Jahr zu Ende, noch Kleingeld übrig? Dann gib es doch für die neuesten OSR-Juwelen aus:
City of the Ape-Men ist das jüngste Modul der wackeren Ungarn von E.M.D.T. Es bietet klassische Sword & Sorcery mit Piraten, Dinosauriern und Affenmenschen in einer Ruinenstadt.
Die 17. Ausgabe des legendären Fanzines Fight on! enthält auf seinen stolzen 166 Seiten eine wilde Mischung an OSR-Bausteinen aus einer Vielzahl von Federn. Wer in der OSR-Szene Rang und Namen hat publiziert in Fight on!
Wenn es extravagant sein darf, so gönne man sich das prächtige Nebulith (Rezension hier verfügbar) von LotFP. Wer vor Jahresende bestellt (bevor das wieder einmal drohende Damokles-Schwert der Insolvenz über den Herausgeber niedergeht), erhält zusätzlich ein mysteriöses, brandneues 64-Seiten-Hardcover-Modul von James Edward Raggi IV (weitere Info hier).
A new venue, an increased number of participants – the stakes were high for our third OSR Euro convention. Again, we were rewarded with a crowd of enthusiastic attendants from all over Europe and far beyond, who came to play a variety of games (nobody may claim we would single-mindedly play one system only): AD&D, OD&D, B/X, Ransack, The Seven Voyages of Zylarten and Chainmail. All 80 tickets had been sold, and gamers travelled from Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Danmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, the UK and the USA to a romantic timber-framed former forestry office building hiding deep in the Hessian outlands.
(c) Viral, music: Pyrsch.
Game on! Friday afternoon, the first sessions of OSR-D&D were taking place, while I was still setting up the display of auction items and later saw to that the 200 sausages delivered from the neighbouring farm would find their way to a hot BBQ grill.
Friday night, after opening the inscriptions for the games of block II and joining the rear of the impressively long queue, I was lucky: I still got a slot in one of the tournament sessions!
Again, BX Blackrazor had prepared a tournament module specially for Cauldron Con: Rivers of Blood, Death, and Glory!
As we were only 4 players in a tournament module designed for 6-8 participants, DM yandere handed out two characters for each of us: I chose a 8th level cleric and a 7/7/7th level bard.
Despite some blunders, like losing an unnecessary amount of hiptoints early on and only one of two clerics having prepared any healing spells, we headed instinctively for the secret doors and the greatest treasures of the dungeon. When it was clear we already had the best part of the available loot, there was plenty of time left so we skimmed whatever we could find in the lesser promising parts of the dungeon. Result: 2 characters out of combat and 1 dead. Our retreat from the dungeon was secured some reconnaissance, as we knew there were enemies lurking, too powerful to take on in our weakend state.
At the same time, Settembrini’s revival of the Chainmail Battle of Emridy Meadows was taking place. There, the unimaginable happened, late past midnight: victory for the Temple of Elemental Evil!
(c) MK Ultra.
Saturday: After many years in my closet, it was the edgy little module Bad Myrmidon’s turn to finally get DM’d. To my horror, three under-age players had inscribed to my game, which I lightheartedly had failed to mark as R-rated. Well, the group avoided the one Raggi-designed hex on the map, and explored other, weird but less tasteless hex fields. Some trouble ensued as the PC assassin was wearing an Achilles-style disguise, the halfling PC constantly feared being eaten, and there was some hazardous intercourse in the tree-tops, earning me the title of naughtiest DM of the convention. The players even found and half explored the temple of Achilles before time of the gaming block was out. The assassin, alas, had to be abandoned by his comrades, trapped between a dead-end and a portcullis. It was fun, and I hope the teenagers did not experience anything arousing their parents‘ ire.
In the afternoon, I played some Matt Finch module run by DM AndrewW – a strange crystal structure filled with electricity engineered by space aliens. My druid had preparde all the wrong spells for this environment, but my animal friends, a tiger and a giant eagle, saved the day.
In the evening, our traditional auction took place. It is rare to behold such rarities as were brought by attendants, found in the dissolved archive of Nexus club, or donated by our most generous sponsors: Gamer’s HQ (tons of miniatures and minature game boxes) and LotFP (copies of their most exquisite books). Some of these treasure were auctioned live, others in the „silent“ auction mode, and mayn found their way into mysterious „dragon bags“ which could be purchased for a ridiculously low price.
There were some notable bidding battles up to €100 over Andrew’s original pieces of art, i.e. illustrations for Dolmenwood, E.M.D.T. and Fight On. A copy of the original Greyhawk booklet changed hands for about €350 I believe, and an original D&D White Box (6th or 7th printing) made €750. A huge Mystara collection found a new home, as well as an original DSA (The Dark Eye) Havena box. But above all, the auction was pure entertainment: HELL YEAH!
Auction logistics and organiser team duties prevented my from playing in the Saturday night block or the Sunday morning block, but I hear not many hard-bitten gamers found much sleep.
True trophy gold.
Trophies were awarded on Sunday morning:
Most Valuable Player (MVP): Valez
Best DM: Grützi
The Cup of Demise: to MK Ultra
Blackrazor Cup bronze medals: Grützi’s group
Blackrazor Cup silver medals: TacoJr’s group
Blackrazor Cup gold trophies: to yandere’s group (including me!)
