WotC News Roundup

April 16, 2014, 7:56 am

≫ Next: Let's Read: Greyhawk Adventures (Part 5)

≪ Previous: Lords of Light - The Thundarr the Barbarian Story

A couple of news items of interest today...

Dead in Thay, the next season of D&D Encounters, is launching on the weekend of May 10-11. Seems to be an old-fashioned dungeon crawl.

There's a revised version of the Dungeon board game coming out in June, with a sticker price under $20. No word on what changes are being made since the 2012 edition.

The usual submission window for Dragon and Dungeon magazines is not open as it would normally be in April. No word on the fate of either of the now-on-hiatus electronic magazines.

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Let's Read: Greyhawk Adventures (Part 5)

April 16, 2014, 4:58 pm

≫ Next: On the epidemiology of rumors

≪ Previous: WotC News Roundup

Having left off last time with Incabulous, the book now turns to Istus, the Baklunish goddess of fate. She goes from being a 14th level cleric, 14th level druid, 24th level magic-user, and 14th level illusionist to being just a 16th level cleric and 16th level magic-user. She also plummets from having 377 h.p. to 75! In addition, her companion/servant (a sort of time elemental mentioned in the Guide) has disappeared entirely. Her clerics have a little more descriptive text about their personalities, and have a new 6th level spell, enmeshment, which transports those affected to an extra-dimensional labyrinth of dread where they could be attacked by other prisoners, until they make a successful saving throw vs. spells (they get to save each round). Clerics of Fharlanghn should feel a little ripped off in the new spell department...

Iuz, the evil demigod who rules his own eponymous realm, is next. Here we see an important distinction, which isn't really called out in the book so much as it is implied, as he doesn't have an avatar, but rather only his true form. He does, however, lose his 16th level assassin status that he enjoyed in the Glossography (although he is still a 16th level cleric). His clerics are presented as, essentially, headhunters, with the number of skulls they have displayed an indicator of their status within the priesthood. They do have a unique 1st level spell, spittle (a reference to one of Iuz's own powers), which can have some really serious consequences against enemies in combat (no attacks for 1d4+1 rounds, for instance).

Nerull is next. His avatar is oddly not so much lowered in power from the others; he only goes from 16th to 14th level as a magic-user and cleric, and loses his assassin levels. His hit points go from 400 to 90, though, which is certainly significant. His clerics get a new 5th level spell, ebony tendrils, which can hold enemies fast for 5 rounds unless they make an open doors check when first struck. Pretty nifty, but I might put it as 3rd level.

Obad-Hai ("The Shalm") and Olidammara are not covered in the book.

Pholtus is next, with his avatar losing 8 clerical levels and changing from an illusionist to a magic-user. His clerics go through something of a change; now it is specified that they must be lawful neutral in alignment, where before there was no distinction between the lawful (any) alignment of his worshipers and his priests. Their new 5th level spell, sunburst, which inflicts 6d6 h.p. of damage on undead and blinds other creatures. Quite the potent spell.

Ralishaz, the god of bad luck, has an avatar not that far removed from his own true form (we assume), losing only 2 levels as a cleric and switching from a 9th level illusionist to a 7th level magic-user. Everything else is pretty much the same, but clerics gain a new 2nd level spell, vicissitude, which will give the caster a +10%(or +2 on a d20 roll) chance to any roll, but which has a 5% chance per casting of backfiring and turning into a penalty. Nice, suitably powered, and it does fit the nature of the deity.

Ulaa rounds out the section on deities (which also omits Raxivort, Trithereon, and Wastri - one of my personal favorites - Xan Yae, and Zagyg). Her avatar is lacking 13th level fighter abilities, but is otherwise largely unchanged (except, of course, for hit points, which like all avatars seem to plummet to a third or less of the original). Her clerics' additional spell is the 6th level command earth, which can either hold earth elementals (and associated creatures) at bay or attempt to charm them. It works both in terms of power and with the nature of the deity, but an argument could be made for making it a 5th level spell.

That brings us to the end of the section on deities. The avatars, I think, are a change for the worse. They're severely under-powered and under-hit pointed, but yet they seem to have the weapons and powers of the actual deity in full strength. A more comprehensive explanation of the relationship between the real deities and their avatars would be most welcome - what we get is rather perfunctory and certainly doesn't spell out certain salient details. We lose a number of deities altogether, and in some cases lose or change details which add character to their clerics. The additional special spells for each deity's clerics are a good idea on the whole, but some of them seem ridiculously under-powered to the point where no one would reasonably choose to memorize them.

Up next: Monsters of Greyhawk.

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On the epidemiology of rumors

April 17, 2014, 7:00 am

≫ Next: OSWARP is looking for game masters!

≪ Previous: Let's Read: Greyhawk Adventures (Part 5)

I've long advocated using the broad sweep of history in the Flanaess, with all the wars, revolutions, invasions, and other changes to the setting acting as a vast and sweeping backdrop against which the campaign and the PCs can operate (Mortellan over at Greyhawkery covered this very subject himself yesterday).

One thing that occurs to me, however, is that unless the PCs are in the immediate vicinity of events, their knowledge of what is happening hundreds or even thousands of miles away is going to be out of date, incorrect, or both. And for that matter, their knowledge of what's happening right around them might not be that accurate, either!

I envision some tables (of course it's tables!) that uses the distance from the actual event and the time elapsed to determine how accurate a given rumor will be. Distance will determine how soon rumors of a given event could reach a location, as well as distorting its accuracy (as the information is passed through multiple people as it moves from place to place). Time will distort the accuracy as well, as stories are embellished as they are retransmitted. Assume that rumors are traveling with merchant caravans, ships, and the like, so 15 miles per day as a very rough estimate.

Rumor Table 1: Accuracy

Die Roll (d%)	Accuracy
01-20:	Wildly inaccurate. Numbers are distorted by as much as 100 times, names are completely wrong, basic facts are inverted.
21-40:	Inaccurate. Numbers are distorted by as much as 10 times, names are inverted, basic facts are distorted.
41-60:	Somewhat inaccurate. Numbers are distorted by as much as 3 times, names are distorted, basic facts are generally correct.
61-80:	Accurate. Numbers are distorted by as much as 2 times, names are mostly correct, basic facts are correct.
81-00:	Very accurate. Numbers are correct, names are correct, basic facts are correct, details are mostly correct.

Rumor Table 2: Distance Modifiers

Distance	Accuracy Modifier
0-1 mile	+15
1-30 miles	+10
31-90 miles	+5
150-300 miles	-5
301-1,000 miles	-10
1,000+ miles	-15

Rumor Table 3: Time Modifiers

Age	Accuracy Modifier
Less than 1 week	+10
Less than 1 month	+5
More than 3 months	-5
More than 6 months	-10
More than 1 year	-15

Now let's apply this and see how it works. As a test subject, let's say that our PCs are in the City of Greyhawk, and they're picking up rumors in a tavern. It's CY 583, and the "Greyhawk Wars" are just getting into full swing, so there's lots of information flying around.

