tl;dr: some 'I roll perception' is fine when open gaming with mixed cultures and generations where the shared references might be fewer than in beforetimes.
A thing I like to encourage at my tables is 'describe what you are doing don't just roll the ability.' This is one of the tenets of old-school play that I think particularly worthy - maximising the opportunity of us being a bunch of creative humans around a (perhaps virtual) table.
But for this to work, either the DM has to go into high detail for each new environment or the table has a strong 'open system' of shared cultural references - otherwise nothing can be assumed and the DM has to go to tedious length to cover all the detail.
So what does this mean for open table gaming? What does this mean for gaming with mixed generations? With mixed cultures? What do you do when you cannot assume any shared cultural touchstones?
30 September 2023
27 September 2023
Review: Planescape Core Set (AD&D, 1994)
tl:dr; talking Planescape, the 800lb gorilla of planar settings on the eve of its re-issue. Factions are pitched hard but there is so much more in here.
Planescape is coming back this October and I wanted to take a look at what we got before to refresh our memories before that. So credentials - I was known as a Planescape GM for most of my 2e/3e time. This box set was bought on holiday in Italy, I saw it in a shop after having read about it in Dragon and persuaded my parents to get it for me. I was riveted from that point on.
The books themselves are gorgeous, filled with DiTerlizzi art in its slightly fiercer whimsical incarnation. I think a major part of the setting appeal was the world portrayed through the art.
I picked up most of the major Planescape releases bar the adventures and as you can see the bestiaries from all the sets together with the Guide to the Outlands migrated into the main box over time. All the maps ended up in the Outlands box - I am sure I had good reasons at the time. That box has moved ~ eight cities., five countries, two continents. The saddle stitching used has gotten a bit ragged in places but mostly has held - I think only one sheet has come off in all this time.
Cards on the table, I got a ton of use out of this. I was known for most of the 90's/00's as a Planescape DM. I had a home game, then I got this box and it became a Planescape game. I ran Planescape in college, I ran a play-by-text campaign shortly afterward. I got a *lot* of use from the setting. Let us come back to this after a cold eyes review of what was *actually* in the box.
Planescape is coming back this October and I wanted to take a look at what we got before to refresh our memories before that. So credentials - I was known as a Planescape GM for most of my 2e/3e time. This box set was bought on holiday in Italy, I saw it in a shop after having read about it in Dragon and persuaded my parents to get it for me. I was riveted from that point on.
What actually lives in my Planescape box after ~ 25 years
The books themselves are gorgeous, filled with DiTerlizzi art in its slightly fiercer whimsical incarnation. I think a major part of the setting appeal was the world portrayed through the art.
I picked up most of the major Planescape releases bar the adventures and as you can see the bestiaries from all the sets together with the Guide to the Outlands migrated into the main box over time. All the maps ended up in the Outlands box - I am sure I had good reasons at the time. That box has moved ~ eight cities., five countries, two continents. The saddle stitching used has gotten a bit ragged in places but mostly has held - I think only one sheet has come off in all this time.
Cards on the table, I got a ton of use out of this. I was known for most of the 90's/00's as a Planescape DM. I had a home game, then I got this box and it became a Planescape game. I ran Planescape in college, I ran a play-by-text campaign shortly afterward. I got a *lot* of use from the setting. Let us come back to this after a cold eyes review of what was *actually* in the box.
25 September 2023
Shiny TTRPG links #139
Once more a round up of things I that caught my eye tromping about the internet this past week. More links can be found on the previous list found here. The original inspiration for all of this is weaver.skepti.ch End of Week links. You can find more links on weekly blogroll on r/OSR or the RPG Blog Carnival or a roundup of non-blog news on Third Kingdom Games roundup.
Tales From The Lamp gives us You Should Archive Your Blogposts!
