Thursday, January 27, 2011

More Impressions - Labyrinth Lord


I have this unstoppable habit of spelling it LABRYNTH or LABIRYNTH.  I blame Sir Arthur Evans.  For many years, I devoured anything I could find on the ancient Minoans and Mycenaeans.  Good old Arthur, who dug up the palace of Knossos on Crete, felt that there was a connection between the "laBYRinth" of Minotaur fame, and the double-sided axe, or "laBRYs."  Other people thought he was stark raving mad.  You see my confusion - BYR vs. BRY.  Sir Arthur brought the word “labrys” into the English language.  It has haunted me to this day.

In a previous post, a reader mentioned that Labyrinth Lord had helped clear up past confusions with the classic game, echoing my initial experience with Proctor's work.  I wondered why that was.  Was it because the writing was just clearer? 

I pulled up a, er, up, copy, of both Holmes and Moldvay and read sections of them that corresponded with Proctor.  I can't say that one was clearer than the other two.  Holmes may have been a bit less concise, but Moldvay was equal in brevity and getting to the point. 

One factor that did strike me was layout.  Labyrinth Lord uses fonts and spacing and table format that is much more comfortable on the eyes and does not create a clutter that interferes with getting the data into my head.  It looks more modern with the standards that Word and HTML and Adobe has made us conform to.  Perhaps it's not better, but it's more modern and what we are used to.

A bit of thinking about it lead me to a theory.  The difference was me. The distance from 11 to 41 is a long one.  I didn't understand a lot about the game back then.  But honestly, I don’t think I gave them much of a chance.  I packed my bags and ran off to AD&D as soon as I could afford the hardbacks.  Then yeah, whammo.  AD&D was some tough stuff.  Rules that I didn't understand got rewritten on the fly into something that I and the other players understood and could work with.  I didn't try to make the game work as written.

Since 1981 I've run 30 or 40 different rule systems - and read a lot more.  With 4e I sat down and read and read and read the rules and discussed them with the players and we hashed them out until we were playing RAW.  For a whole year I refused to 'fix' any rule, since I wanted to know fully that I was running it right before I started tinkering with it.  When I did start changing things - rewriting monsters and adding critical hits power-ups and adjusting some magic items - it rarely felt okay.  I would change one thing and another part of the game would suffer.  It was like a house of cards with me scrambling around under the foundation trying to keep the mess from toppling.

Classic D&D was never sacrosanct.  Rules went in and out all the time, sometimes multiple times in a single session.

I took another gander at the DMG.  Back then it kind of hurt to read.  Thirty years later, old Gary still hurts my head sometimes.  Read NON-LETHAL AND WEAPONLESS COMBAT PROCEDURES.  No, really, read it.  Here, I'll give you a snip-it:

This is not me - just a radioactive zombie who looks like me.

"The base score on percentile dice is opponent AC value times 10 to arrive at a percentage chance to hit, i. e. AC 10 = 100%, AC 9 = 90% . . ."
 

Um, Gary, dude, I kind of get it, but why did you invent an entirely different game to slug some zombie in the face?  Playing with Gary as DM - sure - that would be completely awesome.  But an 12 year old trying to run a game like that?  Yeah, right.  Well, I guess it was supposed to be ADVANCED, right?

I thumbed through OSRIC to see if my bearings were straight.  Yeah.  They were.  Those rules are hefty.  It's not just a matter of how they are explained.  They sure are a THICK CHUNK to try and cram into your mind.

Labyrinth Lord is that simplicity that I rejected as a young man because I wanted to be and adult and be smarter than everyone else.  Cripes, I took physics and calculus for fun too.  I wanted to be ADAVNCED - even if I had no clue what that was.

Digging through the Advanced Edition Companion I see a completely different idea going on.  It's Moldvay with Advanced sprinkles on top.  Really – very similar to the way I used to play it.  I think that is pretty nifty.  It’s not just a Xeroxed clone.  It’s a clone of the spirit.

I need to find this Daniel Proctor guy and shake his hand.  I suppose instead, I can just Google him right now though.  If only he wouldn’t have called it Labyrinth Lord.  Something I could spell.  Like Crypt Commander.  Or Trench Titan.  Or Hole Hero.  But I Gary used tons of words I couldn’t spell either, so I guess nomenclature legerdemain is something game designers revel in.


- Ark

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Chekhov's Can of Soup


My son has been home sick for the last few days.  He's a pretty social kid, and he was beginning to go stir-crazy.  After work today, I noticed Denis the Fighter under some papers on my desk and asked the boy if he wanted to finish buying equipment and filling out the rest of his sheet.  He looked about as excited as I am confronting 1040 Full Form Income Tax Return - but said yes. 

After settling on the banded mail, shield, and long sword (who needs the rest of the stuff?) we moved to the Saving Throws.  He looked confused.

"You know that roll you make when you get flung off a cliff or . . . well . . . when anything strange happens and you have to roll a 10 or above?"

"Yeah," he said, eyeing the chart full of numbers.

"Well, that's kind of a dumbed down version of the classic Saving Throws.  Some things just hit.  A dragon shouldn't have to roll to blast you.  If you just stand there, you are toast.  It's up to you to pull yourself out of the frying pan.  Or to not look at the medusa.  These are the numbers you have to roll."