The first event that will hit the PC's attention is the fall of the Duchy of Tenh the previous year. Since Tenh is around 800 miles away from Greyhawk, there's a -10 modifier for distance, and since the event happened more than six months ago, but not quite a year ago, there's an additional -10 modifier for age. The GM rolls a 53, modified down to a 33. Inaccurate. This is what the PCs hear:

A horde of a hundred thousand screaming barbarians from the Barrens swept through Tenh and is besieging Wintershriven in the Pale even now.

(In reality, the barbarians came from Stonehold and further east, numbered in the thousands, and never entered the Pale.)

The second event is the fall of the Horned Society just a month ago. Molag (capital of the Horned Society and pivotal in the rumor) is only 420 miles from Greyhawk, so no distance modifier applies (it would have taken about a month for the news to travel this far and reach the ears of common folk, although the Lord Mayor will certainly have known about it much sooner, as he will rely not on caravans to carry information, but will have networks of riders and spies). It happened around a month ago, so there would be no age modifier either. The GM rolls a 53 again. Somewhat innacurate. This is what the PCs hear:

Molag has fallen and the Hierarchs are slain! Only one of the leaders of the Horned Society made it out alive, and no one knows where he is now. Iuz came down from Dorakka with an army of demons and slew everyone in the city. His armies conquered the rest of the country in just days.

(In reality, more than one Hierarch escaped, the slaughter in the city was great but not total, some demons were involved, but there was no demon army, and it took two weeks to conquer the Horned Society.)

What I would love to do is to collect scores of rumors and put them in a vast matrix; if you're in this place at this time, you hear these rumors, and have them all spreading across the Flanaess like ripples in a pond, growing gradually more distorted as the rings get larger and larger, eventually becoming unrecognizable. That'd be a lot of work, though, and in the meantime these guidelines, and a good timeline of events, should be enough to get me through.

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OSWARP is looking for game masters!

April 18, 2014, 11:15 am

≫ Next: New Spell and Monster: Egregore

≪ Previous: On the epidemiology of rumors

Hey all! I wanted to throw out a reminder that registration for OSWARP (and DexCon, the parent convention) is now open. OSWARP is the Old School Wargame and Role Playing convention, to be held in Morristown New Jersey on July 4-5.

We're looking for you to run a game! If you volunteer to run enough games (64 player-hours' worth if you're getting the special OSWARP membership), you get comped into the convention altogether. Types of games we're looking for:

Old-school RPGs (Basic, AD&D, White Box, BECMI, Metamorphosis Alpha, Boot Hill, T&T, Runequest, Traveller, C&S, FASA Star Trek, etc. etc. etc.)
OSR retro-clones and associated games (OSRIC, Labyrinth Lord, S&W, C&C, DCC, Barbarians of Lemuria, etc. etc. etc.)
Wargames (hex and counter types and others, like Afrika Korps, Third Reich, War in Europe, Campaign for North Africa, Kingmaker, Starfleet Battles, other AH/SPI/Victory Games/etc. - doesn't have to be from the 80's)
Miniatures (historical miniatures from any era, Chainmail (with or without the fantasy supplement), Battlesystem, etc.)
Anything else you think would be appropriate for an "old school" convention

You'll find the game master submission form right there on the DexCon registration page. (DexCon is happening July 2-6, and a DexCon membership doubles as your OSWARP membership.)

Make sure you select OSWARP in the "type of game" section in the form when you fill it out. And when you do send in a game proposal, let me know either in the comments here or by email, so I have some idea of what's coming. I'll be doing regular updates as games come in, so as to drum up interest, and have some ideas for stuff at the con that requires I know what's on the horizon.

And don't forget, when you pre-register for the convention, use the code OSRDX17PX30, and you'll get a $30 discount off a complete membership. To take advantage of this deal, you must sign up for 4 Oswarp-labeled events once the schedule is posted, or two OSWARP events and the OSR Team Dungeon Crawl. (Which, if you're reading this blog, you were probably going to be doing anyway, but just in case...)

That means you get into Dexcon, and can play as many RPGs, board games, video games, LARPs, miniatures games, and wargames as you can put into your schedule over 96 hours for just $40, including all the OSWARP games you can handle. That's pretty damn good. (If you're just planning on coming for the Friday/Saturday OSWARP programming, that's still the best option to choose, in terms of price.)

See you there, and spread the word!

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New Spell and Monster: Egregore

April 19, 2014, 7:00 pm

≫ Next: Happy Easter

≪ Previous: OSWARP is looking for game masters!

(This spell and associated monster description are published under the auspices of the OGL, and are designated as Open Game Content.)

Create Egregore

Level 4 Mage spell (evocation)
Requires: Incantation
Casting time: 1 hour per maximum level of spellcasters

This spell invokes an egregore - a mental construct agreed upon by the participants in the spell - which is given form and power by those who cast the spell in unison with a specified purpose. It requires a minimum of three spellcasters, all of whom have memorized the spell and who begin the casting at the same time, and can be cast by a maximum of seven. More and higher level spellcasters will result in a more powerful and longer-lasting egregore. It has no effect if less than three spellcasters cast it, even partially, and no mage can cast the spell while an egregore in whose creation he previously participated is still extant.

By combining their energies and concentration into a shared goal, the casters of this spell will bring into existence an egregore (see below). The exact form and purpose of the egregore must be agreed upon by all of the casters of the spell at the beginning of the casting - if even a single participant varies in his intentions for the egregore, the spell will fail. The purpose of the egregore must be clearly stated in no more than twenty words; like any construct, the egregore will follow the letter of its instructions, and it is entirely possible that a slight miswording could lead to disaster.

The cumulative levels of the three or more mages who cast the spell will determine the duration, hit dice, and damage caused by the egregore:

Cumulative Levels	Duration	Hit Dice	Damage
28-56	7 days	7d8	1d8
57-84	14 days	9d8	2d8
85-112	21 days	11d8	3d8
113-140	42 days	13d8	4d8
141+	84 days	15d8	5d8

If an additional mage of no less than 7th level casts a spell of 4th level or less during the time the other mages are creating the egregore, and does so with their permission, the egregore will be able to cast that spell once per day. Often, spells such as burning hands or wall of ice are used for this purpose.

It is rumored that there exist certain rare substances that can greatly extend the duration of an egregore, which result in their being encountered decades or even centuries after their last creator has died. No confirmation of these rumors exists, however.

The physical form of each egregore is completely open to the desires of the casters, and can range from as small as a dog to as large as an elephant. It can even be made to resemble a specific individual if that is the desire of the group of casters. (Specifying the physical form of the egregore does not count against the 20 word limit on its purpose.)

Egregore

Number	1
Morale	n/a
Hit Dice	See spell description
Armor Class	0
Move	90’/min.
Magic Resistance	A
No. of Attacks	1
Damage	See spell description
Defenses	Immune to physical weapons
Attacks	Telekinesis, possible spell use
Weaknesses	None
Size	Varies
Intelligence	0
Alignment	Neutral
Treasure Type	None
Treasure Value	n/a
Magical Treasure	n/a
X.P. Value	Variable

General: Egregores are non-corporeal magical constructs created by the spell egregore (see above). While they project a physical image, they are in reality non-corporeal and are thus not hampered by physical barriers of any sort. Solid lead or silver will stop them, however. A successful illusion check will reveal them to be insubstantial, but will not lessen any of the damage or other effects they can inflict.

