Role-playing roundup: Science fiction, fall 2011 edition

My favorite author — Favorite author Isaac Asimov

Continuing my look at recent role-playing supplements such as The One Ring, I’ve managed to squeeze in reading some sourcebooks in between work, travel, and running games. Fantasy may be the primary genre in which I’ve played — and superheroes, steampunk, and time/dimension travel have yielded many memorable characters — but science fiction is still my first literary love.

As I’ve mentioned before in describing my “Vortex” game, my sandbox setting is largely inspired by classic space opera such as the novels of Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and David Brin. It’s no surprise, then, that I liked the PDFs of Star Frontiers Remastered, StarCluster 3, and Stars Without Number so much that I ordered hardcopies. Stars Without Number is about to get a revised printing from Mongoose, publisher of the latest incarnation of Traveller.

The detailed “future history” of games such as Stellar Horizons and Ashen Stars is similar to that of “Vortex.” (I took a class on the topic back in college.) In these settings, humanity has colonized the Sol system and beyond but faces new threats such as alien horrors, as well as old ones like infighting. I like the political and technical extrapolations of Stellar Horizons and the idea of Player Characters as interplanetary troubleshooters in Ashen Stars.

At the same time, I’ve incorporated elements of more recent cyberpunk and transhumanist fiction in my campaigns. I’ve already used ideas from Panopticon, a supplement for the excellent Eclipse Phase, in recent sessions. I also still regularly refer to GURPS Terradyne, Blue Planet, and Jovian Chronicles for megacorporations, genetically engineered species, and descriptions of colonial life, respectively.

Speaking of mixing genres, the fantasy/cyberpunk Shadowrun has endured even as fashions have changed in the past few decades. I played and ran the game briefly in college. The Fourth Edition and the 20^th Anniversary Edition — even though Shadowrun has been around for longer than that — are slick and straightforward, with solid rules (point-buy character creation, dice pools using D6s). I would have preferred more thorough location and faction descriptions rather than “flavor-text” fiction, but that was the style of games from the late 1980s and most of the ’90s.

Similar to Ashen Stars in time period is Chthonian Stars/Void, which has a strong horror bent. I haven’t yet gotten it, and Cubicle 7 did reply to my query about supplements for Starblazer Adventures/Mindjammer and Legends of Anglerre. They’re delayed, but I look forward to eventually using them for “Vortex.” I’m also enjoying the lean FATE version of Bulldogs in the meantime.

After grabbing nearly every star map published for RPGs in the past 30 years, I recently ordered the excellent poster maps from Project Rho Productions. I’ll eventually need every human-habitable system within 100 parsecs, but this is a great start!

Role-playing roundup: Fantasy, fall 2011 edition

Wallpaper for Mouse Guard RPG — Mouse Guard!

In the past few months, I’ve enjoyed reading through some of the role-playing games displayed at this year’s GenCon. During recent visits to game shops and on various message boards, I’ve heard and seen speculation about a fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons, prompted in part by the return of designer Monte Cook to publisher Wizards of the Coast.

I still feel strangely detached from these discussions because I’m not running or buying D&D4e supplements. Even if I’m not a hardcore grognard as some in the old-school Renaissance, I’ve come to prefer simpler rules, lower-powered scenarios, and heroic role-playing over combat simulation. If D&D5e addresses those preferences as well as some retro-clones do, I might yet return to the popular tabletop fantasy RPG brand.

Fortunately, I lack no support as a Dungeon Master in the meantime, thanks to Paizo’s excellent Pathfinder (a.k.a. “D&D3.75”) line. Although the rules are still complex, the artwork and prose in each book about the Golarion/Inner Sea setting inspires the imagination. The Ultimate Magic and Ultimate Combat books are no exception, with numerous options for Pathfinder Player Characters of all occupational classes.

I found Ultimate Magic to be slightly more useful and better balanced than Ultimate Combat, partly because the latter introduced classes such as the Gunslinger and Ninja that I would limit in my homebrew game. Between them and the Advanced Player’s Guide, any Pathfinder player should have more than enough ways to develop and tweak characters, replacing a veritable pile of D20/Open Game License/D&D3.x splatbooks (many of which I’ve now sold).