Note & honourable mention: We should also think about a special price for DMs who defy all categories – This year there was DM Attronarch, who in true grognard judge style – believe it or not – awed us by demonstrating how to run OD&D for up to 18 players!
See you next year, about same time, same place!
(c) Eria.
Further, longer and even more exciting accounts of Cauldron III, can be found here:
What if a ritual goes wrong? Or rather: What if the timing of a huge ritual goes wrong, and misses the crucial moment for its culmination by a minute or two? This question drove one Alex Hopson, resident of the isle of Okinawa, to explore the fate of its twin island, Awa Nikko, which does not figure on modern maps.
The earth and fire spirits beneath the Ryukyu island chain once conspired to destroy Awa Nikko and the puny inhabitants crawling on its skin. This plan became known to the yuta, female spirit priests, who immediately gathered to take ritualistic counter-measures and to freeze the eruption before it could happen.
Only, the eruption happened while the assembled yuta still were chanting their final spells. A gigantic column of smoke and ash erupted from the coastal ground, 6 miles in diameter and reaching up to the clouds. It froze and turned to stone. This porous pillar, which can be seen from up to 250 miles away, is the Nebulith.
Godly, reality-distorting beings descend from the skies. Demons crawl upwards from beneath the earth. Pre-historic creatures have been elevated from forgotten caves. This heavenly and hellish mega-dungeon structure is the Nebulith.
Alex Hopson ran an Awa Nikko campaign for his home RPG group, and his conception could have remained in obscurity. Destiny, the internet or some clever publisher brought OSR veteran Zak S. to Awa Nikko and got him to write and illustrate a 17th century, better than any man-made oriental adventures, Awa Nikko setting for LotFP, true to Alex Hopson’s vision while gameable by any OSR referee. This mind-blowing book is the Nebulith.
Design
While a like to review content, and mostly disregard aesthetic presentation beyond usability criteria, the Nebulith prohibits this approach. Zak’s illustrations grace almost every page, and if you are acquainted with his style, you know his art is never boring. Also, the pictures will provide orientation to the referee perusing this campaign book of 300 pages. Together with the calligraphy, by Kei Ka, and the overall design, by Molly Scanlon, this makes Nebulith the most gorgeous book in my collection, by far. Not only the look, also the surface feel of this book’s cover and pages is a haptically rich experience. Don’t go for digital only, folks, you absolutely want that physical copy in your collection!
Player characters
Awa Nikko is nominally still a kingdom, though it is de facto ruled by a daimyo sent from Japan. Foreigners travelling to Awa Nikko include Japanese, Chinese, Korean and European adventurers, or cloudscrapers, as the natives like to call the Nebulith explorers. There are several character classes to complement the standard LotFP classes: the Karate Master, the diminutive Kijimuna Hunter (an Eastern elf living in banyan trees), the obligatory Ninja, the Pirate, the Samurai, and the Yuta (female spirit summoner and ritual keeper). All classes have access to Karate training (there are different schools on Awa Nikko, each with a unique combat style), if they wish to pay for the training. New abilities upon advancement are mostly determined by rolling percentile dice – this is Zak style class design, love it or hate it, but it will always be entertaining and useful.
While the first five classes appear interesting as well as balanced, the Yuta strikes me as particularly powerful. Although her powerful magic requires rituals which are too long to be performed during combat, she also has contingency spells and the ability to charge a certain number of spell effects into objects. This class reminds me of the Sha’ir in AD&D2 Al-Qadim, who has to wait for spells to be stolen on other planes of existence – weak at low levels, and a solo problem solver for everything at mid to high levels. Referees: Prohibit incongruously clever players from picking the Yuta class, or counter-balance it by having another player take the mad bard class from the Ericha Zann book!
Bestiary
LotFP has evolved from its early dogma, where each adventure was supposed to contain only one weird and horrific monster with unique abilities. As Nebulith is played more in a classic adventure fashion than the usual weird horror LotFP module, a bestiary of Awa Nikko creatures is provided, and it is suggested to include further beasts from former publications by the same author.
The creatures are sorted by landscape types on Awa Nikko and by altitudes on the Nebulith.
NPC standard stats are also provided, so we won’t need to roll up characters for every NPC encounter.
To imitate the look of Japanese scriptures, Zak S. chose to handwrite and draw the bestiary part of the book in a unique font style, which may be hard to read when tired, drunk or otherwise inebriated. Fear not, referee! Once you have cracked the code, you will have no trouble deciphering that an
U
N
d
e
r
M
U
+
a
N
+
has „d4 legs“, not „a4 1e95“. Context helps a lot.
Also, when frantically searching for a monster’s armor class, remember that it is indicated in the visually emphasized red square with a shield icon, it is not otherwise spelled out in the stat block!
Encounter tables are of course provided in the manner of fantasy adventure games. Encounter check frequencies on the Nebulith are obviously for dungeon encounter rates – a referee will have to use a lower encounter frequency for traveling, as expeditions onto the Nebulith will require many hours to days of climbing depending on the destination.
