Damn You MCDM Productions!

I'm a huge fan of MCDM Productions . Matt Colville and later on the rest of his team have done some pretty incredible work the last few years with Strongholds & Followers and now Kingdoms & Warfare. A lot of which I've incorporated into my game and continue to do so.

What I wanted to talk about real quick today though is their latest release, their test run at a monthly magazine which they've called Arcadia. Beautiful artwork, eye catching layouts and content that's actionable in your game of 5th edition D&D or as some inspiration to convert to whatever you play, this first pass at it is a pretty stellar success as far as I'm concerned.

With that in mind, I'm rather upset with the magazine. I'm currently running a group through Rime of the Frost Maiden and through a series of choices and no small amount of luck the players ended up recovering a Shield Guardian that they now control and it has already proven to be a very powerful weapon against the Duergar of Icewind Dale. How they went about it was pretty cool and everyone had a good time.

The timing of Arcadia's release a week after that happened has upset me because one of the Adventures in the magazine is a far cooler way for a group to earn themselves a Shield Guardian than what I managed to scrape together out of what was in WOTC's module. It could have been very relevant and actionable content for my game but now it's too late and I've burned the "earn a Shield Guardian" card for this group meaning I won't get to use it any time soon.

Damn you MCDM for your great but ill timed content release!

Inspiration For Advancement

At the end of my last post I mentioned either touching on some things that have inspired me lately, or going over some of those new racial abilities I’d worked out. I figured why not kill two birds with one stone (vultures or something, not awesome snowboarding crows or anything like that) and talk about the Bloodline mechanics I’ve been developing for Humans in my setting.

The Highlander meets Naruto meets the Birthright campaign setting. That’s about as succinct an explanation as I could possibly give and it may sound strange but after I elaborate it will all make sense.

Let’s go through this one reference at a time and for the sake of clarity it’ll be in the reverse order that I mentioned.

The Birthright campaign setting came out in the 90s so it was the first setting I became familiar with that wasn’t just generic Fantasyland. The bloodlines inherited from Gods, small and large kingdoms fighting over territory and resources to expand and empower their Domains and make use of their Regency, and leading armies into battle in mass combat has always held a special place in my heart. This is where the idea started as another major component to my new campaign setting is setting up threads and having mechanics in place to support Domain level play should the players choose to engage in it.

The Bloodlines in Birthright are for any of the playable races, but I’ve decided to use them for just Humans in my setting which is the first major change. The ideas behind generating your starting Bloodline score, increasing/decreasing it and the advancement rate are largely the same in concept, if not in exact math.

The next major change comes in the abilities themselves. In the Birthright setting, the Bloodline abilities were essentially the birth of what are now Feats. Some of them very minor things like Alert, some a little crazier like Regeneration. Each of these was tied to a number of heritages so not every ability was available to every hereditary line and they were fairly randomly distributed. I decided to have each Ability have a minor, major and great form as a self contained thematic set that grows in power over time.

As an example if your Bloodline has the Inner Storm ability, in its Minor form you can cast Thunderwave 3 times per short rest. If/when it improves to Major you gain the ability to cast Lightning Bolt 3 times per long rest and if Inner Storm reaches Great, 2 casts of Chain Lightning per long rest are added. These spells would have no material components, cost no spell slots and use standard save DC calculation using your chosen class’ prime stat.

Each family line can have up to 3 of these Abilities laying dormant or activated depending on their Bloodline Ability score. The noble family (or Ninja Clan) Kastrus for example may have Inner Storm, Regeneration and Unbreakable Will. All Blooded Scions of this family line would have these 3 Abilities to potentially be unlocked. A Player Character would likely just roll for which Abilities they have as they progress in power, unless their character's background has them being from a documented family line.

A character's Bloodline Ability score is determined at creation and with some insane luck can actually start at a reasonable level, though it's far more likely you'll have a low score or none at all. That's where Highlander comes in. Blooded Scions who defeat one another in combat can steal a portion of the loser's power, even more if they are killed, and even more if in a specific way known to few. Rumors float through dark places that those without a Bloodline at all can claim the power of one for their own, though the method is all but unknown.

The benefits of Regency, a mystic connection with territory you control increase as your Bloodline score does. Couple that with having to defeat Blooded Scions who are probably landed nobles to increase your sphere of influence thus increasing your Bloodline score, much of human progression is driven by the desire to conquer.

