Leprosia meets Searchers of the Unkown

I've been reading up on more of the very "minimal" d20-based RPGS like Microlite20, and discovered one that's even lighter, yet still feels like OSR D and D - called Searchers of the Unknown. The whole basis for this game is that the creator (a gentleman by the name of Nicholas Dessaux) believed that the abbreviated stat blocks used to define monsters in old school games could also be used to define the heroes controlled by the players. In other words, In a typical old-school module's monster stats are listed like this: (AC6, MV9’, HD 1, hp 4, #AT1, 1d10 by halberd). The idea is that, if it’s enough for monsters, it should be enough for PCs as well.

The original game was only one page long, and the additional supplements which added races, magic, monsters, etc to the game were each also only one page long. In fact, the "expanded" version of the game, (SotU-Expanded) where the author basically compiled all of the basic supplements and arranged them into a single game is still only 30 pages long! The collection of all the supplements and revised versions of the original game (Searchers of the Unknown RPG Collection - 2012) is 68 pages. That's still shorter than most of the newer versions of D and D, Pathfinder, and a lot of the other RPG games.

Even though the Stat block is short, you can "flavor-up" your character with your own imagination, like we did waaaayyy back before DnD started adding "skills" and "feats" to their rules system, making a character sheet at least two pages long, with all kinds of unnecessary details that just add time and boredom to the game. 

Simpler is better, in my not very humble opinion. Melee/Wizard - The Fantasy Trip started out as a similar simple game - only two or three character stats, which then bloated itself into Advanced Melee, Advanced Wizard, and Into the Labyrinth, which actually was the first RPG to take the useless step into adding "skills" to a character, and making the process way too long.  Then Steve Jackson abandoned that system to create GURPS, an even way more bloated rules system that requires a STAT rating for just-about-anything-you-can-possibly-do-including-blowing-your-nose-and-cleaning-behind-your-ears. As you can tell, I'm NOT a fan of these kinds of systems.

And the new version of FATE, which is supposedly considered to be a "lite" game is 302 pages long! And has a 2-sided character sheet with a lot of tiny lines on it for keeping details about your character's abilities.

Anyway ... the point of this blog post is ... I like Searchers of the Unknown. And I am basing one of the versions of my own game system directly off of it's rules setup. This will be called "Searchers of Leprosia". I'm still hashing it out ... it'll take a while, but hopefully I'll have it completed and ready to post soon.

...then on to the next rules system for Leprosia?

Leprosia - the RPG Setting

Instead of a singular game, I am probably going to design a game setting, or series of settings that can be used by a number of RPG systems.  I'll go into the details later, but for now, it's based on one of my older posts where I explain the fictional background of the story ideas behind my album, "Leprosia Doom."

Been reading a lot of different systems lately, and realize that I like and dislike various parts of each.

Barbarians of Lemuria - very simple and interesting, probably easy to run, but magic is wide open to interpretation, which could cause some trouble for GMs.  But such a simple and elegant game system.  Not to mention Barbarians of the Aftermath is also an interesting iteration of the game for a post-apocalyptic setting (which is where my Leprosia theme seems to fit...).  I'm also considering doing a full Conan/Hyborian Age hack for BoL, using info from the Hyborian Age website (www.hyboria.xoth.net).

Microlite20 - I like this a lot - gets right to the major points of D&D (I'm an old AD&D player - 1979 AD&D books!) simple monsters and combat, magic is point based instead of 1 spell per level.  I like the various "hacks" (Modern, Sword & Sorcery, ROBOTECH, more...).

Swords & Wizardry - Core Edition (and/or White Box Edition) - I like the incorporation of Ascending Armor Class, which make much more sense than those silly and convoluted charts from pre-3.0 ed. D&D.  A lighter (but not "rules-lite) verision of the things that made D&D interesting, but not convoluted.  No "feats" or skills BS.

Tunnels & Trolls (various versions) - another classic from the 1970's - I'm conflicted about this one - the combat system was frustrating, but had some interesting ideas.  Just needs some refinement, without over-complication, like using some kind ofa saving roll to hit, then do damage.

Legends of the Ancient World - a simplification of another old classic (The Fantasy Trip), which I think works as well or better than the bloated mess that became TFT.  Works very well as a "swords & sorcery" rules set (heroes and wizards - that's all, folks!) and is compatible with old TFT/Melee/Wizard Microquests.  I've always liked the original Melee/Wizard for it's simplicity.