For some obscure reason, the Nebulith encounter tables include not only creature encounters, but events like „your torch or lantern goes out“, „you’re hungry“, „you’re thirsty“. Resource consumption in classic fantasy games is usually accounted for by measuring time (in turns, days, etc). Why put these trivialities into encounter tables? It might make sense for the Nebulith upper reach, where time plays tricks on adventurers, but not for the central Nebulith or the lower depths.
Zak, if I want to play Forbidden Lands (and I don’t want to), I play Forbidden Lands (I don’t)!
The country and its people
A hex map of the island is provided with locations of important sites like castles, temples, dojos and the like. The most important movers and shakers are described, along with some palaces or dungeons on the island and the Nebulith. The latter is modeled in three zones, and the reality distortion on its upper reaches is exemplified by a dungeon/exploration zone.
Considering certain powerful creatures of the bestiary, NPCs and dungeon dwellers, there emerges a complex web of plot and intrigue. Many creatures or NPCs are tied to each other, and they pursue certain agendas, some of which may endanger the island itself. However, the secrets of Awa Nikko shall not be disclosed in this review.
Addendum: Lord Falling Wave, the daimyo, asked me to clarify that he does not pursue any kind of sinister plans, and he absolutely did not threaten me by a nightly surprise visit of half a dozen ninjas (they never travel in groups of five).
Addendum #2: A certain concubine assures me king Shō Shishō is not involved in the Oni lantern conspiracy, however she cannot vow for the daimyo. I am very grateful she eventually handed over the antidote to her poisoned lipstick.
Karate
There are some general rules for grappling, knocking prone, etc. which provide a basis for the martial arts chapter. Four major dojos on Awa Nikko teach karate techniques, each their unique style. In addition, there is the temple style and some techniques unique to character classes. Characters of any class may train at a dojo to learn a random technique, all they have to do is pay a hefty training fee and spend 30 days training at a particular dojo when leveling up (the Karate Master class may train for free, only the training time must be invested). In theory, a character could thus acquire a new technique every level, though money will an issue.
Karate techniques include special maneuvers for disarming, tripping, grappling etc, but also bonus attacks or attack modifiers for martial arts attacks (which do 1d4 or 1d4+1 points of damage), and even the use of poison or rare bow-and-arrow techniques. This is pretty exciting!
Rant against a vice in game design
Now it is time for me to address one major bone of contention, which to my great consternation rears its ugly head again and again throughout this book: Martial arts, magic and some other effects in this book make use of a mechanic that should absolutely not figure in any edition of D&D or its derivatives. I speak of the deplorable advantage/disadvantage mechanic, i.e. you roll two d20 instead of one, and pick the most favorable/defavorable result, respectively.
Why is this bad? First of all, advantage/disadvantage breaks with the usual linear probability distribution of 1d6, 1d20, 1d%, where the chances of success or failure can instantly be grasped by the mathematically untrained mind. Understanding the probabilities of rolling two dice and keeping one, requires some math, which is not too complicated, yet for most players too much of a burden to be spontaneously done at the table.
Next, rolling under advantage/disadvantage is not just equivalent to receiving a modifier to a roll. Particularly easy or difficult rolls are accentuated by this mechanic to become even more likely or unlikely to the extreme. Let me do the math for you:
Rolling 1d20 (e.g. to hit) against a target number of 18 (e.g. armor class) has a chance of 3 in 20 to succeed (which equals 60 in 400, for comparison to the values below).
Rolling the same d20 with a modifier of -2 means you need to roll a 20 to succeed against 18. That is 1 chance in 20 (or 20 in 400). It won’t get any more difficult than this in classic D&D style games to hit in combat! Either you succeed when rolling a natural 20 or there simply is no chance you could succeed, so look for other types of actions to give you an edge!
Rolling under disadvantage 2d20 against an 18 gives you a chance of mere 9 in 400 to prevail. In other words, out of 40 rolls, expect one to be a success – if it is your lucky day!
Still, this is nearly half as good as needing a natural 20 on 1d20. Disadvantage can get worse!
Say you need to hit a 19 with disadvantage. Your chance is 4 in 400 or 1%.
If you need a 20 under disadvantage, your probability of success drops to 1 in 400. Is it even worth rolling the dice for 1 in 400? What is the minimum probability for a risk worth taking?
I don’t want to see this kind of shenanigans in D&D type games.
Having gotten this off my chest, I have to concede: Characters in LotFP have at least a +1 modifier in combat. The Fighter and the Samurai get more, and several other classes from the Nebulith books may also accumulate better attack modifiers. Armor classes above 18 are rare, and a disadvantage roll with only a 1 in 400 chance of success should not occur in practice. I guess I can get over the fact that the Nebulith campaign setting makes use of this deplorable mechanic.
Magic
A range of new spells is provided for the Yuta class. Most notable is the Summon Spirit spell, which is similar to the standard Summon spell, though it comes with less reality-shattering potential. The random tables for determining the manifestation of the spirit comprise an astonishing amount of entries which appear to be contradictory (like „no eyes“ and „cat eyes“ or „no mouth“ and „covered in mouths“). However, I made a few test rolls to see if I could explain away any difficult combinations, and I did not fail in my spirit lore: A dog-spirit, with extra eyes and spotted skin, consisting of two torsos linked like royal playing card, one having the legs of a spider, the other having snake tails instead of legs. A squishy-bodied, one-eyed fox spirit covered in fur striped in unnatural hues of violet and ulfire. A hunch-backed leopard cat spirit, having a mane consisting of fingers, and a pair of mandibles about what is not a mouth but a baneful eye. Perhaps I was lucky.