Combat: The precise physical attack of the egregore will depend on the physical form decided upon by the casters who created it. The amount of damage will depend on the aggregate levels of the mages who cast the spells that brought it into existence. In addition to its regular attack, it can also use telekinesis up to 240’, and are able to move up to 700 pounds in weight. Often, this is their favored attack form, as they will try to make their actions look like accidents (stones falling from great heights, chains breaking at inopportune moments, etc.) unless they are specifically instructed otherwise.

Appearance: The exact appearance of an egregore is dependent on the desires of the mages who cast the spells which create it. It can be as large as an elephant or as small as a dog.

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Happy Easter

April 19, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: More on the Temple of Elemental Evil

≪ Previous: New Spell and Monster: Egregore

Yes, it's a real album, and you can download it.

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More on the Temple of Elemental Evil

April 20, 2014, 12:50 pm

≫ Next: Who Framed the Avengers?

≪ Previous: Happy Easter

Over the years I've done a lot of thinking about the published T1-4 Temple of Elemental Evil. To my mind, it's one of the great disappointments in D&D history - we fans were waiting literally for years for the follow-up to the excellent T1 Village of Hommlet, and what we got seemed bloated, listless, and generally a let-down (Q1 Queen of the Demonweb Pits being another huge disappointment, and interestingly connected to ToEE, as we shall see).

Some past posts of mine talked about connections between the ToEE and the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, the novel by Thomas M. Reid, a first pass at possible connections between the Elder Elemental God of the Vault of the Drow and the Temple of Elemental Evil, and speculations on the nature of the Elder Elemental God itself. That last will become highly relevant, as you'll see.

I've rounded up some relevant quotes from Gary Gygax concerning his original intentions for the Temple, with an eye towards perhaps "fixing" it. I've cleaned up a few of the quotes to make them more understandable and focused on the ToEE itself, and included some more specific references in brackets, but there are links to the originals if you want to read them in situ.

Thinking back, I believe that the "nine" [in the poem in ToEE p. 66] was meant to refer to Thrommel being the ninth of his line in succession for the crown--and his level, which of course could not be "known" per se. the trouble is, one forgets to set forth all the information created as backstory.
As for Lareth, yes, I did plan to develop Lolth in a different direction. The Q1 module sort of shot that idea down in flames...
She would have made a comeback via the EEG, though, as he was planned as the central baddie in another adventure module...that I never got around to writing (EnWorld Q&A part II)

* * *

I had hoped to get to the Elder Elemental god in a sequel to the ToEE, but... (EnWorld Q&A part II)

* * *

Q: In your original conception of the Temple of Elemental Evil, was Zuggtmoy the big baddie, or did you come up with her as a replacement for Lolth after Q1 was released and you were forced to rethink her involvement?

A: When Dave Sutherland did the Q1 as it was, and Brian okayed it, I was rather stuck. Lolth was supposed to be in there, and in the depths the prison of the Elder Elemental God. I had my hands full with the management of the D&D Entertainment Corp. out on the West Coast, so I couldn't get to the completion of the ToEE. That's when Frank Mentzer took a hand and filled in the lower levels that I hadn't detailed. That's why they ended where they did instead of proceeding downwards more to where the EEG's area was going to be. (EnWorld Q&A part III)

* * *

Q: At the end of D3, the party can end up with the "egg". "In the egg are an iron pyramid, a silver sphere, a bronze star of eight points, and a cube of pale blue crystal." [Great Fane of Lolth, Dungeon Level, Room 5.] The pyramid, sphere, eight-pointed star, and cube evolved into the triangle, circle, eight-pointed star, and square from the ToEE correct [see p.108 of ToEE]? Did you intend the items in the egg to be associated with the elements as they turned out being in the ToEE?

A: When I wrote an adventure I always tried to put in a few disguised hooks for later exploitation, or not, as the creative muse moved me.
As you note, the shapes were repeated in the ToEE as I did intend to tie the latter into the series. Lolth was to be connected to the temple, she the key to activation of that which would remove the imprisoning bonds from the Elder Elemental God. Of course that would have been by unintended consequences of her actions when the PCs discovered her.
How it was all to operate was something I never did get fleshed out. This was to happen in the lower levels of the temple, the development of which I never got around to because of my work out on the West Coast. (EnWorld Q&A part III)

* * *

Q: Is there any relationship between The Temple of Elemental Evil (ToEE) and the Elder Elemental God? (T1-4 indicates no relation whatsoever, but according to your above comment on the Eye of Fire symbol, it appears she was blatantly using the EEG’s symbol, or a parody of it, as part of her ruse-religion to draw evil beings into her service.)

A: You have sussed out a dark secret! The EEG was indeed meant by me to have a place in the very nethermost recesses of the ToEE. An anomaly there allowed him to manifest a portion of himself, and by doing the wrong (right from the DM’s point of view) thing the adventurers could release him also! Of course that would counter somewhat the freeing of Zuggtmoy, had she been loosed, so on balance it could serve to redress that error. But, alas, I was too busy with other things at the time when the project was being completed. As it was already quite hefty, I decided to omit any mention of this to Frank Mentzer, and so the ToEE was released with only the Eye of Fire as a clue to what I should have included in the adventure. (Oerth Journal 12)

So, to boil all this down, it seems there is definitely a connection between the Elder Elemental God that is worshipped by Eclavdra and the drow house Eilservs, and the Temple of Elemental Evil. They share an unholy symbol (the trisected triangle, aka the Eye of Fire).

The Elder Elemental God is partially manifested in the deepest levels of the dungeons beneath the Temple. The magical devices in Lolth's "egg" correspond to the elemental symbols in the Temple, and are presumably the keys to releasing the Elder Elemental God (or keeping him captive).

There are actually two trapped powerful beings beneath the Temple. Zuggtmoy, who was imprisoned by the forces of Good when the Temple fell, and the Elder Elemental God, who took advantage of an "anomaly" below Zuggtmoy's prison and sought to escape his own extra-dimensional prison through here. In so doing, he became stuck. It is possible to free him, however, as well as Zuggtmoy.

I think it can all be put together like this...

In the distant past, the Elder Elemental God was imprisoned on a distant star by the demonness Lolth. The contents of the egg are the keys to his prison. It is only in certain anomalous locations, such as the dungeons under the Hill Giant fortress, the Fire Giant halls, and the Vault of the Drow itself that he can even partially manifest himself, with the aid of magic such as the tentacle rods. Another such anomaly is beneath the Temple.

Zuggtmoy, seeking a suitable "cover" cult, settled on that of Elemental Evil, believing that the Elder Elemental God was in no position to object. She was unaware of his ability to partially manifest. With Iuz as partner, she set her new Temple of Elemental Evil atop the ruins of an ancient shrine to the Elder Elemental God, drawing on a bastardized version of its iconography, not realizing that her efforts were strengthening the imprisoned god, eventually allowing him to partially manifest beneath the Temple, although still unable to actually escape his prison.