FATE / FUDGE - I'm new to this system, and am still reading through the new FATE Core book.  Seems interesting, more story and character driven, probably where FU came from, which is even lighter (and I think I like better).  Games derived from FATE seem to be well-reviewed (Dresden Files, Legends of Anglerre, etc.).  It's supposedly a "lighter" system, but the FATE Core 3.0 book is 302 pages.  Once you know what you're doing, it's probably easy (since there's only a few charts to cover the basic FUDGE/FATE Dice Rolls), but there's a lot to learn initially. High learning curve.  I think I might favor FATE 2.0 better.  It's only 91 pages long.

I've also discovered a bunch of other game systems that I probably won't focus on, but I will mention, just to pique your interests:

In a Wicked Age

Apocalypse World (& Dungeon World)

Fiasco

FU

Stars Without Number

Labyrinth Lord

Mutant Future

There's so many game systems out there right now - it's hard to keep track, and to be honest, I haven't really actually played any RPGs in 25 years.  So much to do, and so little time ...

RPG in the works ... (or at least a setting ?)

I haven't played Dungoens and Dragons for about 25 years, but as you may have read below, I've become interested in the hobby again.  I've been reading about the newer series of post 3.5 D and D style games, and about the OGL which allows for using rules systems without major copyright violations, so ...

I'm thinking of developing my own Role-playing Game.  Lately, I've also been reading the original Conan stories written by Robert E. Howard back in the 1930's, and it has sparked an interest in the "sword and sorcery" genre, which seems to be undergoing it's own resurgence in the RPG world (see Barbarians of Lemuria, Broadsword, In A Wicked Age, Conan d20, Jaws of the Six Serpents, etc).  Players seem to be sick of the magic-heavy, "high-fantasy" worlds of Tolkien, Vance, and even George Lucas, where it seems like everybody and their cousin is a high-level elfin prince running around effortlessly hurling lightning bolts into helpless hordes of orcs and goblins, or merely waving their hand, and dozens of robot-guards drop into harmless clumps of metal.

Whatever happened to those days of gritty adventure, when sweaty men garbed only in loincloth and perhaps a chainmail vest, notched and bloodied broadsword (NOT longsword!) in calloused hand trod down the dank stone hallway seeking only treasure (to buy wine and wenches) and a good fight with a band of goblins?

Magic?  What about the magic?  In these adventures, magic was rare, powerful and often as dangerous to the user as it's target.  To gather such powers was a monumental task, taking years of research, gathering ancient tomes, artifacts and offering bloody sacrifices to the powers beyond.  These were black arts, not heady studies by naive young scholars who wanted to learn illusionary tricks for children's birthday parties.  And our heroes of these stories very rarely if ever used magic (Elric is a big exception).

Back to the game ... I plan on keeping it in the "rules-lite" category for now.  Probably starting with Microlite20, and adding and subtracting those elements which I believe will add the "sword and sorcery" flavor.

Or instead of a full game, maybe I want to create a new setting for Barbarians of Lemuria.  Instead of Lemuria or Hyboria, perhaps we are in the Fourth Age of Man from Tolkien, albient a more savage and gritty realization of that world... that would certainly simplify things, and I'm not sure I'm really up to the monumental task of writing the rules for an entire game structure.  Yeah, that makes more sense - a game setting that can easily be adapted to d20, M20, BoL, Mini-Six, TFT, etc.

Hmmm ... so much to do.

No time to do anything lately ...

not a new post so much, but just brainstorming - jotting some notes down ...

no time to do anything musically lately

hopefully soon my weekends will "free-up" a bit.

several things "in the can", but nothing completed.
(project/album names)
Celestial Shrine
Trance Ill Vain: Ian's Hungry
7734
Die, Toaster Die

gotta do some solos, some wacky, jazz-fusiony basslines over active drums ... 'member the old days?

hmmmmm ... pretty uninteresting.

Well, like I said above, my weekends will be freed-up a bit soon (when my wife goes back to her seasonal weekend job), so I should begin to have plenty of time to get the guitars out again and start rippin'-it-up.

or maybe I'll just sit around and catch up on watching anime On Demand.

Something completely different - Role Playing Games

Dimaension X - RPG's - role-play or dice-roll conundrum?