An erratum for the Summon Spirit spell can be found at the bottom of this review.
A ghoulish verdict
There is so much more in this 300 pages book I have not talked about: e.g. adventure hooks, sample dungeons, adventurer NPCs each with stats for different levels (which saves the referee much dice rolling), examples of using encounter tables, ready-to-use spirits, the hilarious Dogs Available Today Table, a 1d1000 random treasure table wherein treasure types are presented in blocks of 100, so that e.g. to roll specifically for potions you just roll 1d100+600.
Throughout the book, Zak S. has taken great care to present useful content in a way easy to access and to use at the gaming table. The table of content close to the front of the book, the two yellow ribbons, as well as the visual support by different styles in graphic design of its chapters are a great help – indeed I always managed to quickly find the game elements I was looking for (though the table of content is in terribly small print – not to be recommended to the venerable grognards who played OD&D in the seventies).
It is such a pleasure to read a game setting presented by an author who knows how to play the game (in stark contrast to the work of certain non-player artists). While initially I was reluctant to read „yet another oriental adventures setting“, I was quickly hooked to the particular feel of this fantasy Okinawa. Now I want to run this campaign! The first thing I would do is to hexmap the Nebulith exterior surface. That does not mean something is missing among the 300 pages (none of which is useless filler). This is how you play a so-called sandbox setting, you constantly add detail and expand the available material as fits your needs. My critical remarks, in the end, are of minor weight, none can withstand the majesty of the Nebulith!
My rating is:
5 poisonous sea snakes out of 5!
Oh by the way, Alex Hopson is working at his in-laws‘ traditional Okinawan poison sea snake restaurant, one of the last of its kind. Can it be that this enthralling setting he devised is actually nothing but a voluminous brochure for a culinary establishment?
Erratum:
Zak S. lets us know that the following sentence is missing under the Summon Spirit spell, Step 3:
„The spirit will have d4 Special Powers plus a number equal to the Yuta’s Wisdom bonus (if any). After all powers are rolled, the Yuta may re-roll a number of results equal to her Wisdom bonus (if any).“
Moritz von der Seifenkiste hat Ende letzten Jahres einen Wettbewerb (1, 2) veranstaltet. Als Preise stiftete er ein D&D-Comic und ein OSRIC-Modul aus dem eigenen Fundus.
Es galt, 5 Räume einer von ihm vorgegebenen Karte als Dungeon auszugestalten.
Warum?
Warum ein sogenannter 5-Room-Dungeon, warum so eine einfachst mögliche Karte? Offenkundig hat Moritz Freude daran, die Kreativität in der OSR-Szene („Old School Renaissance“ – von „Revolution“ sprechen wir schon lange nicht mehr) anzustacheln und ihre Früchte in Form von Einsendungen zu lesen und zu teilen. Eine schöne Motivation, warum aber ein 5-Room-Dungeon?
Was ist ein Dungeon?
Im frühen D&D-Spiel sowie in der OSR-Bewegung stellt ein Dungeon die mythische Unterwelt dar, die von Gefahren bevölkert ist und von Schatzsuchern erkundet werden kann. Wir erwarten alptraumhafte Labyrinthe mit verwirrender Kartographie, Fallen, Monster und zahlreiche Täuschungen. Nicht nur Mut und Glück, auch ein wachsamer Geist und scharfer Verstand sind erforderlich, um in ihre tieferen Bereiche vorzudringen und lebendig, mit Schätzen beladen, wiederzukehren.
Die Mode des 5-Room-Dungeons ist eine Schwundform des arneson-gygax’schen Dungeons. Es kann von Unterwelt, Verirren und wandernden Monstern (über die explizit beschriebenen Bewohnern hinaus) nicht die Rede sein. Es bleibt eine Abfolge von Begegnungen und Rätselräumen im sehr überschaubaren Umfang, gerade genug für eine kurze Spielsitzung. Die Magie der Unterwelt verfliegt.
Wäre es nicht geschickter gewesen, ein Geomorph-Dungeon-Element für einen Wettbewerb vorzugeben? Dann wäre der Aufwand einer Einsendung ebenfalls limitiert gewesen, wobei klar gewesen wäre, dass der Beitrag nur ein Teil von etwas größerem gewesen wäre, wobei ein Dungeon eine schwer zu fassende Größe haben muss.
Geomomorph: Verwende 5 von 6 Räumen, platziere ggf. Türen und Geheimtüren bei A-O.
Jenseits von D&D tendieren Rollenspiele zur Erkundung realistischer Höhlen und Gebäude. Der Wettbewerb war für beliebige Systeme offen. Ich bin gespannt auf die Veröffentlichung der Einsendungen, denn es dürfte auch Nicht-D&D-Schreibern schwer gefallen sein, aus diesen 5 Räumen etwas lohnenswertes zu zaubern.