In 569, The Temple was defeated at the Battle of Emridy Meadows and Zuggtmoy imprisoned beneath the Temple by the forces of Good. They were unaware of the Elder Elemental God's presence, believing the "cover story" that Zuggtmoy was behind it all. Construction of a small keep is begun in Hommlet, to garrison the area against a resurgence of the Temple.

After the triumph of Good, the Temple is riven by factions. The four elemental cults are made up of those "useful idiots" who were unaware that "Elemental Evil" was just a cover for Zuggtmoy and Iuz's machinations. Factions loyal to both of those demonic entities are to be found, as well as a faction loyal to Lolth, who sent agents to infiltrate the Temple, thinking it was a genuine manifestation of the Elder Elemental God.

Once he himself was freed from the dungeons beneath Castle Greyhawk, Iuz began his attempts to liberate his ally and restore the Temple, needing a force to keep Furyondy/Veluna off guard with a threat to their rear. Humanoids and brigands begin to trickle back to the place, and spies are placed in Nulb and Hommlet (and beyond). Prince Thrommel is kidnapped and kept in the Temple dungeons for safekeeping.

At this point, rumors of the revival of the Temple begin to spread as the raids by bandits and humanoids under its banners begin anew. The adventurers arrive at the tiny village of Hommlet to investigate...

This gives a lot of layers to the onion. The outermost layer is the Cult of Elemental Evil, which is just a ploy invented by Zuggtmoy. Within that layer are the cults of Zuggtmoy and Iuz, acting as pupper-masters from the shadows. But there are also agents of Lolth, there to infiltrate and undermine what they believe is a legitimate cult of the Elder Elemental God. And in the innermost recesses is the actual Elder Elemental God, trying to escape the prison that Lolth has placed him in, partially manifested in the deepest levels of the dungeons. The surviving factions of the Cult, although currently directionless and feuding, could be brought back in line either by a freed Zuggtmoy, an engaged Iuz, or by stumbling on the actual Elder Elemental God, whom they thought they had been worshiping all along!

In a "fixed" version of the adventure, I would keep T1 (Hommlet and the Moat House) and T2 (Nulb) intact. Some of the material on the upper levels is good, but I'd make the factionalized nature of the inhabitants a lot more obvious, and rework the elemental nodes thing, which never really worked for me. I do love Zuggtmoy's prison. I'd also add a deeper section that was the actual locale of the Elder Elemental God. The players could free Zuggtmoy or the EEG, Lolth could be summoned (and if slain, she leaves behind her platinum egg that contains the keys to the Elder Elemental God's prison...).

And, if the party ever adventures in the Hill Giant Steading or the Hall of the Fire Giant King, they might find those temples beneath them look awfully familiar...

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Who Framed the Avengers?

April 25, 2014, 8:28 pm

≫ Next: On Sandboxes

≪ Previous: More on the Temple of Elemental Evil

For obvious reasons, there is a lot of talk in fandom about the various Marvel properties owned by competing film studios. Fox owns the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, Sony owns Spider Man, and of course Marvel itself owns the rest, including the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Ant Man, etc.

Bear in mind that the studios, although rivals, aren't completely against the idea of doing cameos that cross studio lines. Apparently the Oscorp Tower almost made it into The Avengers (it was cut because by the time the building's design was finalized, the Avengers NYC skyline had already been rendered, and there wouldn't be time to include it). And because of a bit of contractual legerdemain, there will be a helping of shawarma relating to X-Men: Days of Future Past after the credits of the Amazing Spider Man II (but that isn't indicative of any coming cross-over between Spidey and the X-Men).

Now, this begs the question, given the multi-billion dollar potentials with the Marvel properties, between Spider Man, X-Men, and the Avengers (not to mention Fantastic Four, etc.), why don't the studios make some sort of deal to cross-pollinate their properties?

There is certainly precedent in Hollywood. Look at 1988's Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

In that film, Disney kept control of the project, but arranged deals with the owners of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Felix the Cat, and Betty Boop to bring those characters (and more) in as cameos. In exchange, the owners of those characters got to stipulate how they were used (Bugs and Mickey shared a scene, as did Donald and Daffy), and I'm sure were handsomely paid, and everyone hailed it as a milestone not only of animation but of inter-studio cooperation. They had Steven Spielberg to argue their case, but Joss Whedon might do as well, given his recent track record.

I see no reason the same sort of thing couldn't be done for the Marvel Universe properties. Fox has already said they'd be up for it.

What if the studios who owned the various characters arranged for very strictly controlled, limited, and reciprocal cameo appearances? Simple background stuff should be easy, assuming it can be worked out technically (as with the Oscorp building showing up in Avengers; surely the Avengers tower could show up as Spider Man swings by). It could be more involved than that. Wolverine gets a five-minute scene in Captain America 3 (reminiscing in a bar about World War 2?), and in return X-Men: Apocalypse gets a five-minute segment showing S.H.I.E.L.D. reacting to whatever the heck is going on, helicarriers and Nick Fury and all. If New York gets trashed in the new Fantastic Four movie, there's a quick scene of Spider-Man webbing some debris out of the way before it crushes a baby carriage, and in return Doctor Doom is seen turning down the Sinister Six when they come to him for assistance. The details could be worked out, but it could be done.

The point is that these sorts of crossovers don't have to be huge, multi-movie-spanning deals. Just a couple of minutes here and there, woven in and between the various studios, could not only cement the franchises as belonging to the same larger universe, but would also serve to raise all boats as people who like Spider Man might be a little more inclined to see Fantastic Four, and Avengers will pull in some more X-Men fans.

It worked for Roger Rabbit. It can work for Steve Rogers.

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On Sandboxes

April 26, 2014, 6:23 pm

≫ Next: If I owned Greyhawk

≪ Previous: Who Framed the Avengers?

Even though I'm probably best known for megadungeons, the style of play I personally prefer is the sandbox. The thing is, the sandbox, while it seems on the outside to be relatively simple (throw a lot of random stuff together, and let the PCs have at it), it's actually one of the most difficult things to pull off properly.

Yes, this post is inspired by RPGPundit's review of Isle of the Unknown.

Properly done, a sandbox campaign can be the most satisfying of all modes of play. It gives the PCs complete agency over what they do, where they go, and how they choose to interact with the environment. So, many GMs assume that the key to designing a sandbox is to present the PCs with a region (or an island, or a city, or something else that is geographically bounded in some way) that is stuffed with interesting things, and then shove them out the castle door and let them find things and have a wonderful time in the process.

This is a completely incorrect view of a properly constructed sandbox.

The first point that is missed is that all too often, one thinks that a sandbox means there is no plot. In fact, a lot of folks point to the sandbox as the "anti-railroad" and come to precisely this conclusion. This is perhaps the number one misconception about the RPG sandbox concept. There is indeed a plot. In fact, that's one of the hallmarks of a well-done sandbox; there are many plots, all happening simultaneously. In fact, one of the best uses of plot in a sandbox campaign is to have several of them interact with one another on some level.

Having a bunch of stuff randomly strewn around without any sort of rhyme or reason doesn't make for a good sandbox campaign. Perhaps a good funhouse campaign (and even my own Castle of the Mad Archmage has plots and factions and such that the PCs can interact with in a meaningful manner, and NPCs from whom they can gather valuable information about the dungeon, if they choose to do so), but "every hex is a new weird experience" isn't a sandbox. It's a funhouse. And after a while it doesn't get fun, because there's absolutely no way to predict what the next weird experience is going to be.

