save versus yo mama

Later today I plan on writing up a short report on the key events of this week's D&D game, but first I wanted to talk just a tad about my new saving throw rules.  It all started a session or two back with Charles.  He's one of my groovy regular players and a very smart dude.  Charles started out with WotC's 3rd edition D&D and one of the trickier things for him to grok in my campaigns has been the saving throw system.  The old saves just made no sense to him.  So a few weeks back he asked me to explain the thinking behind the original Poison/Dragon Breath/Whatever/Whatever system.

And I couldn't do it.  I came up completely blank.  Ever since I've been brooding over this situation.  I feel certain that a logical justification for the Gygaxian saving throw can be constructed and almost assuredly has.  But a system that can be justified and one that actually makes sense are not the same things. Finally I came to the conclusion that for me the saving throw chart was a clunky matrix that didn't help as much as it should.  Every time I use it play is slowed down and someone has to be reminded whether rolling high is good or bad and someone then asks whether its roll above the target number or equal to and higher.

So it's time for me to retire the saving throw chart and replace it with some more sleek and modern.  On Wednesday I pitched two options to the group.  One was the 3.x system of bonuses for saves based upon the three categories Fortitude, Reflexes and Will.  The other was an adaptation of the Swords & Wizardry one-save-fits-all system. They opted for the latter.

So here's my new house rule for saves.

All saves are d20 roll, with a 20 or more needed to save.


Everyone adds to their roll a base +4.
You also add your level.
Magic-Users get +2 versus anything magical.
Fighters get +2 versus anything where sheer physical toughness is a factor.
Thieves get +2 versus anything that can be dodged.
Changelings get a flat +1 bonus to all saves.

So a third level magic-user could record his saves as "+7 save/+9 versus magic".  Or a ninth level changeling as simply "save +14".

Carl Sagan explains everything (NSFW?)

so here's some cool stuff

I was over at eBay for the first time in forever, slouching through the roleplaying section.  As usual I was bitching to myself about the sheer volume of D&D plastic figures clogging up the pages.  But that's when I noticed something.  I haven't been following WotC's minis and since I last looked they have produced some figures that might be of use to the non-dungeonpunk crowd.  Here are some of them.

I love giant mushrooms in dungeons and fairy forests.  They're not hard to fake on the tabletop (hint: champaign corks) and you can often find useable models at craft or garden stores, but I like the fact that WotC is branching out here beyond dudes what will hit you.

One of the great mysteries of the universe is that a treasure chest didn't appear on day one of the line.  Maybe because no one thought to hardwire "get the treasure" into the DDM rules?  Perhaps a dungeon door is also available and I haven't found it yet.  That would be sweet.

A dead guy and a pig farmer.  I may have to get that pig farmer even though I stopped using minis years ago.

Just a regular guy with a crossbow.  Perfect for henchweenies.

Dudes with light sources!  Though I'm not sure anyone with an actual flaming torch carries it as close to their face as the pointing guy.

Hey, some guys dealing with encumbrance!  Awesome!  Who trusted the goblin with the treasure, though?  The guy with the bag and the lantern man above should team up.  They look like they know what they're doing.

Hey, it's my old friend Fire Buddy!  He's all grown up now!

Totally serious questions: Does 4e have good rules for mounted combat?  If so, are they backwards compatible (i.e. worth ripping off)?

Siege equipment!  Kick ass!

This is labeled a "Maug" but my first reaction to spotting this guy was "Holy crap!  It's that door-busting wrecker-robot that Russ drew for White Dwarf!"

Incidentally, if you want to track down any of these minis the file name for the pic should list both the figure name and the specific release it comes from.

A final question for folks who actually follow the D&D miniatures line: Have they come out with a wizard with a pointy hat yet?  Preferably with a long white or grey beard, but I'm open to other facial hair options.

a legitimate journalistic outlet?

So it looks like I have been cleared for a press pass for the next GenCon Indy. Which is pretty funny, given the normal levity to gravity ratio around here. My plan is to visit for one day (probably Saturday) and try to come up with a little report for all the folks who wish they could go but can't. I'll bring this up again as we get closer to the con, but I just wanted to put this idea in everyone's head: if there's something you specifically want me to try to get info about let me know in a comment here or via email (jrients, gmail, etc, etc.).  Right now I don't have a plan beyond hitting up the OSR Group booth and seeing if Goodman Games has mock-ups of the DCCrpg.

I will try to suppress the urge to wear a fedora with a little card in the band labeled "PRESS" and refer to myself as Scoops Rients.

truly. in those days there were giants in the Earth

This comic book ad for the fall 1983 NBC Saturday morning line-up comes courtesy Gameblog reader Jesse Moore.  Thanks for sharing, Jesse!

search for hidden treasure

So old school blogger Cyclopeatron has gotten into this groove where every month he posts lists of the most-followed and fastest-growing OSR bloggers.  His data is limited to blogger.com accounts, but it's still interesting info.  You can see his March numbers here and here.  I'll straight up admit that I like to check his numbers to see if I have a chance of catching up with Jamie Mal or Zak.  Grognardia really ought to get some sort of shiny award for being number one on the list without pictures of naked ladies, but DnD With Porn Stars clearly offers an amazing amount of high quality non-naked-lady content as well.

Anyhoo, I just wanted to point out something that we should all be doing with Cyclopeatron's posts.  Every blogger started out with zero regular readers, therefore being on the bottom of Cyclopeatron's lists doesn't necessarily have anything to do with quality.  So do yourself a favor and poke around the bottom quarter or so of the entries.  If you see something you like, let the writer know.  And if you have a blog of your own, share a link.  If the stuff there looks good but there haven't been any updates in a while, leave a comment (or send an email if an addy is handy on the blog) saying something like "Just found you blog and I like it.  Please post some more!"  The distributed metamind of the OSR will only improve by these efforts.  And you just may be the person who discovers the next great talent in the scene.

two B&B's worth a look

Here are a couple of fairly recent small D&D variants you should check out.

Albert Rakowski's 8-page Bandits & Basilisks is a challenge offered to tinkering DMs everywhere.  This text double dog dares you to drop all the stock D&D spells, magic items and monsters (except for the titular entities, the book's sample critters).  B&B provides just about the barest framework possible for D&D.  Don't skip the intriguing Arcane Lore rules or the smartly streamlined Treasure Chart.

At a more substantial 58 pages, Christopher Cale's Backswords & Bucklers provides a lot of interesting material for Elizabethan D&D with just a hint of Cthulhoid menace.  If you like the idea of Blackadder II and Kit Marlowe getting drunk and fighting cultists and Spaniards in the London sprawl then check this baby out.  Don't skip over the way each class earns XP in a different way.  I'm seriously considering making use of the B&B rules for running out of hit points (called Downright Blows in the text).  A list of further expansions to these rules is promised at the end and I sincerely hope we see them soon.