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.

A few weeks ago I ran my first public game at the monthly Tucson RPG Guild Gathering.  It was only my second time as DM. I ran a modified version of the module Rescue at Rivenroar.  This is a free adventure for D&D 4th edition put out by Wizards of the Coast and is the first adventure in the Scales of War adventure path.

The gathering was more sparsely attended than ones I’ve attended previously.  I’m not sure why that is.  It might be due to the success of the weekly 4^th edition Living Forgotten Realms nights.  Or it was summer.  Or who knows? But, there were enough people there to have  a full five players in my game and enough players for another game running.  Only one of the players had ever played 4^th edition before.  The rest were RPG players with experience in the various other versions of D&D.  This didn’t present too much of a problem since 4^th edition is pretty easy to pick up.  A couple of guys from my gaming group came out to play including my DM which was fun.

First of all, I’ll talk about what I think went well.  I think I did a good job of keeping combat moving and flowing.  One of the biggest problems with 4^th edition in my (and many others) opinion is that combat can get really bogged down.  I enjoy tactical, crunchy combat.  I detest long, tedious combat.  In my experience 4^th edition can easily swing from one to the other especially in the hands of a poor DM and/or indecisive players.  I think I succeeded in keeping the rounds quick and moving along.  I used the initiative tracking method of writing all the PC names on slips of paper and hanging them on the DM screen.  This worked well for me and helped keep things moving.  I also tried to encourage creative thinking and players trying crazy things in combat.  I gave bonuses for stunts and crazy ideas (after the appropriate skill check of course).  I also played somewhat loose with the rules.  For me, fun trumps rules.  And with people new to 4^th edition who are getting used to the new style of combat, I wanted to allow for some leeway on things.

Some things didn’t go quite as well.  The session was very combat heavy and there wasn’t a lot of role playing.  Partially this is due to being a public game with pre-generated characters.  But, I think I could have done more to encourage RP and my RP skills aren’t exactly strong.  RP one of things I struggle with at times in RPGs. Also, tThe session was very railroady.  Again, it was a public game with a limited amount of time and I was running a module.  My ability to encourage players to forge their own paths was very limited.  It was also hotter than hell in the room where we played.  Of course, I had no control over that, but it did make things a little uncomfortable.

One thing I was surprised about was how difficult the first two encounters were for the PCs.  I ran the first two encounters as written in the module.  Rescue at Rivenroar starts with an encounter in a bar and then an encounter in the street with a fire wielding ogre.  These encounters are what drew me to the module in the first place because of interesting elements such as fire and they take place in interesting environments.  In the first encounter, the cleric was dropped a couple of times.  This was due to a unlucky placement of the cleric and some really bad rolls by the players and good rolls by me.  Also, everybody was getting still settled in to their character and 4^th edition combat in general.  In the second encounter with the ogre a pc was actually killed.  Like, killed killed.  That really surprised me.  He was taken down by a massive hit from the ogre.  To keep things moving, I let that player jump back into the game as the PCs twin brother.

I ran the module pretty much as written (except for taking out the skill challenges which didn’t add anything) until the players got to the dungeon.  The dungeon in the module is massive, rather grindy, and many of the rooms are really uninteresting.  It would take multiple sessions to crawl through this dungeon, so I cherry picked and modified two encounters.  I took one encounter and changed the layout a little.  I used some 3D dungeon tiles from the Harrowing Halls to give the encounter some elevation.  The last encounter was with Sinruth, the modules “Big Bad”.  I completely changed the layout of this encounter.  I lowered Sinruth’s AC a little because the players weren’t at level 2.  I think the module assumes that the players are at level 2 when they get to this encounter.  I also gave Sinruth a new power, an invocation to the god Tiamat that shook the room and created pits.  It made things a little more interesting.  These encounters went much more smoothly and the PCs had less trouble with these.

I had help modifying Sinruth and the module from the folks at RPG.net.  Thanks to all the feedback in this thread.

Overall, I think things went well and I hope the players had fun.

