tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post4672196036608127801..comments2024-03-28T08:50:57.015+01:00Comments on Beyond Fomalhaut: [BLOG] Don’t Kick the Bucket: Zine Insights into Early D&DMelanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-2028998792064373512023-03-11T17:26:35.181+01:002023-03-11T17:26:35.181+01:00Not directly. The Temples of Set and Mitra are fro...Not directly. The Temples of Set and Mitra are from the same dungeon, but they are lower sublevels.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-68837137269086166282023-03-03T01:23:39.356+01:002023-03-03T01:23:39.356+01:00Are any of Cook's the other levels connected t...Are any of Cook's the other levels connected to the sample level available?Raymondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08822838489356977527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-36160299684203204662017-04-20T08:12:10.932+02:002017-04-20T08:12:10.932+02:00Is there a reason for posting the same comment thr...Is there a reason for posting the same comment three times? I can't offer any comment but my general agreement.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-15174199626624915832017-04-20T06:03:56.720+02:002017-04-20T06:03:56.720+02:00*The Alternate Primer for Old-School Gaming*
==pr...*The Alternate Primer for Old-School Gaming*<br /><br />==predating its current meaning which tends to imply “role-assumption”<br /><br />Not really an either-or for me but both. "Role-assumption" is very useful if conversation is important in your game, it is helpful because expressing the point of view of unusual characters is fairly difficult. [I don't mean accents at all]<br /><br />==encounters should capture the group’s imagination, encourage them to take action<br /><br />That's well made. I have a tendency to have players contemplate and wonder at the environments I create without designing buttons to push and levers to pull because I don't like obvious gaming trappings. But as you say it is a means to pull them in.<br /><br />==it is best to be generous with the rules and allow characters to try actions<br /><br />Yes, I am a very sympathetic DM particularly in life and death situations. Those stage improvising comics have a rule about always accepting what the other has just said never denying it - and that is a rule designed to maintain flow.<br /><br />== a character loosing footing on a treacherous mountainside<br /><br />That's interesting. I used to interpret the saving throw against falling *failure* as sometimes meaning the character did not actually fall. You have to really because the falling damage rules don't make sense when HPs mostly represent luck. <br /><br />==in a way a magic missile or orc is no longer so to veteran players<br /><br />There is something wrong if a DM can't make an orc fascinating if you think about it even to veteran players. The responsibility is on the DM to express himself with invention but also on the player not to react with 'o, he means an orc. I know the stats for that'. Players have to buy into the environment and out of the 'game'.Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11165997449776226774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-87851739761713715862017-04-05T23:49:30.561+02:002017-04-05T23:49:30.561+02:00*The Alternate Primer for Old-School Gaming*
==pr...*The Alternate Primer for Old-School Gaming*<br /><br />==predating its current meaning which tends to imply “role-assumption”<br /><br />Not really an either-or for me but both. "Role-assumption" is very useful if conversation is important in your game, it is helpful because expressing the point of view of unusual characters is fairly difficult. [I don't mean accents at all]<br /><br />==encounters should capture the group’s imagination, encourage them to take action<br /><br />That's well made. I have a tendency to have players contemplate and wonder at the environments I create without designing buttons to push and levers to pull because I don't like obvious gaming trappings. But as you say it is a means to pull them in.<br /><br />==it is best to be generous with the rules and allow characters to try actions<br /><br />Yes, I am a very sympathetic DM particularly in life and death situations. Those stage improvising comics have a rule about always accepting what the other has just said never denying it - and that is a rule designed to maintain flow.<br /><br />== a character loosing footing on a treacherous mountainside<br /><br />That's interesting. I used to interpret the saving throw against falling *failure* as sometimes meaning the character did not actually fall. You have to really because the falling damage rules don't make sense when HPs mostly represent luck. <br /><br />==in a way a magic missile or orc is no longer so to veteran players<br /><br />There is something wrong if a DM can't make an orc fascinating if you think about it even to veteran players. The responsibility is on the DM to express himself with invention but also on the player not to react with 'o, he means an orc. I know the stats for that'. Players have to buy into the environment and out of the 'game'.Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11165997449776226774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-56963130245273820112017-04-02T11:05:41.860+02:002017-04-02T11:05:41.860+02:00Damn.Damn.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-1856608429875600072017-04-02T10:47:08.245+02:002017-04-02T10:47:08.245+02:00It would be great to recover and preserve/publish ...It would be great to recover and preserve/publish some of these treasures while they are still out there. (The fate of Don Turnbull's Greenlands is a big cautionary note.) <b>Underport: Abyssal Descent</b>, <b>Rappan Athuk</b> or what we have seen of Stefan Poag's <b>Mines of Khunmar</b> show how different these personal projects tend to be.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-36795852861489912122017-04-01T23:52:04.190+02:002017-04-01T23:52:04.190+02:00FafhrdFafhrdKenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11165997449776226774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-26780013301021671552017-04-01T23:49:41.891+02:002017-04-01T23:49:41.891+02:00*The Alternate Primer for Old-School Gaming*