Not that I have plans of getting heavily involved with playing Role-Playing Games (RPG's) again (I haven't played D&D in more than twenty years), but I have developed a recent interest in reading about them, perusing the various free pdf rulebooks I've found online, and creating gamer "sandbox" settings just for my own creative brain-exercising.  "Sandbox" gaming is a new term to me, but the concept has been around for a while.  It involves the Game Master (GM) mapping out and creating as large a world as possible for the player characters to explore.  The focus is not on numerous dice-rolls and complex chart consultation, but rather on the story telling and character exposition.  Similar to playing World of Warcraft or Grand Theft Auto, the world/universe is an "open-range" world where the characters choose what they want to do, where they want to go, and how they will interact with the environment and other characters (both Player and Non-Player).

This style of gaming is coming back in style, mainly be the recent OSR movement of older gamers (Old School Renaissance) because they're sick and tired of 500-page rulebooks, convoluted rules systems and character creation, multiple editions of the same games with no compatibility from one edition to the other, and character sheets that are five pages long.  It isn't about "role-playing" anymore.  It's about building your stats so you can hack-and-slash battle for two hours (representing an actual combat that would probably only take about ten minutes in realtime), then looting the bodies for their stuff, add up experience points, level up, then on to the next two-hour battle.

Meanwhile the art of creating a fantastic adventure with interesting characters and their interaction is gone.  You may as well just be playing one of those huge hex-map wargames where the figures represent squads of soldiers and the game setup takes longer than the game itself.  Move, roll dice, remove these counters, add these, etc.  Boring.  The only difference between these games is the setting, and that really doesn't matter, because it's all about how and where you move your little counters and how the dice roll turns out.  Sure there's strategy and thought, but it's like a game of chess where you roll to see if the pawn really takes the rook, or does the rook manage to fend off the attack.  Boring.  Where's the fantastic storyline?  Where's the interaction of people?  How does the setting of the story really guide the numerous possible outcomes? How does the underdog win the battle against the huge gladiator when the STAT points are so obviously against him?

This is where story-oriented role-playing is a far superior approach (IMHO) to those seeking "role-playing" adventure.  A well-prepared GM who is prepared to throw caution to the wind can guide an adventure anywhere.  I mean that.  Anywhere.  An axe-weilding dwarf might end up as a roller-skating entertainer on a beach in California.  A spice-smuggling space pirate might end up retiring in a primitive cave-dweller village.  Gary Gygax said, "The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules."  This may not halt the sales of $50 core-rules hardcover books, but it might make players stop and think about just what game they are playing.  Are you really "role-playing", or are you just throwing dice to compare stats for un-yeilding results?

At this point in my life, I prefer the former.

Late 2012 Ego Boost!!

32,705 downloads.  Did I do the math correctly?  I just went to my Dimaension X music links at the Internet Archive and added up my total downloads and got a total of 32,705.

32,705. Wow.  Really. Thank you all.  Sincerely.

Yes, I am merely massaging my fragile ego, but it's nice to know that there are some folks out there still interested in listening to my music.  And this is WITHOUT any of the "old-school Myspace spamming" that we all used to do to each other. (Remember those days?  Leaving "comments" on as many pages as possible stating that you've "got some new music posted! Thanks for listening!")

I also didn't count any of my comic book releases (or my side-projects, Burn Without Me and Moroghor) - not so many of those being downloaded, but eh, that's okay.  I personally never thought my comics were that good anyway.

And I still think that people download my music because it's free.  If they had to pay for it, it would be a different story.  I create my music for me and no one else, and if anyone else likes it, it's just a very nice "pat on my back."  But it is still a very nice pat on the back.  Yeah, the flaky, insecure artist in me does acknowledge the need for a bit of attention here and there.  Like we all do.

So nearing the end of another year, I managed to get a few albums out (some old material, some new), and will hopefully be working on some new stuff for 2013.

Oh, BTW, some old friends of mine just put a new band together, called Joe Sixpack.  Three former members of Second Class Citizen and one new guy (who I don't know).  More info on them and where-and-when they're playing soon.

And don't forget to check out former Deadside Manor bassist Clint Mitchell's current band, Muckler's Circle.  They're playing at Tammany Hall on Dec 9th.  Here's their FACEBOOK and REVERBnation links.

Recommending some music - Baroness, Earth and more

After releasing my new "Drone2012" album, I've been seeking out and listening to a bunch of music to try to get inspired for my next project, and I've discovered some great stuff. 