The Scholomance reviews Castle of the Silver Prince (HU7) by Anthony Huso
The Dripping Tap sharess Silk Road GLoG
All Dead Generations gave us The Risk Economy Part 1: Time, Part II: Supply and Part III: Threat
Unboxed Cereal has a key insight in The Monobranch Fallacy
A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry wields history in The Gap in the Armor of Baldur’s Gate and 5e
The Alexandrian gives us Random Worldbuilding: Magical Domestication
Archstone Press asks Why Run a Sandbox?
Tales From The Lamp gives us You Should Archive Your Blogposts!
The Scholomance reviews Castle of the Silver Prince (HU7) by Anthony Huso
The Dripping Tap sharess Silk Road GLoG
All Dead Generations gave us The Risk Economy Part 1: Time, Part II: Supply and Part III: Threat
Unboxed Cereal has a key insight in The Monobranch Fallacy
A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry wields history in The Gap in the Armor of Baldur’s Gate and 5e
The Alexandrian gives us Random Worldbuilding: Magical Domestication
Archstone Press asks Why Run a Sandbox?
23 September 2023
Ways of the High North Goblins (RPG Blog Carnival)
Double-dipping this months RPG Blog Carnival because the prompt on Anthropology and Archaeology from Beneath Foreign Planets was in fact a huge selection of prompts. This time I wanted to write about the goblins of the north.
The Lhirogref, the great nation of the goblinoids, hold themselves as the first people. They were here when the dragons first crashed out from their calderas. They were there to see the Titans first step down from the clouds. When the first dwarves broke free of stone. When the first elves tumbled out of the feywild.
Lhirogref is not a nation-state, it is a civilization-state. Lhirogref is old and has rarely been conquered - cowed by the Dragons during their golden age and dominated by the Titans before that, Lhirogref regards only forces such as those as its equal. Others may come to Lhirogref and assert they have conquered the place, but after a time it is found that they have become Lhirogref themselves, assimilated and now part of the long, long tradition. Most goblins have trouble maintaining focus or resisting impulses which makes them quite chaotic and disorganised but over time groups such as tief-goblins, dragonblood orcs, and hobgoblins have found a shared affinity for a national project and shaped Lhirogref into something that looks to outsiders like a realm or nation.
The Lhirogref, the great nation of the goblinoids, hold themselves as the first people. They were here when the dragons first crashed out from their calderas. They were there to see the Titans first step down from the clouds. When the first dwarves broke free of stone. When the first elves tumbled out of the feywild.
Lhirogref is not a nation-state, it is a civilization-state. Lhirogref is old and has rarely been conquered - cowed by the Dragons during their golden age and dominated by the Titans before that, Lhirogref regards only forces such as those as its equal. Others may come to Lhirogref and assert they have conquered the place, but after a time it is found that they have become Lhirogref themselves, assimilated and now part of the long, long tradition. Most goblins have trouble maintaining focus or resisting impulses which makes them quite chaotic and disorganised but over time groups such as tief-goblins, dragonblood orcs, and hobgoblins have found a shared affinity for a national project and shaped Lhirogref into something that looks to outsiders like a realm or nation.
20 September 2023
Capsule Reviews #6: Codex Martialis
I was directed to this by friend of the blog C. Kinch some while back. The tag across the front cover is "Hard core, fast-paced, historical combat. New options that won't bog down your game." The core concept, as writted across the Players Guide is "HEMA-inspired d20 combat. Magic as Medieval scholars actually believed. Everything you need for a fast, bloody and immersive historical game" which sets out their stall nicely. Since this has been sitting glaring at me from my slush folder for a full year now, we are going to press on and do capsule reviews of the core set to get something done.
Three books in the core set:
Codex Martialis Core Rules (2021 Edition) - 97 pages
Codex Integrum Players Guide - 182 pages
The Reiver's Lament - 141 pages
The set as a whole includes expansions for armour & missiles, medieval weapons, a Baltic setting, spells & talismen.
Three books in the core set:
Codex Martialis Core Rules (2021 Edition) - 97 pages
Codex Integrum Players Guide - 182 pages
The Reiver's Lament - 141 pages
The set as a whole includes expansions for armour & missiles, medieval weapons, a Baltic setting, spells & talismen.
