The Fear the Boot community spawned a sub-podcast called Kicked in the Dice Bags. Its a darn good show. Episode 38 had an interesting discussion (well lots of them) on “why a new dnd”, and it moved into the theme of separating setting from mechanics. ie. Would it have been better to publish many large detailed settings, and so on. Have a listen. Continue reading
I recently listened to the DnD podcast from Wizards of the Coast, which was released around the same time as the dnd Next playtest (around 24 May) was made available online to the public.
Some observations:
What was most valuable in the podcast was point one – knowing that they are going to come out of the gate all guns blazing. That is the dedication they need for Next to get up as a product.
I think it would be a shame for RPGs if DnD-5e was a whimper, and would impact the hobbie substantially because of how much of a hook DnD is for rpgs in general. Dnd was the gateway game which started me on roleplaying, and despite years of effort, new systems, and all sorts of considerations – it still has a place, and may still provide a source of entertainment. One of the podcasters (I can’t recall which now) really did seem honest in their enthusiasm for the product. Bravo.
I still stand by the idea that dnd should be given a fair play, and also expect it to not be my style of game. Yes, that is a healthy contradiction, and a stance which could change given play. The introduction of “backgrounds” and “side features” into the character generation is a first for dnd, and something which is a huge positive. If they added a sample of small negative quirks then they’re really getting into a style of game that I could accept.
I’m watching with reserved interest.
I had a thought about the debate on DnD Next, and how the version wars are puttering along. What would happen if the same mechanic ruleset was released by somebody else? Is it disliked because of a fear of change, or an inclination of disinterest?
Pathfinder took a variation and made it popular. Could be that they fixed a lot of frustration, and did so without the yoke of owning the product. The same action by the owner might not have been as popular when Pathfinder was released. We now see Pathfinder further tweaking their rules, and getting a mixed bag of acceptance feedback. Coincidence?
DnD 4e went to a new place mechanically with the highly tactical play, and I think it would have been hailed as an innovation if it wasn’t meant to replace older versions of the dnd brand. Meaning as a new game it was very clever and innovative, as dnd a segment of the community hated it.
The same things feels true about 5e – that a third party could release the “Next” rule-set as an indie mod, and probably get a better reaction than dnd’s publishers. Why? Less extremes to worry about. You’d get everyone who wants to test it happily trying, and all the core rules fans ignoring it. The edition war would not start because it would not be an official edition.
If you hold that position as plausible, then it is kind of sad. A new rule-set should be evaluated without that prejudice. Like it or hate it, it should be given the opportunity to be played properly. An rpg is not removing the rulebooks from our shelves, so that if an old edition is a favourite, then it can continue to be played.
Just a thought.
GeekoSystem has a post which claims to show 10 RPGs You’ve Never Heard Of. I call rubbish – in the list is Paranoia, RuneQuest, StarWars, Tunnells & Trolls, and yes some others that I’d not encountered. Sheesh, in that list are some old good game which were very popular a while ago, but hardly not heard of. Now to the author’s credit he did say the readers would have heard of some, and not to freak out; but it felt like a list with very prominent titles on it.
Paranoia has had many additions, and I’d say more people have played RuneQuest than the recent version of Warhammer Fantasy (which tanked). GeekoSystem also included Pokemon RPG list; double sheesh. Yep I’ll give you that, but its bloody pokemon. Create a RPG based upon Barbie Pony Ride Adventure in Happy Land! and it won’t be well known in the RPG community either, or perhaps it will as a joke but the sales won’t be there. The typical RPG player is looking for escapism and entertainment, with a health slash of violence and as much cool as possible. It’s why we saw Vampire pick-up so much ground many years ago. And as a stereotype gamers are not dumb, and are often poor – so will be conservative in purchases.
Now Don’t Rest Your Head is spot on in terms of indie RPG however, and I’m glad to discover USR by reading the article. Consider too that some RPGs remain niche markets, like Ars Magica which I banter on about a lot, and it probably has less players than Pokemon.
How about these as RPGs I doubt you’ve heard of:
All hail friend-computer. Destroy all commie mutant traitor scum. Are you happy citizen?
The ruleset has always been trivial when compared to the influence the playstyle the team brings to the table has on gameplay. A bunch of tabletop war-gamers could railroad 1st ed just as well as a bunch of roleplayers could chatter happily in 4th ed.
I made this comment on an article over at GeekoSystem about getting into the dnd playtest. Its not that I don’t respect the debate, or even that the ruleset affects the players – I just feel that getting hung up on the mechanic resolutions is a detractor to why I roleplay. I ply rpgs for entertainment, and that entertainment is based around acting in character; the mechanics are secondary. Continue reading
As a Game of Thrones fan, I’m both excited and appalled that we could now buy the Iron Throne. I mean it can’t be purchased with gold alone, can it? Ask a Lanister I guess.
At USD$30,000 they are going to be few and far between, and certainly profitable to produce. I wonder what GRR’s cut is on the merch? At that price I’d want it forged from steel, that or take a huge block from my mortgage. >.> Continue reading
Rather than looking at stenographic illusions or encryption techniques to protect highly valuable books, transformation of the physical texts is a solutions which offers protection against mishap and also very effective security. The approach also has the advantage of being based firmly within the existing spell guidelines.