The hope is that the mechanical benefits provided by chasing after increases to your Bloodline score will fuel narrative play as players will find themselves embroiled in the political landscape of the campaign world as they take and hold territory, defeat and absorb the power of their rivals all while still dealing with life as an adventurer.

Hopefully this information mostly made sense. Eventually the document I've got all this information stored in will get cleaned up and I'll be putting out a Player's Guide to my setting with all of the crunch to go with the fluffy explanations.

Ambition and Reward

The third point in my list of thoughts on what makes for great moments while playing an RPG has to do with ambition and reward. Any sentient being that straps on a battle axe or opens a spell book to go off on adventures probably has a good reason for doing so, or else they'd just stay on the farm.

When I mention ambition, I don't necessarily mean a very specific defined goal, although that can be wonderful on occasion. What I mean is characters have to want to do things. To actively seek out adventure and its rewards in order to fulfill some inner need to advance in power and wealth.

At first they may just be chasing power and wealth for its own sake, but hopefully something in your world will draw a character in and they will want to put their riches, magic items and alliances they've formed to the test to achieve something of note. Originally the Fighter was just a man trying to earn a living, but now he's found allies, companions and possibly even love in this region he's fought his way across. Now threatened by outside invaders, he gathers the allies he's made, straps on his +5 Greatsword of Rending and rides out to make these invaders regret ever reading his home's name on a map.

Players may write short or long term goals into their backstory. This can be great or awful. A dramatic short term goal like "my younger sister was captured by an evil cult" could be a great motivator for a young warrior to leave their home and take up arms. Something to consider however is that a roleplaying game isn't a 90 minute action flick or a novel starring this character. 

A character that's going to be a part of an ongoing campaign and not their own solo comic book or novella run needs to be able to operate with others and understand that not every "chapter" is going to be about their specific goal. But if a character can understand that progress of any kind, be that the accumulation of gold or experience or magic items ultimately only helps further their own purposes in the end then you've got a winner on your hands.

The main point here though is that no matter what a character may be trying to ultimately achieve, they need to be rewarded properly for taking steps towards it.

This brings me around to something I feel is missing from D&D 5e which is multiple paths of progression.

Most of the power a character has in 5e comes purely from decisions that a player makes when their character is first created, the subclass they pick, and if they choose to take feats instead of ability score increases. You'll notice none of these things really have much to do with what a character actually goes through on their adventures, or experiences in the game world.

This becomes even more apparent if your players are even slightly into the concept of min/maxing where certain feat choices at specific levels are the blindingly obvious optimal path for character power. A Paladin who takes the Oath of the Ancients and plays through Rime of the Frost Maiden comes out the other end essentially the same as a Paladin with the same Oath who played through Descent into Avernus.

To that end I've begun working on several new progression systems for my game, as well as alterations of existing ones to allow characters to have their power be tied more to things they've earned through gameplay rather than boxes they've ticked on a sheet.

Powerful racial abilities that progress through gameplay, far more flexible and impactful magic items, and character feats and build customization earned through adventuring will all hopefully allow for far more unique characters, draw my players into being invested into the characters they make as part of my world, and ultimately eliminate any player ever again saying "why would my character go on this adventure?"

Next time I'll either dive into some specific examples of these new racial abilities, or I may do a roundup/review of some materials that have inspired me lately.

Torches & Rations

The first thing I wanted to dive into here is sort of encompassed by the name of this blog, Torches and Rations.  In other words, the resources an adventurer needs to go out and do their job. The list is obviously longer than these two things but calling the blog Torches and Rations and Water and Iron Spikes and Horse Feed and 10 Foot Poles seemed rather silly and I've been told brevity is the soul of wit.

I recently read a great post by Rick Stump on his Don't Split the Party blog from April of last year that gives a very good cause and effect explanation of what I'm trying to accomplish with what I'm about to explain.

One of the things that 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons has done to the game, is made the actual effort of adventuring and exploring almost non-existent. Many low level or even cantrip spells, as well as species and background specific abilities drastically reduce or eliminate the need to plan ahead and ready the group for an adventuring expedition.

I wished to do away with this and as it turns out it didn't require as much work as you may think. A bit of shuffling and a couple of spells removed from the PHB spell list and suddenly "Forget the Dragon! How are we going to avoid starvation on the long distance trek to and from the Lonely Mountain?" is back on the table.