Die Gier eines Ghouls
Ich bekenne: Moritz war es gelungen, meinen Ehrgeiz anzustacheln. Klar war aber, meine 5 Räume konnten nur Teil etwas größeren sein, der Beginn eines Abenteuers. Wider die Schwundformen, wider die One-Shots. Wer aber Zweifel hat, was meine Haltung gegenüber 5-Room-Dungeons betrifft, lese einfach die letzten Worte meines Wettbewerbbeitrags, innerhalb von zwei Stunden schnell heruntergetippt:
Be a good roleplaying gamer, support your group by being efficient. Efficiency starts at choosing your character class. Let’s have a close look at some options, starting with the low-hanging fruit, which should not come as a surprise to anyone, and working us down the list to a secret multi-class combination lurking between the lines of the core books, so mysterious that seasoned AD&D players have doubted its legal basis, and OSRIC players are completely unaware of its existence.
Humans
Human characters may be of any class, unrestricted by level caps. They are destined to become the Lords and Ladies of the human realms expanding into the wilderness. Play any class you want, except for the assassin and the thief (only play one during bard training) and the assassin, who are tied to an abysmally bad attack matrix and notoriously bad at sneaking in the dark without infravision, and the monk, who totally sucks.
Demi-Humans
Because of the level caps, demi-humans are best hired as henchmen to make good use of their special abilities and multi-class options. Still, some of the following combinations may be so irresistible you will consider them for your main player character.
Always consider adding a fighter to your chosen class for the better attack matrix. The thief class also has its appeal, being unlimited in level for most demi-humans. Never combine three classes, as the training costs will be horrendous – triple classes are for henchmen, who can be financed by their master or mistress.
Half-Elves
The half-elf is the only fellow who may be multi-class clerics. The cleric/fighter is granted access to all weapons – take that, 2nd edition players!
Elves
„I never play elves“ says neverplayselves.
Fool! The fighter/magic-user is allowed to cast spells while wearing any kind of armour! Woohoo! Except if your DM is being a dick (or running a 2nd edition game). This class combination allows for a particularly powerful low-level character, for a short level progression, or up till an untimely death – elves being spirit creatures, they cannot be raised from the dead.
Dwarves
Dwarves are valuable members of any party, due to their native understanding of stoneworks like pit traps or secret passages.
If your referee allows the level cap of single-class demi-humans to be increased by 2, as suggested in Unearthed Arcana, then you may as a single-class fighter one day become a Dwarven Lord, even without extraordinary strength! Otherwise play a fighter/thief, so you don’t waste your XP entirely after reaching the figher level cap.
Halflings
These little are made for being single-class thieves – just ascertain your referee is aware of the fact that the Monster Manual grants you a +3 on bows and slings. The fighter/thief is not viable because of the highly restrictive level cap.
Half-Orcs
„I never play evil characters“ says dreadlord.
Then you miss out on the terrific fighter/assassin combination! You can rise far as a fighter and unlimited as an assassin. Be a killing machine and strike brutally whether expected or not! Assassination may be attempted with any kind of sword – I personally prefer the bastard when playing a bastard.
Don’t let charisma be your dump stat though – use the assassin’s disguise skill to pass for a decent human, elf or the like wherever you go. If you show your ugly orc swine face, you might walk around carrying a billboard sign saying „assassin“ as well. And be careful – like their elfin cousins, half-orcs remain dead when dead.
Gnomes
„Why are they even in the book!“ cries someone who escaped my mind.
They are small and inconspicuous. They can be a wee fun. In a wee nasty way.
Pages 32-33 of the PHB list multi-class options in a way that is clearly intended to cover all of them. They don’t. Page 16 describing the gnome clearly states that any two permitted classes may be played in combination, those explicitly listed are mere examples. Alright, playing a thief/assassin does not make much sense, the more so does the illusionist/assassin! The what, you may exclaim. You read right, the illusionist/assassin! I also call it the giacomo class. Imagine such nasty little bugger, dressed in harlequin leather armour, jumping right out of an illusionary cake to cut the victim’s throat!
Rules lawyers, please refer to the Multi-Classed Assassin Table on top of page 18 in the DMG. The illusionist/assassin has always existed, hidden, waiting, ready to jump into your face.
Be warned, however, the illusionist/assassin is for advanced players only. Combining the classes with the worst attack matrices means you will miss most of your regular strikes. Use your cunning to your advantage!
Meine erster neugieriger Blick gilt den Karten. Auf Seite 8 sowie noch einmal ganz hinten im PDF sehen wir eine schöne Farbzeichnung von 19 stilisierten Inseln, die über der Meeresoberfläche fliegen. Aha, was für ein hübsches künstlerisches Symbolbild, denke ich, man soll wohl die Inseln auf seiner eigenen Kampagnenweltkarte beliebeig platzieren, deshalb „fliegen“ sie wohl. Andere Leser dachten, es gehe wirklich um fliegende Inseln. Weit gefehlt! Seba bezeichnet dieses Kunstwerk als Karte, die Inseln bilden ein Atoll und von Fliegen ist nicht die Rede. Schade um die vertane Chance, wer fliegenden Inseln will, muss Wind Wraith spielen. Schade noch mehr um die Verweigerung der Verräumlichung. Es gibt keine realistisch anmutende Anordnung der Inseln, keinen Maßstab, keine Möglichkeit, vernünftig strategische Überlegungen anhand der Seekarte zu fällen. Aber darum geht es dem Autoren auch gar nicht.