On a related note, I recently got the Tome of Horrors Complete for Pathfinder. I was a big fan of the D20 monster book, which revived several old favorites from previous editions of D&D. It included creatures from old adventure modules and the Fiend Folio, including the gold-eating aurumvorax, the statuesque caryatid column, and the floppy flumph. The new compilation has about 800 pages of monsters, with everything from the mysterious dark creepers to Lucifer himself and numerous animals!

Even though I’ve tried to limit the number of sentient species in my “Vanished Lands” campaign setting, I and most of my gamers have enjoyed encountering new beasties in the books and scenarios. The Tome of Horrors Complete is a fantastic addition to Pathfinder‘s Bestiaries I through III.

The Pathfinder: “the Vanished Lands” teleconferencing team is still struggling to get back to its regular Sunday night schedule because we’ve had difficulty getting quorum because of travel and family obligations. I hope that the eight role-players, scattered across the U.S., will soon be able to resume Skype sessions.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve considered using FATE 3e Legends of Anglerre for the telecom fantasy game because I think the lighter rules set would be a good fit for that venue. Also from Cubicle 7 is The One Ring, the latest game set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth.

I was favorably impressed by the production value of The One Ring, which overcame some of my initial misgivings about its limited scope — it’s set in the Wilderlands during the Third Age, between the events of The Hobbit and those of The Lord of the Rings. A game with more limited starting options is a good idea for starting players, but then why not outline the character–creation process more clearly?

What if I was relatively new to the hobby and wanted to replicate a member of the horse-riding Rohirrim or an Elf from Lothlorien because I’ve seen Peter Jackson’s popular films? Just as Iron Crown Enterprise’s Middle Earth Role-Playing stuck too closely to the complicated RoleMaster system and Decipher’s Lord of the Rings RPG relied too heavily on the movies, Cubicle 7 risks confusing fans with its plan to expand its view of that world piecemeal.

That said, I liked The One Ring‘s character–development mechanics, which encourage altruistic play over the “kill things and take their stuff” mentality that’s all too common in D&D and various videogames. This feature is similar to what I enjoyed in Decipher’s underrated Lord of the Rings (if slightly less so in Lord of the Rings Online multiplayer computer game).

Speaking of encouraging good role-playing, the Mouse Guard boxed set is a thing of beauty. Based on an award-winning set of comics and a streamlined version of Burning Wheel, this would be the ideal way to get my animal-loving nieces into gaming. I strongly encourage fans of anthropomorphic fantasy, such as GURPS Bunnies & Burrows, Redwall, and Shard, to read the collected comics and buy this game.

The boxed set includes a softcover version of the core rulebook (which I already have in hardback), character record sheets, and rules and adventure supplements. The counters are a bit funny, looking like oversized collectible erasers, but even if I don’t get to run Mouse Guard anytime soon, this game will be another rich source for sparking imagination and setting a heroic tone.

I’ve been swamped again with work and travel, but I plan to post about science fiction RPGs, the new TV season, and more as soon as I’m able!

Rochester, N.Y. visit, Part 2 — fun and games

David I.S. at the Strong Museum of Play — He does everything a spider can!

Please see my previous post for the first part of my belated visit to longtime friend David I.S. in Rochester, New York. We started Sunday, 10 July 2011, strongly with cheddar melts and turkey bacon. I met some cool hipsters at Park Avenue Comics and found a few more back issues in the disorganized but full stacks at Comics Etc. I’m impressed that a small metropolitan area with only 1 million residents can support so many comic shops.

Comics Etc. also had more tabletop gaming books than Millennium Games, but not as many comics as Comic Book Heaven, which reminds me fondly of Hole in the Wall Books in Falls Church, Va. In general, I collect DC’s superhero comics, and Dave tends to like independent and horror titles, but we’ve come to appreciate numerous genres and art styles. I’m glad to have stoked his and his friend Amit T.‘s interest in the medium.

We then went to the Strong National Museum of Play, which I’d compare favorably with Boston’s Children’s Museum and the Museum of Science. It was a walk down memory lane, with old board and video games, antique doll collections, and a superhero exhibit. Fortunately, the museum wasn’t too crowded on a late Sunday afternoon.

