Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Friday, October 28, 2016
Cross-posting
"Echoes" has been a bit quiet lately. Part of that is due to my not actively gaming for the last couple of months, and partly because I've been mucking about on another blog of mine that I started a while back for a more specific gaming purpose.
The Zarth Tourism Bureau is a pulp/swords & sorcery related blog mostly (but not entirely) about the new "Crypts & Things" game and things of that ilk.
This blog is still the home of more general FRPG nerdery.
The Zarth Tourism Bureau is a pulp/swords & sorcery related blog mostly (but not entirely) about the new "Crypts & Things" game and things of that ilk.
This blog is still the home of more general FRPG nerdery.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Grognardia: A year later.
James Maliszewski's blog Grognardia was a reading staple for OSR gamers almost from the inception the "Old School Renaissance." His reviews, observations, and play reports were always insightful and well-written. I don't know that there is or was a gaming blog that I read every entry of other than his.
A year ago today his blog ceased updating.
I confess I don't know all the reasons behind James' ceasing of new posts. The Dwimmermount Kickstarter complications and private life played a part as I understand it. While I can perfectly understand letting something like a blog lapse in the face of more important or pressing issues, and I don't blame James for not writing, I do want to go on record saying I miss his posts and also to give James a belated "Well done, sir!" for putting out such excellent material while the blog ran.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Paying Your Dues
Brian, of Playing DnD with Stuffed Animals, commented on an earlier post about character wealth. He suggested that training/guild fees might be a way to reduce a PC's assets. While not a new idea, I was reminded of it while considering what house rules to use with the Kelvernia setting.
The complaints I most often hear about things like training time and fees is that it's additional bookkeeping and that it penalizes the character by A) costing him hard-looted cash, and B) means he doesn't get to "level up" mid-adventure. Of the two, I more sympathetic to the latter. In some adventures, you might be stuck far from civilization and/or unable to take time off from a quest to train. This means the character (and the player) have done the work, put in the time, made the effort, etc. and are being denied their "reward." They've accrued the X,000 more experience and want their new spells, dammit! This can be felt even more acutely when a "storyline" is building toward some sort of final confrontation, and the player wants his PC to be at full capacity when the caca hits the fan.
On the other hand, not only is the idea of training "realistic." It gives the GM a plausible way of relieving a PC of some loot, as well as giving the character a "motivation" for wanting the gold. So, here's the training rule I am considering.
In order to level, PCs must train and study. The cost of training is 1000gp x the new level and takes a week. During that time, characters are doing nothing significant except training (8-10 hours/day+). Clerics fast and pray, rededicating themselves to their faith. Thieves pay guild fees and refine techniques for things like picking locks. Magic-users pay their guild to learn and copy new spells. Fighters work out, practice, and attend vigorous sparring sessions to refine their techniques.
Now, what about the "stuck in the wilderness/hot pursuit" scenarios? Well, here's what I propose. A character that reaches a new level but is not able to formally train still sees some benefit from their accomplishments. Namely, they still gain their new HD and saving throws. (I would give spell casters more spells per day, but that gives the advantage to clerics over MUs, as they don't have to copy new spells to learn more.) Other benefits like improved attacks, skills, new spell slots/levels, etc. have to wait until training occurs.
So, what if –for some reason– the PCs simply cannot get to a place where they can train for an indefinite period? Well, then the PC can train on their own. How does this work? The PC practices/prays/studies on their own for a week, or for 1d3 weeks if they are doing other things like traveling or adventuring while training. At the end of the time frame, the PC makes an ability check on their prime requisite (classes with more than one prime use the higher score). A success means they have successfully self-trained. A failure means they cannot improve without formal instruction. A PC cannot self-train more than once without having formal training to level up the next time.
Now, this is by no means the only way to handle this. What I'm after here is a specific kind of game. One where the PCs are routinely in places like cities and towns, giving them plenty of opportunities to hear gossip and current events, meet NPCs, gather rumors of new adventures, re-equip, hire retainers, and so forth.
To be fair to the players, such a system certainly wouldn't have things like reduced treasure awards. A typical adventure would have the potential for earning/finding a reasonable bit of change. I could see a megadungeon-based game working well with this system; where player characters frequently return to a "base" after an excursion. In a more open game, where the PCs move about, I would want things like the guilds and training halls to be fairly ubiquitous, so the characters could find one without having to travel halfway around the world. Any good-sized town or city would have these sorts of resources. Is that super-"realistic"? Probably not, but if I'm going to bilk the PCs out of thousands of gold pieces, I'm not going to give them grief by making it hard for them to spend it.
What have other people done about this idea? What are you experiences with training costs, etc. as a GM or a player?