I bought myself a few new albums from some artists I've never listened to before, and now I wish I'd been paying better attention these past few years.  First on my new listening list is Baroness and their new double album, "Yellow and Green."  I'd categorize these guys as heavy rock influenced by the Southern Sludge and N.O.L.A. bands like Down, Eyehategod, Thou, Crowbar.  Their earlier albums from just a few years ago were much heavier and "sludgier", but this double-album set is downright melodic and much lighter.  It's closer to Opeth's "Heritage" or "Damnation"  

I was very surprised by this one and wasn't expecting the great vocals and vocal harmonies provided by singer/guitarists John Baizley and Peter Adams.  The guitars aren't quite clean, but not really your typical fuzzed-out mud either.  More of a classic rock overdrive and grit, with a few heavier tones here and there.   The production on this album is surprisingly clear, focusing on the guitars and vocals, but letting the drums and bass share the aural space.  I highly recommend this album.  And look into their earlier albums, "Red" and "Blue" if you want something a bit nastier.

I also bought the latest Public Image Limited album, called, "This is PiL."  I've been a fan of these guys for a while, so they aren't new to me, but this album isn't quite what I expected.  Which is par for the course with Mr. John Lydon and his latest line-up of experienced musical backers.

The critics have been saying this album reaches back to their more experimental early period, and I am inclined to agree, though no happily.  Personally, I like their "less experimental" side, like their "Generic Album" produced by Bill Laswell, and their 1992 album "That What Is Not", which in my opinion was a really great rock album (though panned by the critics).  The music is very dub-influenced, led by the basslines of Scott Firth and the steady drumbeats of Bruce Smith.  Lu Edmonds provides the clanking guitar chords, very reggae and dub-influenced, but a bit more "angular" and discordant.  Lots of weird effects and echoes migrate from his amps, and he also plays a bunch of songs on electric "saz", a Turkish three-stringed instrument, but I have a difficult time discerning it from "normal" electric guitar.

And finally we have the ever-unique and abrasive vocals from Mr "Johnny Rotten" himself, John Lydon.  Most mainstream music listeners (i.e., fans of American Idol and The Voice) will automatically hate his vocals, and I also find myself wincing every so often, but Lydon is not out to please you with his mellifluous and dulcet tones.  He's here to piss you off and make you think.  And that's exactly what he does.  I just wish the backing music was a bit more "rocking" and less "dub."

I'm dragging on a but, but I promise, this is the last music recommendation here, folks ... ready?  

Earth.

I can't believe I've never listened to them before.  Led by guitarist Dylan Carlson (and his drummer/wife Adrienne Davis), Earth are classified as a "drone" band, but they really play music that could be considered "majestic desert travelogue" or something like that. Their early noisy, sludgey, droney albums of the 1990's were a huge influence on Sunn O))), Boris, The Melvins, and a slew of other bands.

Carlson is also known somewhat infamously (not his fault, though) as Kurt Cobain's best friend and probably the last person to see him alive.  Which is why Earth went on hiatus in 1996, while Carlson recovered from his friend's suicide by abusing various illegal substances.  After their first three very loud and fuzzy albums (and several EP's), Earth would not be heard from again for nine years until 2005, when Carlson managed to get his life back on track.  He also completely reinvented the band's sound by dropping nearly all distortion from the guitars, leaving them crisp and just slightly gritty, much more Duane Eddy than Tony Iommi.

If you like Sunn O))) and Boris, check out their earlier material.  But I really prefer their albums from 2005 and on.  Loud but relatively "clean" guitars dominate the mix, playing slow and deliberate "riffs" and arpeggiated chords over very minimalistic drums.  The guitar tones are absolutely gorgeous.  Think Telecasters through Fender Twins at that volume where the sound just barely begins to break into overdrive.  The drums are very well recorded.  Bass and other instruments (including cello, violin, organ, and trombone) compliment, but never rise to overtake the mix from the guitars.

Start with their 2005 album, "HEX; or Printing In the Infernal Method" and then just go out and get the rest.  Just do it.  Burn 'em into your iPod and put them on constant repeat.  Your ears will be rewarded with hours of splendid guitar tones.  Seriously, as a guitar player, you just can't help but "bathe" in the sumptuous vibrations of single-coils singing through the speakers.

Okay, enough for now.  Listening to all this music has already inspired me to start thinking about my next recording.  It won't quite be "Drone2012, part 2", but that is kind of a starting point.  It will be "droney";  think of Song 4 on "Drone2012" but imagine it if Earth were playing it.  Yeah, that's the ticket.