In his latest Legends and Lore article Monte Cook posits that:
"levels serve as a means to incentivize people to keep playing the game"
Whilst this may be true for the majority of MMORPGs and those time wasting level machines on facebook, it is not necessarily the case for D&D and other level based RPGs.
Levels are a Challenge Metric
D&D 3e introduced the concept of the Challenge Rating (CR) as a device to scale your encounters / scenario to match the levels of the PCs in your group, and before CR, we used a Monster's Hit Die. However, the constant used in both systems was the PCs level system. Successive layers of "Customizeable Elements" such as powers, feats, skills and kits have only added to the complexity of character generation and consequently devalued "Levels" as an effective constant.
Players use this metric during play to judge their own survivability and determine their reactions when faced with obviously superior force strength or capability. For example a lower level party will often resort to non combat means to overcome an encounter if they suspect that there is a high chance that they won't survive. Being a hero doesn't always have to mean slaughtering the enemy, particularly if a GM has intentionally used the monsters level to frighten or provoke a non-combat solution.
Storytelling Incentivizes Continued Play
In the same way that the storyline of a soap opera incentivizes millions of people to keep watching, the continuation or completion of a plot in an RPG incentivizes players to keep playing. Although min-maxing and power-gaming exist as styles of play these are generally regarded in a negative light and are discouraged in favour of more positive storytelling or cooperative styles.
Posturing vs Retrospection
Hands up those who've had (or overheard) a conversation before a game session which goes like this:
"My 5th level fighter will kick your 5th level rogue's ass..."
or after a session:
"Remember when I saved your ass by taking out that orc chief..."
As a DM, I know which one I'd prefer to hear my players use.
Wednesday 25 January 2012
Tuesday 24 January 2012
My 10 Favourite Sci-Fi Posters
Thanks to Davis Chenault for his post highlighting the IGN 25 Top Sci-FI Posters.
Here's my top 10 (in no particular order) with some alternate versions thrown in for good measure:
1. MAD MAX
I love the graphic simplicity of the original release, but the UK poster (which I remember from my childhood) makes me wanna see the movie NOW!.
2. DUNE
The haunting alien vista of the UK poster is infinitely preferable to the car crash of bad airbrush art that is the Japanese version. Who is Paul Atreides supposed to be kissing, cos it sure doesn't look like Sean Young.
3. BLADE RUNNER
The crazy angles and harsh edged look to the original composite are given a more sympathetic and dreamlike treatment for the directors cut. Much better poster IMHO.
4. THEY LIVE
Rowdy Roddy Pipper eyeballs your "alienness" in the original, but there's a nice subversive edge to Marc Palm's "Hope" version.
5. STAR WARS
The original is a masterpiece of both composition and oil painting, even if the blasters seem to be firing light-sabre beams. The Olly Moss homage is an elegant piece of graphic design genius. I'm officially torn between the two.
6. ALIEN
The minimalist original has it all, black for space, weird cracked egg with green glowy yolk, scary byeline and alien eggbox landscape. The poor poles have no idea what they're letting themselves in for with their bizarre blood vessel drawing of what I can only presume is a facehugger?
7. ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK
The Big Apple has gone all to hell in the iconic (if a little cliched) original as the characters are caught in a spot of mid escape terror. The Special Edition looks like one of Snake Plisken's holiday snaps, posed right after he's brought down the Statue of Liberty in some sort of explosive mayhem.
8. SCANNERS
In the definitive original, Michael Ironside's about to explode!!!. But I love the comic book style and vivid fiery reds in the Italian version.
9. GODZILLA VS MEGALON
Godzilla is kicking Megalon's butt in the original and classic poster. In the alternate version The Lost Continent of Mu has been given the boot in favour of a battle on top of the Twin Trade Towers which due to the exaggerated scale makes both these Kaiju look a bit puny by comparison. Nice idea, poor execution (and the typeography lets it down as well)
10. THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN
The arthouse style original with its dirty steampunk qualities are eschewed by Ken Taylor for a heavily inked composite illustration evocative of a Hammer Horror movie poster.