My life has been pretty crazy the past couple of months.  Between a graduation, a week-long trip, a wedding,   and a heavy workload, not mention a wife and kids I haven’t had much free time.  I had to miss a couple sessions of my bi-weekly Swords & Wizardry game.  I’ve had no time to write for this blog.

Well, now, my schedule is opening up.  I’m looking forward to getting to game more.  And I’m looking forward to getting back into writing for the blog.  Hopefully, this kicks off what will be a more regular posting schedule for Level 1 Gamer.

Here is some random gaming stuff I have on my radar.  I’ll be writing more about some or all of this very soon:

• My first public game as a DM will be at the Tucson RPG Guild Gathering in June.  I’m going to run the 4th edition module Rescue at Rivenroar (modified for a single session).
• I’ve picked up a few sets of Pirates of the Spanish Main, a fun little collectible tabletop game.  The models are fun and I hope to play it soon.
• I had some money from a recent Ebay auction and picked up some classic D&D books.  I got a 1E Dungeon Master’s Guide, the Moldvay/Cook and Mentzer Basic/Expert box sets, and the old modules Keep on the Borderlands and Isle of Dread.  Expect my impressions soon.
• I’ll be presenting at the next Gamemasters’ Conference in July.  I’ll be doing a presentation on running a game for new players from the perspective of a new player.
• Had a blast at my regular S&W game last night.  It was great to be back after a break.  Great role playing and the usual shenanigans.
• I plan on going to the Tucson LFR Night again next week.  I may even end up running game if necessary.

I’m really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

Last Thursday I went out to the Friendly Local Game Store to partake in Living Forgotten Realms.  LFR is shared-world campaign that is played throughout the country.  Essentially you can create an LFR legal character, take it to any LFR event, and play it in an ongoing shared setting.  The Tucson RPG Guild organizes a weekly LFR event at Hat’s Games. It’s an easy way to get a D&D 4th edition fix without any commitment.  Although I enjoy going and I’ve had fun the few times I’ve gone, these LFR events have their advantages and disadvantages.

I like it for several reasons.  It’s a nice way to socialize and meet new people.  The Tucson LFR is averaging about 25 people each Thursday.  Like the monthly Tucson RPG Guild Gatherings, you get to meet and mingle with people outside of your regular gaming group.   It’s really nice for trying out different characters.  You can roll up a new character and try it out, but you won’t be saddled with it for the entire campaign like you would in a traditional campaign.  There’s no commitment.  I’m a busy guy with a full time job, wife, and two small kids.  It’s hard for me to commit to much of anything regularly.  Somehow, I’ve managed to make all my bi-weekly Swords & Wizardy games, but anything outside that is hard for me to make.   I like being able to drop into a game when I feel like it.

Another big thing that LFR has going for it is it’s very friendly to the RPG newcomer like me.  There are generally pre-generated characters available if you are not comfortable with character generation.  Like I said before, it’s a great way to try out characters.  It helped me with learning character generation, because I built a character, took it to LFR, realized some mistakes I made, but wasn’t stuck with those mistakes.  It can also be a way to find a regular game.  I’m sure that there are plenty of folks at LFR events looking for players.

There are some thing I don’t like about it though.  The few modules I’ve played have been rather bland.  The stories have been rather uninteresting and tend to be light on role-playing.  The combats were not particularly well designed.  Also, you can end up with a DM who is unfamiliar with the module they are running, since they may have not had time to prep and they don’t have the control over the story that they would in a home-brew campaign.  Luckily, Thursday, I had a great DM who handled the RP really well and kept the game moving which is important in 4th Edition.  The last time I went, which was some time ago, my DM was not so well prepared, though.  So, the DM’s can be hit and miss.  You don’t really get a sense of an ongoing story or shared world.  At least I haven’t.  Maybe I haven’t played enough to really get that experience though.  Since it is a shared world, you don’t really have any way to affect it in any meaningful way.  One other thing is, you don’t quite have get camaraderie that you get from a regular game with the same group of people which is a big part of what I like about the hobby

Still, the trade offs are worth it to be able to drop in on a game, no muss no fuss.  Check out Living Forgotten Realms some time if you’re a fan of 4th edition.