The famous Dinosaur Barbeque didn’t disappoint us for a late lunch/early dinner (“linner”). Dave and I ate chicken wings, pulled pork, mojito chicken, plus side dishes. While that may not have been the healthiest of meals, I had tried vegan jerky earlier in the day. It wasn’t bad, and partly relieved my guilt at eating intelligent, delicious animals.

After that, we walked to the Thomson Reuters and art deco Times Square buildings, as well as varied bridges. The Rochester Spillway and abandoned subway in the heart of the city are unique landmarks. We skirted the Genesee Valley Park and the University of Rochester campus before visiting the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

Dave recently got tenure at the School of Interactive Games and Media in the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences. He took me to his office and the cool Game Design Development Lab. While I’ve only dabbled in computer and console games over the past 30 years, I respect the creativity and hard work that goes into them. As with wargames, collectible card games, and board games, I still prefer my weekly pen-and-paper role-playing games.

That night, we created comic book dividers and talked about music and health. The next morning, I drove back to Massachusetts. This time, the lack of air conditioning was more apparent when I sat in traffic as the temperature reached the 90s Fahrenheit. I stopped at my sister-in-law Shelly’s house in Utica, N.Y., on the way for lunch and to spend a little time with her husband Melvin and children Laura and David.

Since then, I’ve been busy with work and trying to catch up on recorded genre TV and phone calls from friends before my next trip!

Rochester, N.Y., visit — food, falls, and funnies!

Dave and Gene, July 2011 — Near Ontario Beach

This past week has been even busier than usual. It started with the Independence Day and 300th anniversary events in Needham, Massachusetts, continued through various meetings at work, and included a Pathfinder: “Holy Steel” telecom fantasy game.

On Friday, 8 July 2011, I drove to Rochester, New York, to visit college chum David I.S. On the way west, I realized that the air conditioner in my car still isn’t working. Fortunately, the weather wasn’t too bad, and traffic was light. Dave and I stocked up at Wegman’s and Beers of the World before returning to his current apartment to grill steak and chicken for dinner.

As usual when we get together, we stayed up late into the night talking about family, relationships, work, housing, and our circles of acquaintances. Among the beers we tried were a Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout, Rogue Hazlenut Brown Nectar, and Imperial Chocolate Stout. The dark brews went well with the dry-rubbed beef. We also ate vegetable and fruit salads, kamut noodles, and chocolate frozen goat’s milk, among other things.

After sleeping in the next morning, Dave drove me to several spots along the Genesee River Trail. We didn’t have the time (or I the likely endurance) to rent a bicycle or fully explore them. I saw the strange megaliths near Lower Falls, the Fast Ferry pier and Ontario Beach, and Maplewood Gardens. Dave and I did a mix of “urban hiking,” viewing of bike trails, and strolling to take in the sights.

Rochester has poorer, African-American neighborhoods interspersed with more affluent, mostly Caucasian ones. I’m glad that Dave is aware of but willing to cross racial and economic divisions. I’ve said before that the Rust Belt isn’t confined to the Midwest — it begins in Worcester, Mass., and ends in Iowa or beyond.

We had a tasty lunch at Cheeburger, Cheeburger and visited a few comic book and game shops, including the small but well-organized All Heroes Comics, the friendly suppliers at Empire Comics, and the range and depth of the collections at Comic Book Heaven (CBH). In addition to meeting Dave’s local friends Amit T. & Krysta B., CBH proprietor Dan showed us the amazing archives in his old building, and we all hope to help his business.

Dave also took me to Millennium Games, which had a decent selection of role-playing games, if not as well-stocked as the best shops I’m familiar with in downstate New York, Northern Virginia, or eastern Massachusetts. We passed on local landmark Nick Tahou’s “garbage plate” for a simpler dinner at classic Jay’s Diner. That night, Dave enjoyed Superman/Shazam: the Return of Black Adam, especially the grindhouse Spectre short and the western/horror Jonah Hex one.

Coming soon: Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

Divesting from D&D

BECMI boxed set — The first edition I played

As part of the aforementioned spring cleaning, I’ve now sold most of my books for Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition. It’s the first time in nearly 30 years that I’m role-playing but not using the latest edition of that game. (I still have lots of books from prior editions.)