Here's my top 10 (in no particular order) with some alternate versions thrown in for good measure:
1. MAD MAX
 Original Theatrical Poster |  UK Poster |
2. DUNE
 UK Poster |  Japanese Poster |
3. BLADE RUNNER
 |  |
4. THEY LIVE
 Original Poster |  Marc Palm Homage Poster |
5. STAR WARS
 Original Poster |  Olly Moss Homage |
6. ALIEN
 |  |
7. ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK
 |  |
8. SCANNERS
 |  |
9. GODZILLA VS MEGALON
 |  |
10. THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN
 |  |
Saturday 21 January 2012
Fantastic Locations: Mega City One
This month's RPG Blog Carnival, kindly hosted by Keith J Davies, is entitled Fantastic Locations, and whilst it is tempting to write up one of my own Fantasy campaign locations (like the home plane of the Djinn Caliph), I decided to look again at the origin of the word fantastic.
According to merriam-webster the definition of fantastic is:
Mega City One
First appearing in Prog 2 of 2000AD (on 5th March 1977), Mega City One it is arguably the real star of the long running Judge Dredd comic book series.
Originally stretching across the entire Eastern seaboard of the once proud nation of the United States it was largely destroyed during the Apocalypse War and now is home to some 400 million citizens. It's western edge is bordered by a gigantic wall which protects it from the mutant inhabitants of the irradiated wasteland known as the Cursed Earth.
Architecture of Mega City One
The majority of Mega City One's citizens live in gigantic 1000 storey high Post Atomic Tower Blocks dominating the skyline. Nestled amongst these are smaller 500 storey blocks and puny 100 storey Pre-Atomic Blocks. The proximity of the blocks means that daylight cannot reach the lowest (and consequently) poorest levels of some blocks leaving them in permanent darkness and giving rise to the nickname "City Bottom". Much of what were once the shining corporate edifices of cities like New York has long ago been concreted over to form the foundations of these mega blocks and has created a subterranean "undercity" inhabited by a degenerate subhuman species of troglodytes.
Winding around and through all of these structures are a spaghetti like network of megways (roads), slidewalks (moving walkways) and pedways (pedestrian only) which allow citizens to move between blocks and other locations. Some of the citizens live in computer controlled mobile homes known as mo-pads which perpetually drive around cities megways.
The larger blocks house upto 60,000 citizens and contain everything that a person may need from schools, shops and recreation facilities to hospitals, offices and greenhouses. Each block is a self contained town and it has been known for some citizens to live out their entire lives in the same block until they die and are carted off to Resyk for disposal.
Life in Mega City One
Robot labour has largely replaced that of humans and unemployment runs at a staggering 87%. Most citizens try to find ways of aleviating boredom inevitably leading them to commit some sort of criminal activity which is dealt with swiftly by the city's law enforcers the judges.
This constant search for new ways to entertain oneself creates a steady stream of new crazes which sweep through Mega City like a plague (and are often just as deadly) and disappear just as rapidly leaving a swathe of destruction in their wake. The crazes which have graced the pages of Judge Dredd strips over the years are often influenced by contemporary fashions or pastimes, but taken to an extreme level For example body modification becomes crazes like fatties or uglies, extreme sports becomes crazes like boinging and skysurfing, even something as simple as being a pigeon fancier can be taken to the extreme when a "pigeon" is a giant prehistoric pterodactyl.
Living cheek by jowl can be stressful and there is always the chance that local rivalries will errupt into a full scale Block War between neighbouring blocks. Each block is equipped with its own militia (aka Citi Defence) in order to prevent large scale conflict from ensuing but they are sometimes as much of a problem as a solution. However, there are those citizens who just can't take living in such a crazy city are diagnosed as suffering from Future Shock Syndrome and end up taking their own lives and as many bystanders as they can.
Locations, Locations, Locations
The beauty of Mega City One is that it operates on a scale so vast that anything you can imagine might exist on an entire planet can exist within the walls of the city. Want a zoo stocked with terrifying alien creatures? have one. Want a 10 mile long ski slope with death defying jumps over a 10 lane motorway? have one. What ever your imagination can conjure up, Mega City One can accomodate it.
Want to Know More?
Thanks of course go to Of Dice and Dragons for continuing to promote the RPG Blog Carnival. This is my 2nd entry and you can read the rest by clicking the RPG Blog Carnival tag below.
According to merriam-webster the definition of fantastic is:
- a : based on fantasy : not real
- b : conceived or seemingly conceived by unrestrained fancy
- c : so extreme as to challenge belief : unbelievable; broadly : exceedingly large or great
Mega City One
 |
| Mega City One Map |
Originally stretching across the entire Eastern seaboard of the once proud nation of the United States it was largely destroyed during the Apocalypse War and now is home to some 400 million citizens. It's western edge is bordered by a gigantic wall which protects it from the mutant inhabitants of the irradiated wasteland known as the Cursed Earth.