Seba spielt nach eigener Angabe gerne episodenhaft statt in Form einer Weltkampagne, auch hier im Vorwort betont er die Bedeutung der Episode. Was er spielen will und wozu er dieses Insel-Setting geschrieben hat, ist der Manga One Piece! Und daraus ergeben sich die Probleme.
Sind OSR-Systeme die richtigen Mittel, um einen leichtfüßigen, absurd-witzigen Manga umzusetzen, in dem es um Charaktere geht, ihre Questen, ihr Innenleben, ihre Superkräfte, nicht aber um eine glaubwürdig simulierte Welt? Exalted fällt mir dazu beispielsweise als geeignetes System ein. Tatsächlich muss Seba jetzt einiges über Bord werfen, z.B. die üblichen Schiffstypen und Schiffsregeln herkömmlicher D&D-artiger Systeme, wir brauchen für One Piece modernere Schiffe, die aber nur von einer handvoll Mann betrieben werden. Entsprechend heißt das aber, Garnisonen und Milizen auf Inseln bestehen auch nur aus etwa 6 Mann. Mit dieser Setzung fällt es schwer, das Uniko-Atoll als Modul in eine bestehende Kampagnenwelt einzupflegen. Es ist wirklich nur für Leute gedacht, die One Piece spielen wollen, aber nicht cineastisch oder erzählerisch, sondern als old-school D&D-System. Das dürfte eine überschaubar kleine Schnittmenge an Spielern sein. Macht aber nichts, wenn es nur gut ist. Ein Seba, eine Vision!
Die Schiffsregeln: Es gibt ein kurzes einfaches Schiffskampfsystem, das ist für die Zwecke ganz vernünftig. Löblich auch, dass an die Ladekapazität gedacht wurde, und die Inseln ein Handelsspiel erlauben! Für die bewohnten Inseln gibt es Angaben von verfügbaren Resourcen, Bedarf und Preisen pro Kiste. Was aber bedeutet bei den Schiffen die Ladekapazität von 1 bis 3? Ist das die Anzahl der Kisten, die Platz hat? Wo wir schon mit comichaft reduzierten Mannschaften arbeiten, ist das auch für die Ladekapazität nicht auszuschließen.
Wir bekommen nun sehr viele Elemente geboten, die ein dynamisches Minikampangenspiel erlauben: Verschiedene Fraktionen – konkurrierende Reiche, Händler, Piraten, ihre Vorgeschichte, ihre gegenwärtigen Stützpunkte und Vorschläge für zukünftige Ereignisse, die für dramatische Änderungen sorgen werden. Leider torpediert unser Autor sich selbst durch die Verweigerung der Verräumlichung, bizarr winzigen Truppenstärken und fehlende Stufenangaben bei wichtigen NSCs wie Klerikern oder Zauberkundigen – wir haben überhaupt keine Chance, ihre Macht und Möglichkeiten abzuschätzen! Die albernen Konzepte und Namen der NSCs passen sehr gut zu One Piece – oder zu Käpt’n Blaubär.
Betrachten wir nun die ersten der 19 Inseln. SPOILER-Alarm ab hier!
1. Insel von Reuben
Die Insel eines verschollenen Piraten, der experimentierfreudig versucht hat, den Tod zu überwinden. Hier gibt es ein Versteck nach Konzept der sogenannten „5-Room-Dungeons“, welches man auf keinen Fall mit einem traditionellen Dungeon alter Schule verwechseln darf. Wir bekommen hier, ganz nach dem Episodengeschmack des Autors, eine Anhäufung weniger Räume, die geknackt werden sollen. Es gibt komische Skelette, mit denen man verhandeln soll (obwohl wir im Vorwort belehrt werden, dass Untote nicht vernunftbegabt sind) in Raum 1, eine Falle in Raum 2 und einen Geheimraum 3, in dem Schmuck im Wert von 50000 GM lagert, und weitere Räume voller Fallenpuzzles inkl. dem verschollenen Piraten ohne Herz. Für Zweitstüfler 50000 Erfahrungspunkte im dritten Raum! Die bleiben nicht lange auf Stufe 2.
2. Insel des Eises
Hier haben wir einen Märchen-Eispalast (als sub-komplexen Pseudo-Dungeon) und einen Eiskönig mit Weltvernichtungspotenzial. Der Gegner teleportiert munter umher, wie ihn der Spielleiter gerade haben möchte, denn Seba denkt nicht old-school, sondern szenisch. Das macht diese Insel trotz märchenhafter Lösungs-Elemente (Winterkönig! Sommerschwert!) sehr schwach.
Bereits in Raum 2 finden wir wieder auf dem Eisplateau serviert wertvolle Schätze: einen Schild +1, einen Telekinesering und einen mächtigen Regenerationsring! Die gehören zwar den Gefangenen aus Raum 8, aber ein wenig Dankbarkeit wird man ja wohl erwarten dürfen.
3. Distelstrand
Eine Halblingssiedlung, Fraktionen und Geheimnisse, die belanglos bis banal sind, NSCs ohne Stufen – alles was man für ein niedliches Abenteuer mit Käpt’n Blaubär so braucht.