==pr...*The Alternate Primer for Old-School Gaming*<br /><br />==predating its current meaning which tends to imply “role-assumption”<br /><br />Not really an either-or for me but both. "Role-assumption" is very useful if conversation is important in your game, it is helpful because expressing the point of view of unusual characters is fairly difficult. [I don't mean accents at all]<br /><br />==encounters should capture the group’s imagination, encourage them to take action<br /><br />That's well made. I have a tendency to have players contemplate and wonder at the environments I create without designing buttons to push and levers to pull because I don't like obvious gaming trappings. But as you say it is a means to pull them in.<br /><br />==it is best to be generous with the rules and allow characters to try actions<br /><br />Yes, I am a very sympathetic DM particularly in life and death situations. Those stage improvising comics have a rule about always accepting what the other has just said never denying it - and that is a rule designed to maintain flow.<br /><br />== a character loosing footing on a treacherous mountainside<br /><br />That's interesting. I used to interpret the saving throw against falling *failure* as sometimes meaning the character did not actually fall. You have to really because the falling damage rules don't make sense when HPs mostly represent luck. <br /><br />==in a way a magic missile or orc is no longer so to veteran players<br /><br />There is something wrong if a DM can't make an orc fascinating if you think about it even to veteran players. The responsibility is on the DM to express himself with invention but also on the player not to react with 'o, he means an orc. I know the stats for that'. Players have to buy into the environment and out of the 'game'.Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11165997449776226774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-13128576743271571142017-04-01T18:14:50.965+02:002017-04-01T18:14:50.965+02:00Melan that was fascinating. Thanks so much for wr...Melan that was fascinating. Thanks so much for writing that up. Paul Cooks work sounded particularly great and it makes me wonder if he is still out there somewhere and might have more to share.DHBoggshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02170439175265397893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-75917543350528746342017-03-30T13:53:45.309+02:002017-03-30T13:53:45.309+02:00Edit: ""Aragorn" and "Merlin&q...Edit: ""Aragorn" and "Merlin"", not ""Ffahrd" and "Merlin""Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-16456812809812231282017-03-30T13:51:46.406+02:002017-03-30T13:51:46.406+02:00WRT The Tyranny of Fun posts, the only place they ...WRT <b>The Tyranny of Fun</b> posts, the only place they exist now is in copies (mostly made by people who hated the idea). I got so weary of the crap I got for them, and the way this hounded my online reputation, that I went back and deleted them. It was a bad idea because it didn't stop anyone from attacking me (an important lesson - never bargain with idiots), while I went back on an idea I that's probably even more relevant now than ten years ago, but there you have it. It is gone.<br /><br />And of course, <i>nobody ever</i> showed even a hint of curiosity about <b>The Alternate Primer for Old-School Gaming</b>, which was deliberately worded in a lets-be-nice-and-non-confrontational manner. That's another important lesson! :)Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-18058814524338443082017-03-30T13:43:13.199+02:002017-03-30T13:43:13.199+02:00These relics (and that's what they are) are no...These relics (and that's what they are) are not one-page dungeons in the modern sense. They are obviously extracted pieces of a greater whole, offered as examples of what D&D can do. The main problem I see with one-page dungeons is their self-limiting nature. These pieces aren't self-limiting, but expansive. The intro level has obvious departure points hinting at a complex dungeon behind them (you can travel to four different levels from such a small place). The competing temples are sub-levels hidden in the fabric of the larger dungeon, implying the existence of an expansive, complex labyrinth where they must be found. These notions point <i>outwards</i>, beyond the scope and confines of the sparse writing. They invite you to think big. Thus, they are the exact opposite of the one-page dungeon - they are samples of large, complex campaign environments.<br /><br />Now the writing of the encounters, that's too little for me. I want more description and slightly more internal consistency (without turning the dungeon into a bland ecology experiment). They are examples of <i>the-dungeon-as-puzzle</i> idea of early OD&D (arguably challenged for the first time by Arneson's <b>Temple of the Frog</b>, then Judges Guild's <b>City State</b>). I appreciate it, see the appeal of it, find a lot that is admirable and inspiring in it - but do not practice it in this form.<br /><br />However, the way it encourages you to grow your campaign beyond that entrance level - and take it out of the dungeon to the Empire - and let your players run wild with it until you have "Ffahrd" and "Merlin" running around the game... that's still magical.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-46607657619751143122017-03-30T11:30:20.408+02:002017-03-30T11:30:20.408+02:00Good find! In Hip Hop, the equivalent of what you ...Good find! In Hip Hop, the equivalent of what you did counts as Crate Digging, to find obscure Beats & Breaks. I like it.<br />I do not like PvP, though and the British GrimDark seems strong in these finds. Do we know more about more upbeat examples from elsewhere?<br />I am curious as to your opinion on the sparsity of these bare bones, one-page-dungeons.<br /><br />DELETED2ADD:<br />Also: I cannot find the original "Tyranny of Fun" essay anymore. I understand you got so much flak for it, you changed it? My memory is a bit hazy on that protracted flamewar, with it's mutliple incarnations. I think it is an enormously influential plea for the DIY-spirit in the 21st century, and I would argue it indeed changes some minds. So I'd like to reread the original, 2006 EN-World version but cannot seem to find it.Settembrinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10393110320011475891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6188119851730922397.post-43491888136456919212017-03-30T11:25:07.180+02:002017-03-30T11:25:07.180+02:00This comment has been removed by the author.Settembrinihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10393110320011475891noreply@blogger.com