"Oh," he nodded.  He did a few test rolls.  Poor Dennis would have been a burning, petrified, poisoned, dead Fighter.  My son frowned.  We moved on to Armor Class.

"So when did AC stop being upside down?"

"Um, Third edition, I've heard. Want to see how it works?"

"Sure."

"Okay, let's see," I opened to the monsters and immediately saw the entry for Zombie.  "So Denis is in the dark labyrinth with his sword and, um, well, he probably would have brought along a torch too in his shield hand.  And suddenly, a zombie jumps out!"

His eyes widened.  "I stab at him!"  My son arced his arm over his head and I leaned back just in time to avoid getting a broken nose.

"Okay, get a d20 and roll to hit."

He dug for his special multi-colored lucky one that he loves, except when it rolls low so he has to give it a stern talking to.

"Do I hit?" he asked, pointing at the 15 on the die.

I shrugged.  "You tell me.  His AC is 8."  A quick explanation of the hit chart and he was all like . .

"Booyah!  Now damage," he understood that one pretty well.  "Okay, 6 plus my strength bonus is 7.  Does that kill him?"

"Dunno.  Let me roll his hp."  Before he could even ask, I pointed at the zombie entry. "See, he's got 2 hit dice.  That's like levels.  So I roll 2d8 for his hit points.  No one just a a flat amount of hp around here.  There we go - nine hit points.  So your sword sends chunks of rotting flesh flying, but your zombie friend is still standing andis  looking to get his dance card punched again."

My son has learned over the years to ignore most of the bizarre, out of place things I say and distill it down to what matters.

"I HIT HIM AGAIN!"

"Hold up - he attacks you.  Oops.  He swings his rusty sword over your head.  It would be quite a refreshing breeze if thick puss wasn't oozing from his eye sockets."

"I HIT HIM AGAIN!"

"Hold up - initiative."  He grabbed his d20.  I shook my head and pointed to the d6.  He rolled a 6 and the zombie a 1.

"I HIT HIM AGAIN!" he pointed to the 11 on the die and on the Attack Value Track.  "See!  Three points.  He's dead!"

"The zombie explodes like a can of Campbell's Chunky Sirloin Burger with Country Vegetables put in the microwave for 30 minutes."

"EWWWW!" he said, and went on the clean out the next eight rooms in the impromptu dungeon.  The two lizardfolk at the end gave him some trouble, but Denis the Fighter came through with his scalp intact.

A great big smile was on his face.  "That went by so fast.  It would have taken forever with Essentials."

I grinned.  "And where were all the minis?"

"In here."  The pointed to his forehead.  "I imaged the whole thing.  Denis has great big muscles."

"So did you like it?"

He nodded it the excited way he does, slapping his chin on his chest.  "And, um, I was wondering.  If I'm sick tomorrow, can we play a whole adventure?"

I imagined spending the day throwing the bones and chasing my son around in his mind with beasties and wicked bear traps.  It sounded really nice.  But suddenly I had to be the Dad.  "I don't think you are sick any more.  And even so, I still have to go to work."

He looked down and sighed.

"But since you've been sick, I haven't signed us up yet for the RPGA games yet this weekend - and they are pretty full.  Why don't we stay home this weekend and I can take you through something."  I glanced briefly at the purple module on my desk that had just arrived in the mail.  Keep on the Borderlands winked back at me.

"I'd like that." my son smiled.

“Me too.”

- Ark

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

I Finally Found the Link


I guess I should have known.  Oh wait - I did.

Reading . . . reading . . . reading . . .

- Ark

Monday, January 24, 2011

Even This Guy Wears a Belt

With much joy, I found Labyrinth Lord sitting in my mailbox today.  I had expected it Saturday, but then I always forget that mail speeds seem to slow dramatically in January, as compared to December.  I suppose it's when all of the post office's seasonal employees are laid off.

Sitting here holding the book, I find that I am happier with it than most of my RPG purchases over the last few years.  So often I'm flipping through a new book and thinking "Dear God what the hell did I just buy, and why the hell did I buy this?"  This one is still bringing a smile to my face. 

It's much nicer than I thought.  I've never bought anything through Lulu, and am surprised.  I swear, the binding even looks like it will not splinter into a thousand pieces if I open the book up wide.  The art is cooler than I thought it would be, and it is so much damn easier that reading the pdf.   And what I have read seems to be clearing up misconceptions and confusions that I've had with D&D for 30 years now.  I think I have a winner here.

The boy is tucked in his bed reading a tattered copy of The Hobbit.  I think I shall grab some ice cream and apple cobbler, retreat into my bedroom, and devour Labyrinth Lord.  Oh, and maybe the cobbler and ice cream too.

- Ark

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Classic Roleplaying in the DFW Area?

So far, the people that I know have just given me blank stares when I bring up the idea of starting an AD&D-type campaign.  Many aren't even sure what it is and have little interest, but some who do just give me look of pity, like I was some sort of simpleton.  I figure that if I'm going do some Classic Roleplaying in the next year, I had better start beating the bushes now.