Now, before you go all "plot means railroad!!" on me, consider that the mere fact that plots (both in the sense of conspiracies and the sense of pre-planned stories) exist in a campaign does not compel the PCs to follow any of them. Which brings us to the second point...

Player agency cannot exist in a sandbox where the players are making blind choices.

Take, for instance, an island where each hex has a unique monster or some weird magical artifact. Nothing is tied to anything else, and the PCs are blundering from hex to hex and fighting monsters that rear their heads from the foliage, are fought, and then the PCs move on to the next hex. They might stumble on a dungeon, or a group of bandits, or something, but they are essentially flying blind with no idea of what's out there.

In such a case, how can it matter, from the perspective of the PCs, whether they go north or east? They have no idea (and, more to the point, there is no way for them to have any idea) what the difference between going north and going east might be, so they flip a coin. That is not giving the PCs any sort of agency, and that is ultimately not a satisfying experience.

Now, however, imagine exactly the same island, but one where there are two competing cults of which the cleric is aware (in vague terms, possibly knowing their symbols and a snippet about each). The ranger's mentor has told him of a ruined keep on the shores of a lake to the north, and the thief, as a member of the local Guild, knows about a group of bandits to the east that recently raided a caravan and captured a load of spices.

Now the party can at least make an informed decision about whether to go north or east, or to strike out to the west and see what they stumble across. If they happen to stumble across a shrine belonging to one of the cults, the cleric can chime in and possibly add some context; all the better if in that shrine they read a cryptic prophecy that points in the general direction of an abandoned mine to the northwest. And if they capture some of the bandits, they find that one of them has a tattoo marking them as a member of the other cult, and when pressed, he tells them about a secret meeting to take place three nights' hence at a bluff overlooking the river. And so forth.

So, rather than just having a bunch of random, unconnected encounters, the tapestry of the sandbox now has at least three different strings that the PCs can tug on. Two of those strings, it turns out, are connected. If properly set up, there will be other strings out there, waiting to be discovered. Will the PCs start following the string that leads them to the mines, or will they choose to follow the one that leads them to the castle? And what happens if they choose one or the other? Perhaps in a month, if the cultist meeting is allowed to go forth unmolested, a greater threat will arise in the PCs base town. Which then turns into another plot string that they may, or may not, choose to tug on.

The point is that a properly constructed sandbox gives the PCs informed choices. There could be a dozen plot threads that they could choose to follow, or not, as fits their whim. Those choices should have consequences; if they ignore the fact that Hastur is going to be summoned When the Stars Are Right, they should at least have some chance to figure out that's what they're doing. "Oops! You didn't go north, so the Old One has destroyed the town. Tough luck!" is exactly what should not happen.

That's why sandboxes are so very difficult to construct. It's actually much easier to design a railroad adventure. The PCs go from place A to place B to place C, and their actions and the broad outlines of the consequences are known. But a sandbox is a three-dimensional grid with a myriad of options. In order for the PCs to make sense of those options, they have to be given the information necessary to make a decision that is anything more than just a random flip of a coin.

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If I owned Greyhawk

April 29, 2014, 8:17 am

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A thought experiment.

If I was in charge of Greyhawk right now, with 5th Edition coming out this summer, and the setting itself having officially lain fallow, for all intents and purposes, for nearly fifteen years, this is what I would do with it.

I'd have a three-pronged approach.

The first prong would be traditional RPG supplements; more specifics on those in a minute. The second prong would be board and card games that were set in Greyhawk and which played on what I think are its unique strengths. The third would be a series of miniatures and scenarios specifically designed to play into the upcoming Battlesystem rules that were announced yesterday.

I happened to catch some of the Q&A from last Friday's video broadcast, and was (pleasantly) astonished to see the Wizards of the Coast guys talking about treating settings in exactly the same way I've been talking about for quite some time now. Choose a (relatively early) point in the timeline and make that the "default" starting point in the setting. Then have a tableau of events happening in the background. Any given DM could use or not use those events as he sees fit. Perhaps his players will alter the course of those events.

Such an approach requires a deft touch and a firm knowledge of the setting, of course. What are the implications of the PCs rescuing Prince Thrommel from the Temple of Elemental Evil? Veluna and Furyondy are merged in alliance. How does that impact what Iuz does in CY 585? Give some alternatives for pivotal events, especially ones which the PCs could reasonably be expected to participate.

But doing so means you can't extend the timeline too far. The Forgotten Realms chronology spans more than a hundred years (the Grey Box being set in 1357 DR and the Campaign Guide being set in 1479 DR). It would be nigh unto impossible to provide viable alternatives for all of the major events that the PCs could influence, especially when they interact with one another.

But Greyhawk, right now, only spans fifteen years (the Folio and Gold Box being set in CY 576, and the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer being set in CY 591). There's a lot of history packed into that decade and a half, but it's still manageable. Certainly enough for a paragraph here and there to describe "alternate timelines" that a home campaign could follow. Fifteen years of in-game time seems like plenty to me, but I might take it out another ten years just to make it an even quarter-century. After that, leave everything to the DM to work out (and stick to that promise!).

So the first "prong" of my approach would have a major setting product, based in CY 576. A boxed set with gorgeous maps would be ideal, but a suitably detailed book would do. Then have another product, which I have previously called the Great Greyhawk Campaign (in homage to the Great Pendragon Campaign product), which details not only the historical changes to the setting over the course of the next 25 years, but gives the DM specific tools that he can use to make the setting come alive through those events. Finally, another end-cap setting product, detailing the world as of CY 601, giving DMs who want to start their own campaigns without the detailed events happening in the background.

That middle product, the Great Greyhawk Campaign, would be a new sort of thing for the setting. I'd organize it by year, broken down by region and season. Have rumors available in different places and different times, so that the PCs will hear about wars and sieges, peace treaties and invasions, as is relevant to where they are at the time. Folks in the Pale in the spring of CY 577 are going to hear different rumors than those in Keoland in CY 585. There would be a detailed breakdown of events in each locale as well. Troop movements, assassinations, intrigues, battles, strange events, royal weddings, etc. Nothing would say that a DM would need to follow this "canonical" timeline, but it would be there, available, and would provide a backdrop against which he could play his campaign.

Adventure modules happening against the backdrop of war and intrigue raging across the Flanaess would follow. Most of the "location based adventures", which don't really change over time, like the Tomb of Horrors or Castle Greyhawk, would be set in 576 as a default, but could be plugged in just about anytime. Others might or might not be timeframe-specific, depending (and if they are, I'd want to include guidelines for moving any of them around in the timeline).

And later on, of course, I'd want to start expanding the descriptions of the world beyond the Flanaess.

The second "prong" would be tabletop board games. I've long been tinkering with a "Merchant Princes of the Flanaess" concept, moving trade goods from city to city. Deliver a lot of silver to Rauxes, and the price goes down. Draw a card, and there's a famine in Wintershiven, and the price of grain goes up there. I've also got a "Fight for the Malachite Throne" idea in the back of my mind. A card game, where players are factions within House Naelax, struggling to get their favorite son on the throne as the reigning Overking lays dying. First there is behind-the-scenes maneuvering, but when enough cards have been played, he dies of natural causes, and the gloves come off. Lots of other such non-RPGs are possible; look at the success of the Lords of Waterdeep board game. That would work in Greyhawk just as well.