The basic idea here is to eliminate food, water and light sources that are either free or have become far too cheap as editions have crept ever onward. Let's look at which ones I've altered one at a time, beginning with the meat of the changes, cantrips.

Cantrips

I should preface this section by saying I'm not entirely sold on the concept of cantrips continuing to exist to begin with, but that's a battle I'll fight with my players another time (I have some good reasons but I'll spring those on you once I've picked out the particular hill I want to die on).

Dancing Lights

The fancy man's Light cantrip, this spell is useful for it's ability to daisy chain the light sources to illuminate a larger, more complex area at a greater range but sacrificing that oh so important Concentration to do so. I'm a fan of its functionality, but being able to do it without an associated cost is a no go. This spell moves to 1st level with its Concentration duration increasing to 10 minutes to compensate.

Light

This spell by itself almost completely eliminates the need to worry about light of any sort at any time, ever. Being on the spell list for almost every caster means somebody in the group is going to have it and ruin what we're trying to accomplish. This spell moves to 1st level with its duration increasing to 2 hours to compensate. This way it's costing you a spell slot but lasts longer than a torch and doesn't weigh anything.

Produce Flame

I was tempted to just say this spell doesn't produce light anymore, but without that aspect it's basically a terrible Firebolt and already sucked to begin with. Druids shouldn't be setting stuff on fire anyway. Removed this spell from the list.

Spare the Dying

This spell instantly stabilizing a fallen person makes 5e's already really soft death mechanic downright plush. It also has the side effect of making the anyone who decided to pick up proficiency in Medicine and a Healer's Kit feel like they wasted their character options. This spell moves to 1st level.

Mending

Whoever decided the spell levels for 5e must not have thought about this one for very long. The ability to undo any damage done to any physical object (bearing in mind you can cast this spell for free any number of times you wish) is crazy good and could eliminate entire adventure paths with a single casting. Such power should not be a Cantrip. This spell moves to 2nd level.

Leveled Spells

Only a few changes here, most of the resource management elimination was crammed into cantrips and very low level spells. Even if I feel some low level spells are fairly powerful, them costing any resource at all means players will have to weigh options which is the whole point of this.

Create or Destroy Water

While I'm slightly saddened by the loss of the destroy half, being able to create drinkable water in massive quantities as a 1st level spell is too powerful. The way this could stretch out to the ecology of a world is too widespread to go into here but suffice to say it's better to just get rid of it unless that's something you're going for. Remove this spell from the list.

Goodberry

I don't even feel like I have to justify this one. Remove this spell from the list.

Create Food and Water

Being a 3rd level spell means a wizard is giving up a cast of their beloved Fireball to feed and water the party. I'm almost okay with that, but 3rd level spells come at 5th character level which I think is still a point at which I like my group to have to deal with the day to day struggles of being an adventurer for just a little while longer before they graduate away from such things. I've moved this spell to 5th level to be in line with older editions of the game, but 4th would probably be okay too. It also gains the ability to create more (15 people or 5 mounts worth) per spell level above 5th.

Heroes' Feast

This spell gets moved up mostly as a consequence of Create Food and Water migrating. But also because the other benefits it provides are incredibly powerful. A potential 130 temporary HP spread across the group and their minions, as well as WIS saves at advantage is fairly potent stuff. This spell moves to 8th level.

That's it. I think with the changes to this small handful of spells will drastically change how much players are forced to think about they plan and supply for their adventuring expeditions, at least in terms of supplies.

There's one other spell that needs looking at, but that's going to involve its own post because the way Identify as well the identification and attunement of magic items in general works in 5th edition is terrible and I've hated it since Day 1.

Oh yeah! I almost forgot the the other parts I mentioned at the beginning of this so I'll cover them real quick. I think 5e's Backgrounds are pretty lame to begin with and the passive abilities they provide are wildly imbalanced so just ignore any of those that provide free resources to the player.  Also Elves have to sleep. Having a watch rotation is important as part of how random encounters lend danger to dungeon diving (my thoughts on which I'll get into at a later date) and Legolas being up all night staring into space looking for bad guys ruins that.

Don't forget that flint and tinder to light all those torches you're going to have to carry now!