Dungeons & Dragons Experience is currently going in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.  It’s a gaming convention that Wizards of the Coast, publisher of D&D, uses to showcase upcoming products.  During this con, WOTC announced the Dungeons & Dragons Essentials line.  It’s a product line geared towards new players.  Over at Critical Hits there is a good article on the details.  Here is an excerpt:

During the last quarter, WotC will roll out a product line designed for new players. The game’s core is what was being called the “4e Red Box.” The prototype image was styled after the original D&D Red Box, and contains enough for a few players to play (including some tokens and maps), but can also be played solo. What was interesting to me was the “walkthrough” approach to the rules, where the book is designed to come with you to learn the rules as you play. Also neat is that the choices your characters make during the actual game determine what class you are, instead of generating a character first.

The Red Box is supposed to be the clear, introductory, “I’ve never played D&D before and want to learn” set. An emphasis was given by the WotC staffers that the bookstores (since before 4e and well into 3e) have had trouble selling D&D books because it’s not easy to recommend what new players should buy.

This is a very smart move by WOTC.  One of 4th editions greatest strengths is its appeal and accessibility to new gamers.  It’s pretty clear that this was a strong design consideration for 4th edition.  So, explicitly creating products that help ease people into D&D is the way to go.  In fact, it’s long overdue.

I actually think that this should be the primary focus WOTC has for the D&D line.   Having a product that everyone can point to as the entry point for D&D (and by extension RPGs in general) really makes it easier for new folks to join hobby.  And let’s face it, to most people on the outside of the hobby, D&D is the hobby.  Trust me.  They don’t know or understand anything about the multiple editions of D&D or all the other RPGs out there.  I know when I started last year all I knew about was D&D and that was all I wanted to play.  I just wanted to play THE game.  The one I’ve heard about.  Everything else was either confusing or uninteresting to me.

Besides, there are tons of alternative RPGs and previous editions of D&D to appeal to the veteran and hardcore gamers.  Companies like Paizo and retro-clones are doing well to cater to their needs.   Hardcore and veteran players are well taken care.  The market is becoming increasingly fractured any way.   I’m not saying they should be abandoned, but neither should they be the primary focus of D&D.

I think there is a vast untapped reserve of new gamers out there that the 4e Red Box could capitalize upon if it’s well designed.  Namely, there are millions of video gamers out there who are already familiar with many pen paper mechanics.  The first time I played D&D it really scratched the same itch that video gaming does for me.  Furthermore, there are millions of video gamers out there that already pretend to be dwarves and elves and wizards through games like World of Warcraft and Dragon Age.  People just have to fight through the stigma that D&D carries as the GEEKIEST THING YOU CAN DO.  Which is funny, because honestly, what is geekier: playing a game for hours on end shut up in your house or going out and playing a game while socializing with people face to face.  I think there are a lot people out there that crave that social interaction that D&D and RPGs can provide.  This is especially true for us geeks.  D&D is the only RPG that can really capitalize on that.

Well, I’ve rambled enough.  I’m looking forward to checking out the 4e Red Box when it comes out.

I thought it’d be fun to list my gaming goals for 2009.  Sort of New Year’s Resolutions for this geeky hobby of mine.

1. Get more involved in SAGA (Southern Arizona Gamers Association).  It’s the reason I’m a gamer and I think organizations like these are important to the future of the hobby.
2. Start running a regular game of D&D 4th edition for family and friends. I ran one session already a couple months ago.  I hope to pick it up again.  I really like being a DM.
3. Go to more Tucson RPG Guild Gathering events.
4. Run a game at one of the Tucson RPG Guild Gathering events.
5. Learn and play Mouse Guard (and possibly run a session).  Just got the book the other day and I am really digging it so far.
6. Get more involved with RinCon, volunteer and maybe help organize.  I had a blast at RinCon ’09.
7. Run a game at RinCon.
8. Continue playing in my regular game of Swords and Wizardry.
9. Play an RPG I’ve never played before.  I’m really interested in Mutants and Masterminds.
10. Keep writing regular posts on this blog throughout 2010.

Happy New Year!  Have fun.  Roll some dice.