Thread: Questioning chirine ba kal

So the first game was kinda sorta OD&D with similar types of spells and effects.

What about Swords & Glory and Gardasiyal? Did Barker ever move away from D&D spells to more Book of Ebon Bindings style heavily setting-flavored magic? Did he favor things like variable spell effects, criticals or fumbles, the kind of stuff you might see in DCC?

Originally Posted by Neshm hiKumala

That'd be amazing!

We shall try to please...

Originally Posted by CRKrueger

So the first game was kinda sorta OD&D with similar types of spells and effects.

What about Swords & Glory and Gardasiyal? Did Barker ever move away from D&D spells to more Book of Ebon Bindings style heavily setting-flavored magic? Did he favor things like variable spell effects, criticals or fumbles, the kind of stuff you might see in DCC?

Yes; he moved back to what he'd done in "War of Wizards", and S&G's spell lists are based on that. Much more setting flavor.

Yes, as his idea of 'you roll, I'll roll' allowed for that kind of thing. S&G may also have a table for it - it does for everything else.

(What is 'DCC', if you don't mind? I am not up on modern gaming terms.)

Originally Posted by Greentongue

Wasn't that the original idea of D&D? KILL THINGS AND TAKE THEIR STUFF or did I miss something?
I recall there was a transition from battles to looting.
That "social interaction" stuff was just while you looked for new places to loot.
=

I was going to let Gronan answer that...then I saw he had. Though his answer might have been more informative.

No, it wasn't the idea, AFAICT.

Originally Posted by Greentongue

I was not trying to imply that there was no ROLE playing in OD&D.
I was saying that the Rules As Written encouraged a certain type of play that focused on the things that gave experience over things that didn't.
I suppose it could be lumped under what is called Min-Maxing but "abusing the rules" and "playing by the rules" are not exactly the same.
=

And my point was that "playing only with those things that the rules cover" is not forbidden, not in bad taste - but to me, it would result in campaigns that are boring...
Besides, why would you choose to focus on XP only? OD&D rules had devoted enough space on the accumulation of retainers and hirelings, the ways to preserve their loyalty, and so on and so forth. Why ignore those parts of it, and focus on XP instead?

(Of course, if any part of the rules demands more focus, it should totally be the random harlots table and not boring stuff like XP-counting).

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

Yes; he moved back to what he'd done in "War of Wizards", and S&G's spell lists are based on that. Much more setting flavor.

Yes, as his idea of 'you roll, I'll roll' allowed for that kind of thing. S&G may also have a table for it - it does for everything else.

(What is 'DCC', if you don't mind? I am not up on modern gaming terms.)

DCC is an OSR game. I actually told Shemek last night that I consider it the best option for Tekumel among all OSR products. Consider the following features:
Warriors who can do Might Deeds of Arms when they roll good enough (stuff like adding trips, disarms and the likes to your attack).
Spells-heavy magic system with different levels of effect for the spells, sometimes exceeding what you had in mind.
The ability to gain outwordly "Patrons", often gods or demons (DCC doesn't really differentiate between the two). Those might well want things from you, and impose you a geas.
The ability to sacrifice your own vitality and/or blood to "power up" a spell.
The chance the contact with outwardly energies might warp you in body and/or mind.
Wizards opposing their arcane might in spell duels which might end up with one or both of them dead.

Sounds like what Tekumel should be, doesn't it?

Originally Posted by chirine ba kal

(What is 'DCC', if you don't mind? I am not up on modern gaming terms.)

Dungeon Crawl Classics, an OSR game by Goodman Games. As Asen mentioned, while it includes some newer D&D aspects, it is very old school in certain respects, like alignment being Law/Chaos, limited classes, race as class for demihumans, etc...

Originally Posted by AsenRG

I consider it the best option for Tekumel among all OSR products. Consider the following features:
Warriors who can do Might Deeds of Arms when they roll good enough (stuff like adding trips, disarms and the likes to your attack).
Spells-heavy magic system with different levels of effect for the spells, sometimes exceeding what you had in mind.
The ability to gain outwordly "Patrons", often gods or demons (DCC doesn't really differentiate between the two). Those might well want things from you, and impose you a geas.
The ability to sacrifice your own vitality and/or blood to "power up" a spell.
The chance the contact with outwardly energies might warp you in body and/or mind.
Wizards opposing their arcane might in spell duels which might end up with one or both of them dead.

Sounds like what Tekumel should be, doesn't it?

I know, right? After reading Man of Gold and learning more about the cosmology of the "gods", DCC was the first thing that popped into my head. I think you could make a pretty good show of it with Mythras/RQ6 as well.

Originally Posted by CRKrueger

Dungeon Crawl Classics, an OSR game by Goodman Games. As Asen mentioned, while it includes some newer D&D aspects, it is very old school in certain respects, like alignment being Law/Chaos, limited classes, race as class for demihumans, etc...

I know, right? After reading Man of Gold and learning more about the cosmology of the "gods", DCC was the first thing that popped into my head. I think you could make a pretty good show of it with Mythras/RQ6 as well.

Agreed on both accounts, though I'd probably just use B�thorm and adapt the special effects/Deed die to it, rather than adapt all the spells to DCC or Mythras.

Originally Posted by Neshm hiKumala

Question time, on clan meeting protocol.

Say a lower clan asks a medium clan for help resolving or arbitrating an issue. The only available medium clan members who could help out have only recently gotten their official adult names. These young-lings are sent to meet the lower clan elder to see what the matter is and figure out how to arbitrate or solve the issue.

At that meeting, who sits on the highest dais/pile of mats? The lower clan elder, or the young members of the medium clan?

Depends on which clan house they meet in. If the lower, then the higher clan would be seated a little bit higher then the lower to show them all due respect as both honored guests and for helping. if at the higher, the lower clan elders would have much better quality of seating then the higher youngsters to show them all due respect as elders and friends; the higher clan would still have very slightly higher seating, to show their status, but it would be noble of the higher clan to be as polite as possible.

And the youngsters would have it hammered into them by their elders to be very polite and cordial; the clan's major-domo would also superintend the meeting to make sure that there were no mistakes.

I'd love to be there for this!!!