I have heard that there will be a "old-school" D&D Con in my neck of the woods in June (NTRPGCON,) so there must be interest.  I'm going to start digging through my usual sources (Pen and Paper Games and . . . um, okay, not sources - source,) but I figured that I might as well ask here as well. 

So does anyone in the DFW area play Classic D&D, OSR, or one of the clones, etc, etc?  Or if you don't, are you interested?  Or know of anyone else who does or have links or resources?  Anything?  Bueller?  Bueller?

Oh, and if you don't know what DFW means, then, well, yeah.  Hmm.  Dallas-Ft. Worth. Yeah.  You probably live too far away. :)

Thanks kindly for any help!

- Ark

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Today I Tried to Kill Zeb Cook's Nephew with a Pack of Wild Dogs

I'm in ur liteboks steelin ur lite
My son and I headed off to the local game store this morning to play Living Forgotten Realms.  When we got to the store, I noticed that everyone was wearing belts. 

Despite the belts, I saw a pair of fleshy cheeks and a crack at a table.  This was from a guy I know graduated high school in the 1990s.  We can't go around blaming the teenagers this time.  It was a man unknowingly showing off his man ass.  It was cold this morning. Did he not notice the breeze?  Hmm.

I DMed an LFR mod where there are mysterious sicknesses plaguing a floating school.  The PCs are hired to take on the role of substitute teachers and track down the hidden menace.  There were lots of opportunities for role play, and the group that I was with took full advantage of them and we had a great time.  For the first time in quite a while, We had more ROLE that ROLL. 

One of the guys there who I've been playing with for some time turns out to be David "Zeb" Cook's nephew.  He mentioned it after the game when I steered the conversation to AD&D.  I had no idea they were related.  Zeb Cook worked many of the awesome games and mods I played in the 80s.  He also was the lead designer on the reason I fled D&D and didn't return for 20 years - the 2nd edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.

Zeb's nephew is one of those people who is very inventive with his characters. They all some some bizarre neurosis or characteristic.  There was the guy who would attack any statue he saw.  (Pretty good survival tactic in D&D, actually.)  There was the Warforged that thought he was a gnoll.  And then there is the current character, a shaman that . . . well . . . it gets complicated.  The shaman's spirit companion is actually the one in charge.  The mortal husk of a shaman is more of a host for the spirit.  Needless to say, my son loves his wacky antics. 

So, today I tried to kill Zeb Cook's nephew with a pack of wild dogs.  I failed, but I did put some severe pain on him.  Take that, Second Edition AD&D!  Booyah!

- Ark

Friday, January 21, 2011

Sherman and Mr. Peabody

After I chipped my way through the ice into the car this morning, my son and I began the short trek to school.

"So you want to play a game tonight?  We could play Trouble or Sliders."  When the boy asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I told him 'boardgames you'd like to play with me.'  Ties suck.  He got me (R2-D2 is in) Trouble and Sliders. Much better than ties.  Oh, that is Sorry Sliders, not the TV show with Jerry O'Connell and John Rhys-Davies - though the first two seasons of that would have been cool too.

"Um . . ." he started off with the tone in his voice he gets when he thinks I'm not going to like his answer.  "Maybe we could play Castle Ravenloft or Small World."  The two were games I had put on my Amazon wishlist for Christmas and actually received.  He had been on a Trouble and Sliders kick and the change piqued my interest - but the punch in the arm from the slug bug sighting interrupted my train of thought.

"Ow! You got me!" 

Then I smiled back at him.  "How about Castle Ravenloft - since I finished reading the rules on that one and haven't started on Small World yet."  I still had twenty pages to read of a Living Forgotten Realms mod I was running on Saturday morning and didn't want to learn an entirely new game all at the same time.  My brain is old and floppy and can't keep up like it used to.

"Great!" he smiled.

"So two different types of D&D in two days.  Wow." I pulled into the dropoff lane.  "That reminds me.  My copy of Labrynth Lord should be arriving in the mail this weekend.  We can take Denis the fighter out for a spin soon."

"I shoulda named him Regdar." he sighed.

"Well, lets keep him as Denis for our Basic type D&D test game.  You'll need to roll up a new guy for the the AD&D type campaign.  Why don't you call that one Regdar?"  The possibility of the first Basic D&D character he creates to die a miserable death is high, so I really didn't want to kill a Regdar on my son's first outing.

"Okay," he said without a fight.  "I'll keep Denis, and the new guy for AD&D will be Regdar the First."

A look of confusion spread over my face as he got out of the car. 

"My original Regdar was the one we played in the Sea of Tears game.  He's Regdar the Second.  Regdar the Third is the Regdar in Living Forgotten Realms.  So the AD&D Regdar will be Regdar the First."

"Huh?" I asked, knowing that the parents behind me were getting angry, but having a burning desire to know what the hell my son was talking about.

"It' OLD Dungeons and Dragons dad.  OD&D.  OLD.  We are going back in time, right?  So this will be Regdar the First.  Duh."

It took me a while for my brain to parse that.  "Oh."

"Bye Dad!"

Geeeez.  The neighborhood parents must hate me by now.

- Ark