4. Zuversicht
Dies ist die größte Insel mit der gößten Siedlung, einem Freihändler- und Piratenhafen, und gleichzeitig der Dreh- und Angelpunkt für Abenteurer. Dementsprechend ist die Ortsbeschreibung etwas ausführlicher, es gibt eine lange Liste mit Aufträgen aller Art, die ergattert werden können, und Interaktion mit verschiedenen Fraktionen oder Orten auf anderen Inseln bringen. Zuversicht ist auch ein Umschlagplatz für zahlreiche Waren für das Handelsspiel. Es gibt Tavernen, Trank- und Schriftrollenhändler etc. Gewöhnliche Waren und Dienstleistungen haben ungewöhnlich hohe Preise, etwa Bier für 2-5 GM und eine Mahlzeit für 10-20 GM. Das ist Faktor 10 gegenüber üblichen OSR-Spielen, dabei ist dort ja immer bereits die „Goldgräber“-Wirtschaftslage eingepreist. Man wundert sich, weshalb nicht einfach die Preise aus Swords & Wizardry gelten. Irgendwie wirkt das ganze mehr wie von Computerspielen inspiriert als von alten D&D-Modulen.
5. Goldhafen
Eine Zwergeninsel, natürlich ohne Karte der unterirdischen Zwergenfestung. Dafür gibt es ein paar Monsterjagdaufträge abzugreifen.
6. Sambag
Nun kommen wir zu den Inseln der „Gastautoren“, hier vom Duo Lisa Beckmann und Martin J. Kramer. Den Unterschied bemerkt man sofort! Wir erhalten im ersten Satz spielrelevante räumliche Angaben! Es gibt Karten, die interessant sind! Es gibt schwierig zu bergende Schätze! Wir stoßen auf den „Entdecker“, eine Abart des berüchtigten Betrachters! Leider verliert sich hier alles wieder in Niedlichkeit. Schade.
7. Fischmenschen-Wrack
Autor Grannus bedenkt uns mit lustigen Fischmenschen-Mischlingen, die den Abenteurern Möglichkeiten zur Unterwassererkundung anbieten. Und diese Tauchausflüge sind skurril. Das Wrack ist tatsächlich die erste „Insel“, die mir richtig gut gefällt. Noch besser wäre es natürlich gewesen, eine Unterwasserkarte zu haben, wobei einige Orte nur unter schwierigem Resourcenaufwand erreichbar wären, statt über eine 2W6-Glockenkurven-Wahrscheinlichkeit. Ich kann mir durchaus vorstellen, dieses Wrack in meine eigene Unterwasserkampagne zu übernehmen.
Es folgen 12 weitere Inseln, wieder aus der Feder des Verfassers Seba. Doch dieser Ghoul hat bereits genug Käpt’n-Blaubär-Inseln für diesen Tag gelesen und legt das Abenteuer zu den Akten.
Seba, du entwickelst viele Ideen, du bemühst dich um Inhalte, die eine lebendige Spielwelt ermöglichen. Mach weiter, aber bitte nicht so! Lies doch die alten BECMI-Abenteuer der B-Reihe, vor allem spiele sie! Dann wirst du verstehen, was OSR ausmacht, welche Werkzeuge warum funktionieren und wo genau man noch gerne nachjustieren darf. Das Uniko-Atoll hat auf der Titelseite ein OSR-Logo, der Inhalt geht eher in eine andere Richtung.
Dabei ist dies doch laut Titelseite ein „Seifenkiste-Projekt“, warum ist Moritz hier nicht seiner Mentor-Rolle nachgekommen, den jungen Padawan vor seine Fehlern zu warnen? Es hätte so vieles besser werden können. Das nächste Projekt wird hoffentlich besser.
Lately, I hear a lot of referees bemoaning the abominable weapon specialization introduced in Unearthed Arcana. Players, however, might complain, when this fighter boost rule is not allowed. I confess, having played a lot of 2e, I am quite used to weapon specialization being an integral part of the game.
How about this? During character creation, a player of a fighter or ranger character may opt to spend 2 weapon proficiency points to receive a weapon specialization as usual, but they roll a d% to find out which weapon their character will be specialized in.
01 Aklys
02-03 Axe, Battle
04-05 Axe, Hand
06-07 Bardiche
08-09 Bec de Corbin
10-11 Bill-Guisarme
12 Blowgun
13-14 Bo Stick
15 Bow, Composite, Long
16 Bow, Composite, Short
17 Bow, Long
18 Bow, Short
19 Club
20 Crossbow, Hand
21 Crossbow, Heavy
22 Crossbow, Light
23-24 Dagger
25-26 Dart
27-28 Fauchard
29-30 Fauchard-Fork
31 Flail, Footman’s
32 Flail, Horseman’s
33-34 Fork, Military
35-36 Glaive
37-38 Glaive-Guisarme
39-40 Guisarme
41-42 Guisarme-Voulge
43-44 Halberd
45 Harpoon
46-47 Hammer, Lucern
48-49 Hammer
50-51 Hook Fauchard
52-53 Javelin
54-55 Jo Stick
56 Lance, (light horse)
57 Lance, (medium horse)
58 Lance, (heavy horse)
59 Mace, Footman’s
60 Mace, Horseman’s
61-62 Morning Star
63-64 Partisan
65 Pick, Military, Footman’s
66 Pick, Military, Horseman’s
67-68 Pike, Awl
69-70 Ranseur
71 Sap
72-73 Scimitar
74-75 Sling
76 Sling, Staff
77-78 Spear
79-80 Spetum
81-82 Staff, Quarter
83-84 Sword, Bastard
85-86 Sword, Broad
87-88 Sword, Falchion
89-90 Sword, Khopesh
91-92 Sword, Long
93-94 Sword, Short
95-96 Sword, Two-Handed
97 Trident
98-99 Voulge
00 Whip
So you are specialized in the blowgun? I guess your parents could not afford a weapon master specialized in a more knightly weapon to train you in your youth.