The complaints I most often hear about things like training time and fees is that it's additional bookkeeping and that it penalizes the character by A) costing him hard-looted cash, and B) means he doesn't get to "level up" mid-adventure. Of the two, I more sympathetic to the latter. In some adventures, you might be stuck far from civilization and/or unable to take time off from a quest to train. This means the character (and the player) have done the work, put in the time, made the effort, etc. and are being denied their "reward." They've accrued the X,000 more experience and want their new spells, dammit! This can be felt even more acutely when a "storyline" is building toward some sort of final confrontation, and the player wants his PC to be at full capacity when the caca hits the fan.
Feeling kind of invincible, really.
In order to level, PCs must train and study. The cost of training is 1000gp x the new level and takes a week. During that time, characters are doing nothing significant except training (8-10 hours/day+). Clerics fast and pray, rededicating themselves to their faith. Thieves pay guild fees and refine techniques for things like picking locks. Magic-users pay their guild to learn and copy new spells. Fighters work out, practice, and attend vigorous sparring sessions to refine their techniques.
Now, what about the "stuck in the wilderness/hot pursuit" scenarios? Well, here's what I propose. A character that reaches a new level but is not able to formally train still sees some benefit from their accomplishments. Namely, they still gain their new HD and saving throws. (I would give spell casters more spells per day, but that gives the advantage to clerics over MUs, as they don't have to copy new spells to learn more.) Other benefits like improved attacks, skills, new spell slots/levels, etc. have to wait until training occurs.
So, what if –for some reason– the PCs simply cannot get to a place where they can train for an indefinite period? Well, then the PC can train on their own. How does this work? The PC practices/prays/studies on their own for a week, or for 1d3 weeks if they are doing other things like traveling or adventuring while training. At the end of the time frame, the PC makes an ability check on their prime requisite (classes with more than one prime use the higher score). A success means they have successfully self-trained. A failure means they cannot improve without formal instruction. A PC cannot self-train more than once without having formal training to level up the next time.
Now, this is by no means the only way to handle this. What I'm after here is a specific kind of game. One where the PCs are routinely in places like cities and towns, giving them plenty of opportunities to hear gossip and current events, meet NPCs, gather rumors of new adventures, re-equip, hire retainers, and so forth.
To be fair to the players, such a system certainly wouldn't have things like reduced treasure awards. A typical adventure would have the potential for earning/finding a reasonable bit of change. I could see a megadungeon-based game working well with this system; where player characters frequently return to a "base" after an excursion. In a more open game, where the PCs move about, I would want things like the guilds and training halls to be fairly ubiquitous, so the characters could find one without having to travel halfway around the world. Any good-sized town or city would have these sorts of resources. Is that super-"realistic"? Probably not, but if I'm going to bilk the PCs out of thousands of gold pieces, I'm not going to give them grief by making it hard for them to spend it.
What have other people done about this idea? What are you experiences with training costs, etc. as a GM or a player?
Monday, March 5, 2012
Over Heard
Most folks who read this blog probably also read Dreams in the Lich House, but I saw that Beedo has posted about a new blog by Bruce Heard. For anyone interested in Mystara, it's worth checking out.
Friday, February 17, 2012
The politics of gaming
Well, JEEZ!
Here I just went on about how cool Darva's blog is and now she's shutting it down (or at least ceasing updates). Why? Because apparently some folks in the gaming community had issues with some of her personal views.
I'm not arguing the merits of either side of the issues involved. If anything, it reinforces my belief to keep such topics out of my gaming posts, etc. I am sad for Darva, not only because I feel she's been hassled unfairly, even though posting about topics like Planned Parenthood on the internet is considered an invitation for conflict; but also because I really enjoy the gaming material she's posted and her thoughts on the hobby.
I hope she resumes posting at some point, and I'm keeping the link to her blog up, but I also hope that she'd be made to feel welcome.
Here I just went on about how cool Darva's blog is and now she's shutting it down (or at least ceasing updates). Why? Because apparently some folks in the gaming community had issues with some of her personal views.
I'm not arguing the merits of either side of the issues involved. If anything, it reinforces my belief to keep such topics out of my gaming posts, etc. I am sad for Darva, not only because I feel she's been hassled unfairly, even though posting about topics like Planned Parenthood on the internet is considered an invitation for conflict; but also because I really enjoy the gaming material she's posted and her thoughts on the hobby.
I hope she resumes posting at some point, and I'm keeping the link to her blog up, but I also hope that she'd be made to feel welcome.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Mystaran Bloggyness
For those of you who haven't seen it, you should check out Stocking the Dungeon by Darva Shriver. It's a great blog full of classic D&D and Mystaran goodness.
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