The Starting Point

Over the years I've played and enjoyed a lot of RPGs, but like most people I've sort of spent my hobby life just going along with whatever is current and supported. When AD&D gave way to 3e I was all aboard that train right up to the current situation where 5th Edition has become the primary ruleset I've used the last few years. While staying current has generally been what I've done, I have also always had a great deal of love for the earlier editions of the game and some elements of them have bled through into the specific rules I make at my table.

In the last 12-16 months I've really started to miss some very specific elements of the older versions of the game that I believe make it a much more rewarding experience. Enter the OSR. Within a short period of time looking into old rulesets and modules I stumbled across this wonderful movement in the RPG scene that has breathed an incredible amount of fresh life into the hobby for me. I've been trying to drown myself in every drop of content coming out of it since.

What this has lead to is me deciding to stop pussyfooting around with trying to sneak in a bit of old school goodness into my game from time to time, and just start shoving it down people's throats. However, rather than completely abandon the modern version of the rules that my players are used to, I've decided to take on the role of Dr. Frankenstein and try to monster mash together the best parts of the old, and the best parts of the new into an unholy abomination of a ruleset that I can call my own.

Ultimately this begins with identifying the elements present in each era that I feel are core to enjoying the pen and paper RPG experience and then trying to stitch them together in a way that doesn't feel like crap to play. My list isn't complete but I believe I've nailed down a few key elements so far that lead to great experiences and memorable moments at the table:

1. Fantasy worlds are wonderful places filled with horrifying things and sane people should just stay home. If someone chooses not to do the sane thing, they should understand the risks involved and probably prepare for it as best they can. If adventuring were easy, everyone would do it.
2. The world the player characters inhabit is real. At least from their perspective. The world and the other people in it should react to their presence, but also continue going about business even if they're not around. There should be reactions and consequences for things the players do, but they don't necessarily have to be immediate or even obvious.
3. Any person crazy enough to strap on a sword or learn to fling fire with their mind probably has reasons for doing so. Adventurers should be full of ambition and they should be free to pursue those ambitions, for good or for ill. They should be rewarded for doing so should they succeed.
4. Hacking the heads off things shouldn't be best way to handle every situation. Sentient beings and even wild beasts tend to err on on the side of not getting a sword to the guts. Supernatural beings, ancient dragons and orcs with great big bulging muscles should give rational people pause and make them consider alternative approaches. If weapons are drawn it means negotiations have broken down, not eye contact was made.

I'm probably leaving a couple things out that are obvious in my head but hard to put into words at the moment, but we'll add to the list as we go.

A man more sane than myself would probably just go online, find some suggestions and attempt to locate a ruleset that best fits his needs, there being plenty of them out there either decades or days old. But I don't consider myself particularly sane (I'd be one of the ones learning to fling fire with my mind), so I'm going down this path instead. Plus I actually like some of the ideas in modern D&D and it's what my players are used to so better the devil you know right?

Introduction

Hello, my name is Matthew and I am what is colloquially known as a "huge nerd".  I'll spare anyone who bothers to read this the specifics of a youth spent diving through fantasy and sci-fi novels, you've all heard that story a thousand times. I'll also spare you the tales of the eventual forays into tabletop wargaming and roleplaying games and swiftly arrive at the point. These things have and continue to shape my life and fuel my creative passions which has now lead me to starting this blogging thing, which I decided upon for a few reasons.

The first reason being that writing things out and sharing them with people tends to be how I work through problems. My friends as well as the players in my campaigns either can't know about what I'm working on or have spent so long listening to me they can't stomach it anymore so now I begin shouting into the abyss of the Internet.

The second reason is to challenge myself. Setting goals and giving myself deadlines for posts ideally will force my fingers onto the keyboard, pumping words out for this blog as well as content for my games. The allure of idling watching streaming services is a tempting seductress, but the bane of productivity.

Thirdly, and this is where hopefully you the reader get something out of this. Sometimes I have good ideas.  Sometimes I have ideas I think are bad but other people see merit in them.  Sometimes (though rarely at least as far as I'll admit) I have ideas I think are great but are in actuality terrible and someone should probably tell me. If anybody ever bothers to read anything I write here, my hope is they will be able to take something away from it, or maybe leave me a nugget of wisdom in the comments.

Check the expiration date on your rations and light your torches. Let's go on an adventure together.