And thirdly, since Wizards of the Coast has announced that a mass battle module/game will be forthcoming, a series of miniatures and battle scenarios that capitalizes on the Greyhawk campaign's origins in wargaming. That's one of its great strong points, moreso than almost any other campaign setting (Birthright being a possible notable exception). The Battle of a Fortnight's Length, the Battle of Emridy Meadows, Iuz's invasion of the Bandit Kingdoms, the Iron League vs. South Province/Medegia, the Hateful Wars, the rise of the Empire of the Pomarj... There are dozens of awesome wars and famous battles that could be used as the basis for a whole line of Battlesystem figures and both individual scenarios and campaigns. Dibs on the first set of Knights of Holy Shielding figures...

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OSWARP Website Now Up!

April 30, 2014, 1:51 pm

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OSWARP, the east coast old school gaming convention, now has an official website. Come on by, and if you're anywhere near New Jersey (or will be in July), sign up for the convention, maybe run a game. It would be terrific if we had enough support to spin the convention off on its own in 2015!

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Gotham TV series trailer

May 6, 2014, 5:25 am

≫ Next: Supplement Organization - An Informal Poll

≪ Previous: OSWARP Website Now Up!

I was originally skeptical about a Smallville-like show that presented Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, etc. as kids. But I have to say this looks pretty good.

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Supplement Organization - An Informal Poll

May 15, 2014, 11:30 am

≫ Next: What am I running at OSWARP?

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I've written before about what I perceive to be the failings of the AD&D 1E Oriental Adventures book. Specifically, although it was marketed as being broadly descriptive of "oriental" culture, it was really focused on feudal Japan, with a few bits and pieces from Yuan/Ming China thrown in.

Now, it's no secret that I've been working on a Wuxia/fantasy China supplement, but as I've been working on it, it occurred to me how the content might be integrated into a more pan-Asian product. Just for the sake of argument, let us presume that we have a rules supplement with sections covering China, Japan, and India. For each, we have races, classes, spells, magic items, monsters, and miscellany.

The question becomes, how should such a thing be organized? I see several possibilities.

Group things by culture. So there would be a China section, a Japan section, and an India section. Within each, there would be a section on races, classes, monsters, etc.
Group things by game section. So there would be a section on races, a section on classes, a section on monsters, etc. For each section, all of the specific items would be identified as to which culture it belongs to, but they would not otherwise be divvied up, so you'd see Shaolin-like monks, ninjas, samurai, wu, etc.
Group things by game section and then by culture. Like option #2, but within each section things are grouped by culture. So within the section on classes all the Chinese classes would come first, then all the Japanese classes, then all the Indian classes, etc. Then in the section on spells there would be all of the Chinese spells, then Japanese spells, etc. And so on.

It is also possible that there are other options I've not considered.

So my question is, which organizational method would you prefer to see in such a supplement? Or, if there's some other schema I've not considered, what would it be? Please sound off in the comments.

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What am I running at OSWARP?

May 16, 2014, 3:39 pm

≫ Next: WotC Publishes 5th Edition D&D Dates, Prices, Covers

≪ Previous: Supplement Organization - An Informal Poll

For those of you who are planning on running games at the first-ever OSWARP old-school gaming convention, in Morristown, NJ over the 4th of July weekend, you should get off your duff and submit your game proposals, because the deadline is looming (June 8). Here's what I will be running.

Castle of the Mad Archmage (Adventures Dark and Deep). Well, yeah. I couldn't very well not run my flagship megadungeon using my flagship rules, now could I?

Tomb of Horrors (Advanced D&D 1st Edition). I was on the fence about which classic module to run, but I finally settled on the classic convention module.

The Battle of the Aerdi Sea (Adventures Great and Glorious). Here's the description: It's CY 578 and the drums of war can be heard across the World of Greyhawk, including its seas. A force of galleys from the eastern provinces of the Great Kingdom has been amassed to sweep the smaller forces of the Lordship of the Isles from the sea lanes. Can the the Iron League prevent the Great Kingdom from ruling the waves? This battle will be fought with 1:2400 miniatures using the forthcoming "Adventures Great and Glorious" naval combat rules.

That last one, of course, will give me a chance to show off not only a portion of the new rules I've been working on, but also my galley miniatures, which have been stuck in a drawer since I painted them. Of course, now I am sorely tempted to repaint them in the colors of Medegia, Rel Astra, the Sea Barons, Dullstrand, and the Lordship of the Isles...

So get on the stick, my friends! And whatever you do, don't forget to click the "OSWARP" button for the type of game, like I did with my first submission (blush).

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WotC Publishes 5th Edition D&D Dates, Prices, Covers

May 19, 2014, 7:08 am

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We now have official street dates, cover art, and prices for the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition books (and other goodies).

First, the boxed D&D Starter Set comes out July 15th with a MSRP of $19.99. It "includes a 64-page adventure book with everything the Dungeon Master needs to get started, a 32-page rulebook for playing characters level 1 – 5, 5 pre-generated characters, each with a character sheet and supporting reference material, and 6 dice." It's already available for pre-order on Amazon.com for $16.04.

Next, the Player's Handbook comes out for GenCon, August 19th, followed by the Monster Manual on September 30th, and finally the Dungeon Master's Guide on November 18th. All three books have a MSRP of $49.95.

Just to keep things in perspective, that's approximately $17.36 each in 1980 dollars, for a total buy-in of slightly over $50, compared to the 1st edition buy-in of $39. The 5th edition books also have much higher page counts, so I'm not put off by the price.

~~The three core rulebooks don't seem to be up on Amazon.com for pre-order yet, but I'm sure that shoe will drop soon.~~ You can also pre-order the Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master's Guide on Amazon now. But do consider sending the business to your FLGS, if you value having public venues that allow play.

August will also see the Hoard of the Dragon Queen adventure path, followed by The Rise of Tiamat in October. Miniatures supporting the multi-part mega-adventure (Tyranny of Dragons) will be available in July.

I note that they're just calling it "D&D" (without the "Next" or any edition number), which is good. Of the three core rulebook covers, my favorite is the Monster Manual.

Based on what I've seen in the public playtest documents, having played both a low-level and high-level game at conventions, and the signs and portents that have been coming out of WotC, I'm really looking forward to the new edition. I think they've done a good job in keeping the mechanics relatively light (compared to 4E or even 3.5), and they seem to be genuinely interested in courting the old-school community, as a lot of old-school sensibilities seem to be taking shape in the rules, along with some very interesting mechanics ("advantage/disadvantage" still strikes me as a terrific idea that could be ported to any edition of the game).

Really looking forward to running this come Autumn.

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The D&D Adventurers League

May 21, 2014, 10:34 am

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≪ Previous: WotC Publishes 5th Edition D&D Dates, Prices, Covers

Some more news out of Wizards of the Coast today:

At the core of the new D&D Organized Play experience is the D&D Adventurers League. Essentially, we’ve given the system a name, because we wanted to emphasize the connected nature of our public play programs. For the first time, we’ll have our entire public play taking place in the same ongoing D&D campaign.