18 September 2023
Shiny TTRPG links #138
Once more a round up of things I that caught my eye tromping about the internet this past week. More links can be found on the previous list found here. The original inspiration for all of this is weaver.skepti.ch End of Week links. You can find more links on weekly blogroll on r/OSR or the RPG Blog Carnival or a roundup of non-blog news on Third Kingdom Games roundup.
Attronarch's Athenaeum starts a grand project reviewing Dragon Magazine: Player Advice Collection with (Part 1 of 6) and (Part 2 of 6) done.
Glass Candles gives us fair warning for GLOGtober '23
Spider Queen writes Old school campaigns and the assumption of time-richness
The Lady and Tiger shares Onboarding New Players
sachagoat starts Re-inventing the Wilderness: Introduction
@homunculus-argument gives us Worldbuilding around "Mildly toxic just means spicy"
The Welsh DM shares The Bestiary – Giants
@leavingautumn13 has Neogi Martial Class thoughts
Attronarch's Athenaeum starts a grand project reviewing Dragon Magazine: Player Advice Collection with (Part 1 of 6) and (Part 2 of 6) done.
Glass Candles gives us fair warning for GLOGtober '23
Spider Queen writes Old school campaigns and the assumption of time-richness
The Lady and Tiger shares Onboarding New Players
sachagoat starts Re-inventing the Wilderness: Introduction
@homunculus-argument gives us Worldbuilding around "Mildly toxic just means spicy"
The Welsh DM shares The Bestiary – Giants
@leavingautumn13 has Neogi Martial Class thoughts
16 September 2023
New Campaigns on Obsidian Portal (2023 Update)
tl;dr: but for a slight growth in Pathfinder 2e, system popularity seems to be very similar to last year.
As Roll20 has just stopped publishing the handy Orr Reports, we have to look elsewhere to get a sense of the ebb and flow of games popularity. It has been a whole year so we can turn once more to new campaigns on Obsidian Portal to try and read the tea-leaves of what is going on out there. This was initially sparked by Troy Press writing in 2019 on RPG campaigns played by system then I used the Wayback Machine to take capture the number of campaigns back through time through to 2008.
To recap - This was done by loading the Campaigns page on Obsidian Portal and noting the campaigns per system for each year available (back to 2008) using the Wayback Machine. Happily the format never changed to greatly and it is possible to get a roughly mid-year capture for every year.
Looking at the raw numbers of new campaigns added since last we looked, we see a pretty straight line trend this time - no great shift in behaviour, 5e still dominant.
I reality checked what we were seeing against Roll20 numbers for as long as those were available (2014-2021) so it seems to be coherent for digital players.
If we normalise these varying number of campaigns, so we just see what fraction of new joiners each year go for which system, we can pick out shift in preferences a little more clearly. Here we see Pathfinder 2e continues to grow, the share of 'non-D&D' continues to fade, everything else pretty much goes sideways.
As Roll20 has just stopped publishing the handy Orr Reports, we have to look elsewhere to get a sense of the ebb and flow of games popularity. It has been a whole year so we can turn once more to new campaigns on Obsidian Portal to try and read the tea-leaves of what is going on out there. This was initially sparked by Troy Press writing in 2019 on RPG campaigns played by system then I used the Wayback Machine to take capture the number of campaigns back through time through to 2008.
To recap - This was done by loading the Campaigns page on Obsidian Portal and noting the campaigns per system for each year available (back to 2008) using the Wayback Machine. Happily the format never changed to greatly and it is possible to get a roughly mid-year capture for every year.
Looking at the raw numbers of new campaigns added since last we looked, we see a pretty straight line trend this time - no great shift in behaviour, 5e still dominant.
I reality checked what we were seeing against Roll20 numbers for as long as those were available (2014-2021) so it seems to be coherent for digital players.
If we normalise these varying number of campaigns, so we just see what fraction of new joiners each year go for which system, we can pick out shift in preferences a little more clearly. Here we see Pathfinder 2e continues to grow, the share of 'non-D&D' continues to fade, everything else pretty much goes sideways.
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