I’ve been an early and enthusiastic adopter of past editions of D&D, including moves from the boxed sets to AD&D1 back in high school in the early 1980s, from AD&D1 to AD&D2 in college, and from AD&D2 to D&D3.0 and 3.5 (and the D20 Open Game License in general) in the early 2000s. Each new version had clearer rules, stronger support in terms of published supplements, and a larger fan base than its predecessors. I’m surprised to now find myself sympathizing more with the grognards.

In 2009, I used D&D4e for the “Faith-Based Initiative” team in my long-running “Vanished Lands” homebrew fantasy setting. The rules set worked well enough for a time, but more than half of the eight gamers soon became disenchanted, mirroring a schism in the larger community.

Some of the problems were stylistic. As a Dungeon Master accustomed to “sandbox“-style settings, in which the Player Characters are free to pick quests and explore a world in any direction, I clashed with those who expected every encounter or challenge to be appropriately scaled to the adventuring party’s power/experience level, as D&D4e encourages.

In my previous campaigns, if low-level adventurers found a monster like a dragon, they ran or hid. In D&D4e, some would either express shock at the unfairness of such a battle or doggedly fight until all opposition (and possibly some of their own company) was dead. I’ve become stingier with treasure and prefer slower advancement than in most published modules.

It’s true that I and other people didn’t master the D&D4e’s subtleties as quickly as a few in the group, and I grew impatient with combat scenes that dragged on for nearly as long as similar scenes had in earlier editions. D&D4e’s emphasis on tactical maneuvering, collectible miniatures and cards, and balanced powers was different from games that focus on nonstatistical character development, narrative storytelling, and varying “sweet spots.”

For example, Fighters used to be more important relative to other archetypes/occupational classes at lower levels, while Wizards came into their own at higher levels. In addition, I and some other Game Masters prefer scenarios between third and eighth levels, when characters are tough enough to survive some battles but still had more gritty or realistic concerns, like keeping their horses fed, than leading armies or slaying gods.

D&D4e sought to eliminate intraparty imbalances across levels, but it also made every combat maneuver resemble “button mashing” common to multiplayer online games, with every attack from a weapon or a spell resulting in predictable outcome of some damage and a move. I’m more interested in spontaneous character interaction than crunching numbers, but other G.M.s are definitely better at providing interesting combat scenes than me.

Noncombat skills, which proliferated in AD&D2 and D&D3.x, were pared back. Sure, an ambitious character who wanted to become a warlord still could administer a fiefdom in D&D4e, but it could require creative role-playing only recently supported by the official rules, and an inexperienced gamer wouldn’t necessarily even know of an option other than striving for demigodhood at Level 30.

To be fair, D&D4e eliminated some of the “min-maxing” and numerous inconsistencies, but I think it also lost some flexibility and seemed less connected to its literary inspirations, such as the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, Jack Vance, and Fritz Lieber. The weird and unpredictable magic, bizarre creatures, and character vulnerability of early editions of D&D are in marked contrast to powers and “exception-based” rules. See the excellent Vornheim for the retro-clone Lamentations of the Flame Princess for a return to the days when adventuring could be scary fun.

The D20 renaissance of the early 2000s showed that a relatively complex system could be used for a variety of styles and genres, from gritty sword and sorcery to high fantasy and from steampunk to superheroes to space opera. Wizards of the Coast’s missteps with its third-party licensing, publishing of PDFs, and online tabletop also contributed to the D20 vs. D&D4e “edition wars.”

Unfortunately, a early lack of support for third-party publishers and the more restrictive Game System License, the successor to the OGL, has limited the diversity of worlds using D&D4e in comparison with D20. Just as role-players moved from AD&D2’s “code bloat” to White Wolf’s Storyteller: World of Darkness in the 1990s, so today some gamers are moving to lighter systems such as FATE rather than play D&D4e.

The D&D Essentials product line has addressed some of the confusion by compiling rules into affordable softcover books, and the D&D Insider (DDI) makes errata and character generation tools available through a digital subscription. If the DDI had provided a virtual tabletop as quickly as initially promised, I might even still be running or playing D&D4e now instead of Pathfinder and FATE. Ultimately, every role-player, Game Master, and group has to find the system that suits them best. I don’t expect debate to die down, but what works best for you?

Coming soon: More on genre TV, retro games, and current campaigns!