As a player, you’ll create a character for the D&D Adventurers League. You’ll be using the same rules to play at a convention, a store, or any sort of public event. There will be a D&D Adventurers League Player’s Guide available to let you know how it all comes together. Through the different programs, the D&D Adventurers League will be inviting to casual D&D players, experienced D&D players, and players looking for ways in which their characters can impact the campaign world. We want players to find the play that best fits them, and enjoy playing for years to come.

As a Dungeon Master, the D&D Adventurers League is a great way to run fun adventures that involve a minimum of prep work. We’ll find ways to reward you for your time and effort through the various programs, and there will be additional support and opportunities to showcase your skills.

As an organizer (either in-store or at conventions), you’ll find that the D&D Adventurers League is a great way to keep your players engaged. There will be fresh content available on a regular basis (mostly monthly), ensuring that there’s always something new around the corner.

There's much more at the link, including a breakdown of the three different "levels" of adventures: D&D Epics as kickoff events, D&D Encounters as core adventures, and D&D Expeditions for what they're calling "advanced play" (which seems to be a replacement for "living campaign" set-ups as they've had in the past).

I'm not a particular fan of organized play in general, beyond one-shot convention games, but it does seem good that Wizards is giving this aspect of things some thought, as I know it is central to the way a lot of folks play the game nowadays, although I have to wonder where this leaves the RPGA.

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Local television shows

May 22, 2014, 7:26 pm

≫ Next: X-Men: Days of Future Past review (spoiler-lite)

≪ Previous: The D&D Adventurers League

I'm old enough to remember the days when there were independent television stations. Not like the CW or the WB, but honest-to-goodness television stations that played whatever the heck they wanted (or could afford) and which actually produced their own shows. Usually in the UHF end of the spectrum that was filled with static and local programming. "Weird Al" Yankovic would go on to make a movie (and music video) about just that era of television.

My friend Doctor Theda recently brought to mind Zacherly, who was a horror movie host in New York City and Philadelphia in the 1950's and 60's. He is one of the best-known of the horror hosts, although there were a gazillion of them, as every independent station from Cleveland to Dubuque had someone dressed up as a ghoul or vampire with a cheesy accent doing humorous intro segments for monster movies; Doctor Shock in Philadelphia, Baron von Crypt in St. Louis, Sir Cecil Creape in Nashville, and a zillion others.

Sometimes there wasn't a host per se, but the station turned the Saturday afternoon horror/sci-fi movie into an event. Witness Chiller Theater from Channel 11 in New York in the 1970s:

Some of you might remember Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, who got her start as just such a horror hostess (with the most-ess) in Los Angeles, and who parleyed her natural... ahem... attributes and genuinely funny "Valley Girl Vampire" persona into relative stardom (including a feature film). Her show was syndicated in Boston in the 1980's on channel 38 when I was in college, and was sort of a "last gasp" of that sort of programming.

By the 1990's several new networks sprang up and the end of the truly independent television station was nigh.

For those of you who are fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (as I am - I remember a chain of us "circulating the tapes" back in the late 1980's and early 1990's), they got their start in exactly this sort of environment. A local television station in the ass-end of nowhere, willing to put a cheap and hopefully humorous show on the air to fill up time. There were no hour-long infomercials to generate revenue back then.

It wasn't all horror and scifi shows, though. The 1950's through the 1970's also saw the same phenomenon applied to children's shows. This is actually what Krusty the Klown on The Simpsons is supposed to be parodying (although the fact that the vast majority of the viewers of The Simpsons realize what he is supposed to be, is somewhat interesting in and of itself). Whether it was on Saturday mornings or after school on weekdays, there were hosts for cartoons and kids' shows as well, like this puppet-show one I remember watching from Philadelphia in the 70's:

And there was the Magic Garden on channel 11 from New York:

I had such a crush on Carole when I was ten years old. And they're still around, doing live shows in the New York area!

All in all, a lost era of television. Was most of it cheesy crap? Absolutely. But it had a certain naivete and earnestness that I find missing in today's ultra-corporatized and homogenized media environment. When you had a budget of $150 a show and a guitar, you learned to put more of yourself into the show, and I think it showed through.

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X-Men: Days of Future Past review (spoiler-lite)

May 25, 2014, 7:05 pm

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I saw the new X-Men: Days of Future Past film on Friday with my 13 year old daughter. We saw the regular (non-3D, non-Imax) version. Bottom line: it's a terrific movie, but not the best in the X-Men series. Definitely worth seeing in the theater.

It's very difficult to discuss this film without spoilers. The trailers give away some things: there's time travel, there are giant mutant-hunting robots, there's President Nixon. What follows shouldn't reveal any major plot-points, but might discuss a few details here and there. Hence, "spoiler-lite."

The film is based on a classic 1980 comic book story line that is followed in spirit more than in the details. In the dark and dismal future, mutants are hunted almost to extinction by giant robots called Sentinels. Through a bit of mutant legerdemain, Wolverine is sent back to 1973 to change the course of history. And then...

Well, after that it becomes a lot harder to discuss the plot without spoilers.

This is a successful movie on its face (it's currently at 91% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, which is nigh-unto unheard-of; it even beats Captain America: The Winter Soldier at 89%). It's set to have the best opening weekend of any X-Men movie, and it's gotten terrific word-of-mouth.

It's much more a sequel to X-Men First Class than it is a prequel to the other X-Men movies (more on the latter later). While the framing pieces take place in the future of Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier and Ian McKellan's Magneto (among others), the meat of the film takes place in 1973 with James McAvoy's Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender's Magneto (among others). The plot is basically, "make sure our future doesn't happen because it sucks."

First, the obvious stuff. I'm probably going to stop saying that special effects in films look great, because the film industry pretty much seems to have that down at this point. And they look great here. When we see people sliding along ice bridges, or lifting immense things through mutant powers into the sky, it looks like it was filmed for the news. (Although there is still a special quality that practical effects still have that seems to only be apparent when you see them and compare them to CGI in your mind's eye.)

The period pieces in 1973 are flawless. The clothes, the music, the "look" of 1973, are all spot-on. I swear it looked to me like they made the 1970's "fuzzy" intentionally to mimic the way it looks in documentaries, but I know I'm wrong. It just felt so right, and felt so in line with my own memories of the period (yeah, I'm old enough to actually remember 1973, barely).

The acting was terrific. We've already seen most of these actors in these roles, and they're comfortable in them, but the standout character is without doubt Evan Peters' Quicksilver. They not only nailed a completely entertaining set piece featuring his character, but the actor captured the manic OCD-insect-on-a-hotplate personality perfectly. My only complaint is that they didn't feature more of his character. It will be very interesting to see how this compares to the version of the character in Avengers 2: The Rise of Ultron, that was teased at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Because the Quicksilver in this film is the way to do it. The linchpin of the film is Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence, and she does a great job of projecting the pain she's gone through into the character. Peter Dinklage as the villainous Bolivar Trask does a very good job of desperately trying to convince everyone around him that he's not a villain and that his Sentinel program is needed, at the end of the war more than ever. He seems to be having a lot of fun in the role. But seriously, Hugh Jackman needs to add some body fat. His torso looks like he has coaxial cable under his skin. Ugh.