Architecture of Mega City One
The majority of Mega City One's citizens live in gigantic 1000 storey high Post Atomic Tower Blocks dominating the skyline. Nestled amongst these are smaller 500 storey blocks and puny 100 storey Pre-Atomic Blocks. The proximity of the blocks means that daylight cannot reach the lowest (and consequently) poorest levels of some blocks leaving them in permanent darkness and giving rise to the nickname "City Bottom". Much of what were once the shining corporate edifices of cities like New York has long ago been concreted over to form the foundations of these mega blocks and has created a subterranean "undercity" inhabited by a degenerate subhuman species of troglodytes.
Winding around and through all of these structures are a spaghetti like network of megways (roads), slidewalks (moving walkways) and pedways (pedestrian only) which allow citizens to move between blocks and other locations. Some of the citizens live in computer controlled mobile homes known as mo-pads which perpetually drive around cities megways.
 |
| Comparative Scales of Contemporary Buildings and a Mega City Block |
Life in Mega City One
Robot labour has largely replaced that of humans and unemployment runs at a staggering 87%. Most citizens try to find ways of aleviating boredom inevitably leading them to commit some sort of criminal activity which is dealt with swiftly by the city's law enforcers the judges.
This constant search for new ways to entertain oneself creates a steady stream of new crazes which sweep through Mega City like a plague (and are often just as deadly) and disappear just as rapidly leaving a swathe of destruction in their wake. The crazes which have graced the pages of Judge Dredd strips over the years are often influenced by contemporary fashions or pastimes, but taken to an extreme level For example body modification becomes crazes like fatties or uglies, extreme sports becomes crazes like boinging and skysurfing, even something as simple as being a pigeon fancier can be taken to the extreme when a "pigeon" is a giant prehistoric pterodactyl.
Living cheek by jowl can be stressful and there is always the chance that local rivalries will errupt into a full scale Block War between neighbouring blocks. Each block is equipped with its own militia (aka Citi Defence) in order to prevent large scale conflict from ensuing but they are sometimes as much of a problem as a solution. However, there are those citizens who just can't take living in such a crazy city are diagnosed as suffering from Future Shock Syndrome and end up taking their own lives and as many bystanders as they can.
Locations, Locations, Locations
The beauty of Mega City One is that it operates on a scale so vast that anything you can imagine might exist on an entire planet can exist within the walls of the city. Want a zoo stocked with terrifying alien creatures? have one. Want a 10 mile long ski slope with death defying jumps over a 10 lane motorway? have one. What ever your imagination can conjure up, Mega City One can accomodate it.
 |
| Mega City One as envisioned by artist Dave Taylor Judge Dredd © 2012 Rebellion Developments/2000AD Judge Dredd created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra |
Want to Know More?
- The Judge Dredd Street Sim - Locations
- Lowlife: Creation Part Five: All The Joy I See Through These Architect's Eyes
- Making of Judge Dredd - Mega City 1 Miniature Model Props
- Barney - Kepper of the 2000AD Database
- Judge Minty - A Fan Film
Thanks of course go to Of Dice and Dragons for continuing to promote the RPG Blog Carnival. This is my 2nd entry and you can read the rest by clicking the RPG Blog Carnival tag below.
Thursday 19 January 2012
A to Z of UK RPG in the 80s: I is for Indiana Jones
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| Indiana Jones |
Kids TV in the UK also saw the more popular serial heroes (Flash Gordon and King of the Rocketmen) being repeated as cheap time filler. Christmas TV schedules were always peppered with repeats of great pulp movies like Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze and Doug Mclure always seemed to pop up "At The Earth's Core", in "The Land That Time Forgot" discovering "The People that Time Forgot".
The net effect was that British cinemagoers were already primed for Indy's arrival.
Indiana Jones RPG (TSR)
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| TSR Indiana Jones RPG |
IJ1 - Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
IJ2 - Raiders of the Lost Ark
IJ3 - Indiana Jones and the Crystal Death
IJ4 - Indiana Jones and the Golden Goddess
IJ5 - Indiana Jones and the Nepal Nightmare
IJ6 - Indiana Jones and the 4th Nail
IJAC1 - Judge's Survival Pack
Bizarrely, for an RPG, the boxed set did not include any rules for generating characters in the world of Indiana Jones, forcing you to play one of the established characters such as Indy, Marion or Shortround which probably accounts for its poor critical reception. When the license expired, all remaining unsold copies were ordered to be destroyed, all except one...