Transforming the Tome
Muto Animal 25 / Terram. R: Touch, D: Sun, T: Individual
This spell temporarily transforms a book into a small very hard object, such as a gem or piece of metal. The form of the object is chosen by the caster. This facilitates concealing and carrying the text in a more convenient manner.
(Base 5 major unnatural change, +1 complexity of affecting a book, +1 Touch, +2 Sun, requisite is free)
The idea is to transform the book into something else with non-permanent magic, and suspend or remove the transformation when it needs to be used. For example an effect could transform a valuable magical text into a small steel rod (or stone crystal, a stone marble, or anything which is highly resilient, etc), and switch it back when needed. Continue reading
The next issue of the Ars Magica magazine Sub Rosa was released on June 6, and like last issues there is a lot worth considering for Ars Magica players.
This issue has a heavy focus on the mystery of ships with new ways to incorporate maritime elements and themes into games.
“A mild winter has left us busy but issue #10 is now here, full of stormy skies and unfamiliar magic, with a dash of mystery and a ship to sail it by.
Accented with lavish art, you’ll find pieces from Ars Magica veterans like Jeff Menges and Angela Taylor alongside Sub Rosa regulars like Vincent Belmont, Alexandra Dopp, Barrie James and Jason Tseng.
Weighing in at 60 pages, the Storyguide’s handbook considers the Dramatic Journey, Mark Lawford gives you the blueprints for a Hermetic Shipwright, and there are mystery cults and twilight scars to go around.
Vulcanis Argens returns and there’s a thundering scenario sure to keep your saga engaged, no matter what Tribunal your troupe calls home.” (cont)
Quick Review – Another excellent issue. My first impression was that it contains material which I can use in any Ars Magica game, but also some great new ideas for odd encounters and scenarios.
I have a love for boats and ships in roleplaying games as I think they were a fundamental part of the world, but are largely ignored in most settings. This issue provides magical backdrops and ideas, complete with stats, and a small scenario.This builds from material already published in the Hermetic projects book, but is provided stand alone for use as well.
One part of a story reminds me of a SpellJammer touch – which is all I needed to see to know I’d be reading the article a few times at least. Continue reading
Mages can be a secretive and sometimes paranoid group of people. Their knowledge is the key to their influence and power, and it makes sense that Magi would be concerned with protecting their secrets. Encryption is often thought to be a modern concept, but basic forms of encryption were present and effective in ancient times – so much so that it became a common form of sending secure messages.
An excellent historic example of this is the Caesar Shift Decoder (or Caesar Cipher) which is a known substitution cipher, meaning replaces one letter with another, and the scytale which is a physical tool to apply consistent reorganisation of characters. These types of ciphers were simple and effective, as they required a very little knowledge to implement, and made messages very difficult to read. A succinct description is (by blogger Dhaivat Pandya):
Basically, you shift over the alphabet over the message by a certain amount (that certain amount is called the key) to get the encrypted message, and, the person who wants to decrypt it shifts back the message by that certain key.
If simple substitution worked for military messages for the Romans, then it could very reasonably be used by medieval scholars to encrypt and decrypt texts and books. It also makes sense then within the Ars Magica mythic setting that encryption could be used, and also improved with magic.
The potential effects could based upon Rego or Muto magic, with the tasks that a scholar might do in cyphering a text manually but with the added benefit of magical speed and efficiency.
In a previous blog post there was a new spell called Disguise the Words as Written (Muto Imagonem level 5) which temporarily scrambled information in a document for a short time. This scrambling was not intended to be a real form of encryption, rather it modified the text into gibberish, a picture, or almost anything else (which is actually closer to stenography than cryptology). This was intended to provide a degree of security for messages while they were in transit. As an illusion it had the advantage of being a spell effect that ends gracefully, restoring the text to normal automatically. There was no risk of corruption in the process as the text itself was not changed, just the appearance of the text.
The challenge for magical encryption is how to implement that security in a permanent, controllable, and reliable manner. The Muto Imagonem spell above could still be used but it is not ideal, as getting long durations so that the material is protected for a long time becomes a difficult task. Instead a set of specialised spells are needed to act as the encryption and decryption mechanisms. This removes the limitation of time, but introduces a risk of corruption and quality loss when the books are re-written. Magic is not generally reliable.
Rego “craft” magic might be suitable for the actual permanent re-writing of messages, to emulate the work that a person could perform. When Rego is used in this manner it apples to the text itself, and will need casting requirements suitable to the materials involved. Temporary effects are also possible which affect only the image of the text, relying on Muto Imagonem. Intellego should also be a core art for spells which must interpret and translate, which is fundamental to understand hidden meanings.
Aside: I am not sure if the idea of highly complex encryption fits well within a medieval paradigm, but as simple encryption in ancient and medieval times was historically accurate, a hermetic expansion on that capacity seems very plausible within the setting.
The arts and methods of spell design are open to a very wide interpretation, and as with everything produced for Ars Magica YSMV. My assumptions of Muto Imagonem for obfuscation/presentation and non-permanent translation, Rego for materials based work and repetitive work, and Intellego for understanding are core to this interpretation of how to handle encryption with magic.
The Iron-Bound Tome 