Aside from the period pieces of music, however, I found the score somewhat... prosaic. We didn't have the stand-out Magneto theme from First Class, even when Magneto was being all "kneel before Zod" Magneto, which would have been a perfect call-back. And I found the mopey, self-pitying Xavier to wear a little thin, especially since the cause of his breakdown was almost non-existent. There's something in there relating to his telepathic powers, but they imply that that wasn't the reason that the school is in the state it's in, and that real reason is never adequately explained. The Vietnam war? Really? That's all we get? It hardly seems to rise to that level.

That said, the devices used to link the future and past segments were very well done. The theme of impending disaster in both timelines is well played, and there's some great foreshadowing from the beginning that gets played out at the end. Well done all around.

It being a time-travel movie, you can expect that some things in the future timeline are going to be changed, and I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say that they are. I think they might have gone a bit too far in redoing the timeline, however. It does set up the franchise for a whole bunch of new films that take place in the new and improved X-verse, but for anyone who liked X-Men, X-Men 2, X-Men 3 (I'm told there are a few soulless husks who do), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (ditto), and The Wolverine, you might find yourself in the same position as fans of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan did after the Star Trek time travel reboot.

On the whole, I'd place this film high up in the X-verse. Probably second behind X-Men First Class, which I adored as a period piece more than anything else, which this film also captures. Whether it's better than the first X-Men is iffy; it's a larger film, and plays with the mythology in a very respectful and enjoyable way, but the first film did establish the mythology in the first place. Call it a tie. If the next film, X-Men: Apocalypse, is set in the 1980's and does a similarly wonderful job in-period, I'll be a happy camper.

There is shawarma after the credits; stay through them to see.

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Adventures as Sourcebooks

May 29, 2014, 8:31 am

≫ Next: Beyond the Flanaess: Where are *you* most interested in?

≪ Previous: X-Men: Days of Future Past review (spoiler-lite)

I only run published adventures very rarely out of the box. I have run a few - T1 The Village of Hommlet comes to mind - straight as published, but on the whole I look at adventures more as mini-sourcebooks about a facet of the game world (in my instance, Greyhawk, of course), rather than for their adventuring potential in and of itself. I assume this places me in the minority when it comes to consumers of D&D adventures.

This, in large part, explains my fondness for location-based adventures over plot-based adventures.

Even adventures like A1-4 (the "Slavers" series) fall into this category, although I understand they are favorites of Greyhawk fans from way back. I find that I enjoy them more for the information they contain about Highport (A1 Slave Pits of the Undercity), the humanoid stockade in the Drachensgrab Hills (A2 Secret of the Slavers Stockade), the town of Suderham (A3 Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords / A4 In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords), and the general idea and information about the Slave Lords, than for the specific plot that the PCs are expected to be following.

The same goes for a module like S4 The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. When it first came out, I was infinitely more excited by the new monsters and magic items (which were eventually incorporated into Unearthed Arcana and Monster Manual II) than I was by the adventure itself. But even there, it's the background concerning Iggwilv and her conquest of Perrenland, the political situation between Perrenland, Bissel, and Ket, the NPCs included, and so forth that I find most interesting.

Even the most plot-driven adventures have information that enrich the setting even outside of the plot itself. NPCs, locations, magic items, and even the events of the plot themselves (used as background, as things that either happened in the past or are happening in the background while the PCs are in the vicinity) can be extracted from such adventures.

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Beyond the Flanaess: Where are you most interested in?

May 31, 2014, 4:49 pm

≫ Next: OSWARP Deadline Approaching!

≪ Previous: Adventures as Sourcebooks

One of the things that has been lurking in the back of my mind since I did my "Beyond the Flanaess" maps is that there are just so many regions crying out for attention.

Now, obviously, up until now, we've only gotten information about the Flanaess in the written sources (aside from the occasional tidbit scattered here and there, and the Sundered Empire setting for the last version of Chainmail). But if Wizards of the Coast was ever to do something new with Greyhawk, completely outside the old familiar Flanaess, what would you be most interested in outside of the boundaries of the Darlene maps?

The Baklunish Basin. The semi-Arabian region northwest of the Flanaess, already somewhat described by virtue of its being on the periphery of the Flanaess; we know about Ekbir, Tusmit, Zeif, etc., and a little about what lies west of them through magazine articles, but nothing really comprehensive. Gygax once stated he wanted to do this as a supplement, and we'd get a whole slew of new Baklunish deities to add to the ones already in the books.
Hepmonaland. We got some details about this region in The Scarlet Brotherhood, but honestly it could use a whole supplement in and of itself. (Or you could "just use Nyambe".)
Nippon. Yeah, the name is lame, but at least the Dragon Annual Map explicitly said it wasn't the real name, just a way to communicate the fact that it was Oerth's version of Japan. Ninjas, samurai, yakuza... And I think the "Nippon Dominion" should be a fantasy Korea, conquered by the Nipponese, but with an underpinning of Korean folklore and monsters.
Zindia. The names on that DA1 map were nothing if not... well... awful. But at least it communicated the gist of what was there. We got some Zindian lands named in Gygax's Sea of Death novel, and maybekindasorta some more info in a couple of the short stories, but otherwise it's wide open.
The Celestial Imperium. Ahh... the China of Oerth. We know a scant few details from one of Gygax's short stories (The Five Dragon Bowl) but nothing really substantive. It's big enough that it would take three Darlene-sized maps to cover it all.
Erypt. I'll bet you can't guess what Earth-analogue this is supposed to be. Mine has a Canaan-sort of land on those islands to the east.
The Sundered Empire. Now we're getting into the setting of Chainmail, with its various factions fighting over the artifacts of a slain deity of war (brother to Hextor and Heironeous). It was actually a really neat setting just as a roleplaying thing (which never really got developed as such), but one could see a lot of potential with the new Battlesystem rules that are coming out with 5th Edition.
The Empire of Lynn. This is where the Black Moon Chronicles (Chroniques de la Lune Noire) campaign of François Marcela-Froideval was set, and eventually became the basis for a very successful and cool series of graphic novels. The graphic novels were not tied explicitly to Greyhawk, but there's a whole lot of circumstantial evidence that could lead to their being brought into the fold in some inventive ways.
The Tharquish Empire. This is in the very southwestern corner of Oerik, and we know next to nothing about it, but there it was the original home of one of the lords of one of the domains of Ravenloft. I've seen it called Greek, Roman, British, and Babylonian. I'd love to see what it really is.
Something else. There's an unnamed continent on that DA1 map, which I've identified as Gonduria, which is a complete unknown. I kinda like the idea of leaving that for DMs to flesh out, but maybe I'm in a minority. There are also some polar regions, and Fireland (a colony of the Thillronian barbarians), and possibly Frank Mentzer's Aquaria campaign as well. Maybe there's something else I'm missing?

So what would you like to see? If Wizards wanted to expand beyond the Flanaess, what should their first move be? Let me know in the comments.

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