The Diana Jones Awards
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| The Diana Jones Award |
Other ways I've Roleplayed Indiana Jones
GURPS Cliffhangers - Originally released by Steve Jackson Games in 1989, this Genre Expansion for the popular GURPS System contains all you need to replicate Indy or any other pulp character's adventures.
Call of Cthulhu - CoC is set in the 1920s so needs little or no modification to update it for Indy millieu (anytime between 1930 to 1950). Dropping the heavy mythos creatures has little effect on the game mechanics and SAN can still be lost as a result of truly terrifying or shocking events such as dangling over a pit of snakes or gazing into the Ark of the Covenant. I have successfully used the system many times to game in the literary worlds of Agatha Christie, Tintin, Hercule Poirot, Jeeves and Wooster as well as other pulp heroes. Check out White Dwarf #60 (or the WD Cthulhu Omnibus) which featured the mini-scenario "The Bleeding Stone of Iphtah", an archaeological adventure set in Egypt.
Tuesday 10 January 2012
All I want from 5e is...
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| This is what happens when you type "D&D 5e" into Google Images |
1. Simple Rules to Start With - The concept of a basic game which as you level up gets increasingly complex makes good sense both from a new player/DM perspective and from a sales perspective. Everyone needs the basic rules to begin with but not everyone needs the Expert/Immortal rules right from the get go (notice how I didn't use those new fangled Heroic/Paragon/Epic Tier names, that's because it's a conceit and it sucks, what's wrong with calling something "an adventure for 5-6 characters of levels 10-15" anyway!!).
Face it, it takes years to become a good DM, there are no short-cuts or training courses you can go on. We've all put the years in to a greater or lesser degree and the focus of any pen and paper based game should be on DM arbitration. Too many rules to begin with overloads the casual or newbie DM and makes the game drag for players. If you want to entice more younger gamers into D&D to replenish the ranks of the old and bold then this is a must.
2. D&D needs to be cross platform - There are 2 major consoles (3 if you consider the Wii which actually outsells both of the other 2) which are more than upto the task of running an MMORPG / VTT game. There's also the traditional Mac and PC platforms, which even if you can't put together a full 3D HD Wizzy MMORPG such as WoW, it shouldn't be too difficult to put together an HTML 5 web app which will run on almost anything from the lowliest console to the latest spec kit. Hire an expert company like Zynga or their competitors to do the dev, they do it day in, day out.
Let's face it the world has moved on even from the 4e release only a handful of years ago. There are potentially more iPod/iPhone/iPad and Android users in the world than there are console gamers or any other platform specific community and it's getting bigger every day. A character builder is something that can feasibly be built for next to nothing and can even be given away as a free mobile app to entice new and old players alike.
Want to support the Organised Play / D&D Experiences / Living 5e communities, fine, let authorised DMs add XP and other adventure rewards online. These can then be reflected on your character app almost instantly. Couple it with a web based VTT as above for which you charge players as an in-app purchase to go on adventures and you've got a new funding model for a digital age (this should keep HASBRO happy).
Ultimately choice of OS should not be a barrier to enjoying a D&D online experience.
3. Miniatures with RFID/Bluetooth - The recent Wii hit game Skylanders has pushed technology that little bit further with their RFID enabled miniatures, do the same for D&D miniatures. No collectibility, just offer them for sale.
4. No Subscriptions Please (were British) - I know that PC and console gamers are going to object to this, but I'm afraid that the subscription model of charging for gaming is a bit of a dead dog. It works in an MMORPG sense as you tend to collaborate online with people you don't know, but in a sit around the table VTT sense I'm not sure it will work as I'm sure nobody wants to tell one of the Players to get their VISA card out or they can't join in.
I don't think I'd be able to convince "Her Indoors" that a subscription for a game I may only play once a week is value for money, but I also don't want, and can't afford, to invest the sort of time one needs to in an MMORPG style game in order to recoup my cash investment.
Ultimately, if the likes of major newspapers like The Times or the WSJ can't get paywalls to work for them, I can't see how WotC can get it to work for D&D.
5. Print Pubs with Online Extras - This is already happening in the indie scene as more and more publishers supplement purchases of the dead tree version of their games with a free PDF version. We're not stupid, we know that you sent the book to the printer as a PDF, don't try to rip us off with overpriced e-books. Whilst you're at it, give us some promo codes for extras which are only available if you buy the dead tree adventure modules (that are allegedly hard to sell). Look at the sterling work being done by Worlds of Wonder with their bordgame promo codes.
If a tenth of this ends up appearing in the final release edition of 5e, I may be enticed back, maybe...
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