Wrath of the Immortals - ability scores

I thought I was being original when I speculated what stats in original D&D would look like if expanded up to 30. Little did I know Aaron Allston beat me to the punch in the Wrath of the Immortals set.

This is one expansion to basic D&D that I missed out on, and only recently won on eBay. Reading through the set I found the first couple of chapters booooring. But with the 4th chapter "The Immortal Character Class" it suddenly became very interesting. Then I saw this handy little chart:

Not only did Mr. Allston beat me to the punch, but he took it all the way to a hundred. Wowzers! We would have so geeked out over this book in junior high, when we were using the Deities and Demigods as our high level monster book.

I've long since stopped enjoying power for power's sake in RPG's, and currently find nothing more fun than those first few levels when your scratching around for a +1 sword scared of your own shadow. (unless your playing 4th edition, which pretty much starts you where Wrath of the Immortals ends. That is hyperbole, of course, but only a little.) However, Wrath of the Immortals struck me as a really good primer for adapting D&D rules into a superhero game! It wouldn't take much, detail out a few more powers and you could stat out Superman and Wolverine with this book.

I can't imagine ever playing this as is, but as a superhero game the possibilities intrigue me.

Note: apparently this table is reprinted from the Immortals boxed set of 1986

Monastery Plan View

Getting this blog back on track, let's continue to develop the Monastery Ruins. We've already talked a bit about putting the original map in isometric, and thinking about the depth of levels (much more to develop on that later), so lets move to what the ruins looked like when they were pristine.

This will help us develop some back story, and help to put some context to the adventure site.

I firmly believe in site-based adventures, and instead of rail-roading the players through a preconceived story, I prefer little "story nuggets": NPC's with interesting back stories and motives, places with interesting history to them that the players can discovery. Put enough cool stuff for the players to find - and the story will make itself as they play through the adventure.

The first original map we need to make is the monastery itself. This is extrapolated from the concept sketches. A key to an interesting adventure site is some variety and a focal point. The focal point is obviously the monastery itself. For variety we have a river, a bridge, and some tree groves. This will provide enough features we can populate with monsters, traps, and treasures, all with a focal point to lure the players to.

I haven't developed a key yet, I prefer to rough in some adventure ideas first, then think about placement. That will come later. For now we have a solid base to start deconstructing the ruins from.

I have this idea of perhaps having a prologue to the adventure, where players play different characters in an earlier time when the monastery was still new and vital. The actions they take then will affect the future - the players will see the results when they play the rest of the adventure later. But, it's only an idea for now I have to think about it more.

Legendary Dungeoneer typo fix

It was recently brought to my attention that there are typos in Legendary Dungeoneer: Wrath of the Serpent Goddess that I said I'd fix. Sorry, this is so tardy, but better late than never!

What's in a name?

I love 4th edition, but it also leaves me a little unsettled.

What I admire about it is how Wizards has put together an impressive product line. The graphic design is the best D&D has seen - you can read that logo from across the room (unlike the previous edition books). The art is outstanding! The shelf of products is impressive. From the hard cover books, the dungeon tiles, module packs, player cards, to the miniatures. It all comes across as well thought out and designed.

I can also recognize how well designed the game is. As a game designer myself, I know how hard it is to design a new game.

And that's why it leaves me unsettled. It's not really D&D anymore, it's a new game.

Yet I continue to purchase the books, read them enthusiastically, and dream about the adventures I could be having. We've only played a few sessions, and those sessions have focused on combat.

More recently we've been playing Swords & Wizardry, though it is quickly becoming something other than S&W as we've been house ruling the heck out of it. Yet as much as I love Swords & Wizardry, there is no denying the power of the Dungeons & Dragons logo on a book. It's very similar to when you go to the store, you can buy generic cheaper, and it's probably just as good, but branding has a powerful appeal.

We could just play an older edition of D&D, but there is something vital about a game that is alive with supplements continuing to come out.

And this is why I feel unsettled. I want to play D&D, but I feel like D&D only exists in the imaginations of the fans and in dusty old out-of-print books.

S&W character sheet

Because the world can always use another character sheet. I tried to keep it simple and straight forward, which is what I find so charming about Swords & Wizardry. You can always add endless details to these things.

This is just a jpeg, I'll try to get a PDF version available for download soon. Maybe after getting some feedback.

Update: uploaded the PDF to a file sharing service