPG to get started with the hobby, but I encourage you to check out the wider world of RPGs once you are more settled in.

- Edition Clarification -

The current version of D&D is 4th Edition.  It’s called 4th edition, but there are more than four versions of D&D when you count the various updates, spin offs, and clones.  Each edition of D&D has a different rule set (and rule books) from the next, sometimes so different that they are very different games.   They get confusing pretty fast.

If you are just starting out in the hobby, I believe 4th edition is the way to go.  The books are in print.  All the other official versions of D&D are out of print and not as readily available.  The rules are well laid out in the books and internally very consistent.  It’s fairly obvious the game was designed with new players in mind.  There are great tools like the character builder that make the learning curve less steep and make it easier to buy fewer books.  The simplified rules make it easier to Dungeon Master the game.

Fair warning, if you ask three different gamers which is the best version of D&D you’ll likely get four different answers.  The change over from the last edition of D&D (edition 3.5) and 4th edition has sparked a particularly vigorous debate, commonly known as the edition wars.  Like any other geeky debate on the internet, people have strong opinions about it.  I’m sure  a lot of other gamers would disagree with me that  you should start with 4th edition.

One more note on editions: while 4th edition is great for new players and new dungeon masters, if you are being invited into an existing group with experienced gamers, go with whatever edition or game system they are playing.  They’ll be able to teach you what you need to know to get started.  I find that my enjoyment comes more from the people around the table than from whatever edition of D&D (or RPG system) I play.

- What You Need -

Free Stuff
At first you don’t need to spend much money.  There are many D&D resources available for free from Wizards of the Coast (publisher of D&D):

  • D&D Character Builder – Free demo allows you to create level 1 – 3 characters.  This is one of the main reasons I like 4th Ed.  It lets you focus on what kind of character you want to build instead of the math.  Also, it gives you access to information from nearly all the character books.  You have to buy a D&D Insider subscription for the full version which gives you access to other tools and online magazines.
  • Download the D&D Test Drive – Here you can download quick start rules and two full adventures for free.  This test drive is all you need to get familiar with the rules and try things out if you don’t want to commit any money.

Dice
One thing you should really buy before you start playing is a set of dice.  While RPG gamers are friendly and will share dice if you don’t have any, it is better to have you own.  Dice are designated by the number sides they have.  A six-sided die (the most common die type that pretty much every board game uses) is called a D6.  A 10 sided die is a D10, and so on.

A complete set consists of a D4, a D6, a D8, 2 D10′s, a D12, and a D20.  That is all you need to get started, but once you are hooked, you end up with a lot more.

Books
While you can get away with not buying a single book by using the resources I linked to above, eventually you are going to want to get a few books:

  • Player’s Handbook (PHB): This is the only book that a player needs to get started with D&D.  It lays out how the general structure of the game works, how to create a character, background stories for the races, and the combat rules.  There is a PHB 2 and a PHB 3, but those just layout new character options and do not change the core rules defined in the first PHB. If you can find this in a store, it’s a good deal if you do want PHB and PHB 2.
  • Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG): This is only necessary if you plan to run a game for other people as a Dungeon Master (DM).  It gives you rules, advice, and resources to DM a game.
  • Monster Manual (MM): This is also only necessary if you plan to DM a game at some point.  This book is just a list of monsters that the DM throws up against the players.

And those are the only books you really need to get started.  There are many other books, some for players, some for DMs, but this all you need to get started.  The PHB, DMG, and MM are considered the “core” rule books and most who people play have one or all of these books.  For a cheaper alternative to get all three, get this Core Rulebook Gift Set.

A new Dungeons & Dragons Essentials line is coming out this fall.  One of the products is a boxed Starter Set.  This may be a great place to start once it comes out.

Miniatures

For the most part in D&D, combat takes place on a 1″ grid with miniatures or some other type of marker used to represent players and monsters.  4th edition is especially reliant on miniatures and a grid.  You don’t have to buy a miniature to get started.  Some things people use instead of miniatures include cardboard tokens, chess pieces, LEGO figures, and coins.  If you are going to a public game, it’s easy to borrow a miniature from another player as many people have extra.  If you do want to get your own minis, Wizards of the Coast has a line of Player’s Handbook minis. Your local game store will have minis.  Ebay is also a good place to look as well as sites like www.miniaturemarket.com.

Battle Grid

If you want to DM a game yourself, you’ll need a 1″ grid for combat.  There are many options for combat grids:  Dungeon Tiles put out by WOTC, pricey, not versatile, but very pretty; Chessex vinyl Battlemat, moderately priced, very versatile, very sturdy; Gamemastery Flip-Mat: cheap, very versatile, not as sturdy; Gaming Paper: very cheap, very versatile, disposable.

- Finding a Game -

Finding a game can be a difficult task, especially a long running game with players and a DM that fit your gaming style.  But, you do have a lot of options to get started and to find pickup games that can lead to a longer running game.

  • Meetup.com: Search for RPG or D&D.  This is how I got started playing RPGs.  Meetup is a great way to find other gamers and events that are friendly to new gamers.
  • Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS): Your local game store is another great place to look.  Many have calendars with events, many of them open to anyone.  Talk to the store clerk.  They can let you know what events are good for new players.
  • Attend an official D&D event: There are many events like Living Forgotten Realms,  D&D Encounters, and Worldwide D&D Day that occur at local game stores and are designed  for anyone to jump into a game without any commitment. They are very new player friendly.  LFR and Encounters run weekly.  You have many opportunities to try out D&D with no commitment.
- Online Resources -

There are many online resources available to dive deeper into the hobby and get your questions answered.

Podcasts

There are quite a few RPG podcasts out there.  They are great places to get discussion on the latest news.  Most importantly for a new player, there are podcasts that are recordings of actual game sessions.  These give you a good idea of how an actual game session works before you dive in and actually play.  Here some notable podcasts:

  • The Penny Arcade/PvP/Wil Wheaton podcasts (Series 1 and 2, Series 3 ep 1): Wizards of the Coast invited geek celebrities Mike Krahulik & Jerry Holkins of online comic Penny Arcade, Scott Kurtz of online comic PvP, and Wil Wheaton of Star Trek fame to play D&D.  What resulted were three hilarious sessions of D&D.  They are entertaining and very informative for a new player since one of the players is new to D&D.  Series 4 has been recorded and should be out soon.
  • Robot Chicken podcasts: After of success of the Penny Arcade podcasts, WOTC invited the writers of the show Robot Chicken to play D&D.  This time they recorded video.  Several of the players are new to D&D, so it’s also a good learning opportunity.

Forums

There are many active RPG forums that are great places to ask questions and start to become a part of the community.  Here are a few that I have found useful:

  • The official Dungeons & Dragons forums: great resource for D&D
  • EN World: a popular RPG forum with an emphasis on 4th Ed D&D, but has discussion on many other RPGs
  • RPG.net: active forum with lots of 4th Ed discussion as well as other RPGs

Blogs

There are many, many D&D and general RPG blogs out there.  Check out my blogroll for a few that I frequent.

- Go Forth and Game ! -

Hopefully this guide has been helpful to you.  Once you are hooked (as I know you will be), come back and tell me about your experiences.

I will try to keep this guide up to date with regular updates as links change and new products become available.

March 29, 2010 | Level 1 Gamer | 10 Comments »

My week in gaming

My time to write has been pretty limited lately.  With a wife, a toddler, a newborn and a full-time job, there isn’t much room for writing these days.  This week though has been a pretty decent gaming week for me.

  • My week started out with a major geek out when Wil Wheaton posted my comment on the front page of his blog! Wil is doing another Dungeon Delve at the Emerald City Comic Con and wrote a post about it on his blog.  I wrote in the comments that I played in on of his Dungeon Delves.  I wrote about the experience in a blog post: I survived Wil Wheaton’s Dungeon Delve of Doom which I also mentioned in the comment.  He then proceeds to update his blog post with my comment.  Very exciting.  A fun little geeky treat for me.
  • I went to Living Forgotten Realms again Thursday at Hat’s Games here in Tucson.  I had a good time.  But, LFR seems to exacerbate some of the problems of D&D 4th Edition.  Namely, role playing gets a short shrift.  Roll playing is the emphasis.  Which, I don’t mind so much.  I find 4th edition combat a compelling game in and of itself and I want to get a better grasp of the rules.  But, I like a healthy dose of story, character, and plot, too.  Still, it was fun and hope to make it out again soon.  Also,  LFR got a new gamer hooked on the hobby.  Someone came in who had never played a pen and paper game and, well, I let his words speak for themselves: “me thinks we hath created a monster.”  Despite 4th edition’s faults, it is very friendly to new players.
  • Yesterday, I went to the Arizona Renaissance Festival.  I  guess renaissance festivals could be considered the world’s most popular and mainstream LARPs.  I got my little girl a pink sword and a fairy outfit and I had steak on a stake.  Ren Faire was a success.  I’m actually thinking of going in costume next year.  Somebody help me.
  • Tomorrow is the next session in my regular Swords and Wizardry group.  It will be the first time in quite a while that we will have all the players there.  We just took out some goblins and need to learn what happened to the Tomb of the Iron God.  I’ll have to write some more about it soon.

I’m looking forward to PHB3 day this week and I’ll hopefully be playing the first of new D&D Encounters program that Wizards of the Coast is kicking off.  If time permits I’ll be writing all this up.

March 14, 2010 | Level 1 Gamer | No Comments »
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