Oh, you are a specialist of the guisarme-voulge, huh? Good luck finding a magical version of that one.
The OSE rules, on which Wind Wraith is based, comprise a list of ships provided with stats and price tags. None of these matter, as Wind Wraith comes with its own ship types and rules. Judging from the illustrations, sailing technology of this campaign setting seems to be rudimentary, the finer art of rigging lost in the cataclysm that shattered the world. While some ship types are named so as to imply a certain type of rigging, like „sloop“ or „brig“, these names appear to relate to one-masted and two-masted ships, respectively, in general. The three-masted ship is called „tall ship“ accordingly. There are also several types of boats and exotic ships, like the puny coffin-pod, the shellmarine (a shell-submarine) or the tyrant’s war galleon powered by arcane engines.
The ships are provided with stats like a player character, with AC and ThAC0 (which is fine), and the six ability scores. Where have I seen this before? And why would anyone want to describe a ship in terms of strength, wisdom, charisma etc., instead of thinking about rigging, points of sail, hull structure and the like? To keep it simple for very dull players? Or is it because Lazy Litch is an Irishman? Ireland as a well-known fact being landlocked between the Celtic and Irish Steppes and the Atlantic Wastelands, we really shouldn’t blame him for having no interest in naval matters …
Now in all fairness, let us look at his ship character rules, starting with non-combat related stats.
A ship’s Charisma is defined as a measure of how comfortable life is aboard the ship. Awesome, I like this very much! The only other RPG I know which has a cosiness stat is the French system HOMEKA. Charisme here has immediate effect on the game as you can only hire crew, even without special naval skills, if you provide a ship having a Charisma score of 11 or higher. The requirements for hiring expert crew, which provide a range of benefits, are even higher. In practice, this means we can only hire simple crew for a tall ship (Cha 11) or a tyrant’s war galleon (Cha 12). For all other types of basic ships, we would first have to raise the Charisma by hiring certain experts (which is obviously not possible) or by providing upgrades to the ship (which requires naval adventuring in the first place). What? It would make much more sense to lower the hiring bar to 8 Charisma. Then, the only ships which would trouble our recruitment efforts would be the bare raft (Cha 6) and the claustrophobic shellmarine (Cha 7).
A further use of ship’s Charisma is that mutiny points accumulate against it before the crew will resort to drastic measures. A nice mechanic, for once!
Next, a ship’s Intelligence represents the crew’s navigational skill. The crew’s, not the ship’s, actually! Alright, the ship has an intrinsic base vale for INT, that probably means better ships stay on course more reliable. We will have to roll a 10 on a d20, modifed by the OSE INT modifier, when moving on the sea map in order enter the intended hex. The standard ships have INT scores ranging from 7 to 13, which corresponds to OSE language modifiers (the only modifier linked to INT) of mostly 0, or +1 for INT 13. So without expert navigators on board or navigational add-ons we have a 45% chance of getting lost / blown off-course each time we try attempt to enter a new hex (decent ships having speed values of 3 to 6 hexes/day or what I would identify as knots). This is another hint that knowledge of the but the most basic sailing technologies have been lost. Do sailors in this world measure speed using knotted lines? Do they navigate by measuring time and the position of the sun in its apex, or by observing stars? We don’t know that, but according to the rules, it will be a rather awkward journey to reach an intended destination within a 1-day sailing distance.
Then, a ship’s Wisdom measures the crew’s (!) collective experience. It is required to navigate through a storm. There is a weather table for percentages ranging from 0 to 100 (Are we supposed to roll a d101 minus 1?), wherein storms of different severities appear on 75 and above. Weather is checked in every hex and does not take into account previous results, so it is wild and unpredictable. D20 checks need to result in equal to or less than 3 to 11 depending on the strength of the storm, modified by the OSE WIS modifier. Which is a neglectable 0 or +1 for most ships the player character personae will want to take. Doing some simple math and approximations, we discover that ship-wreck will occur about every 8 hexes, in average, or once every two days of travel for most of the ships. While this certainly makes for exciting adventures, exploration will be frustrating. I wonder how merchants survive. At least, as the ships do not have a price listed, and there are no rules for building ships, the narrator (we cannot in good conscience call them referee or dungeon master in this context) has to hand them out for free, and our investment into acquiring ships does not weigh too heavy upon us each time we loose a vessel …
It is obvious that the author artistically penned down the navigation rules without ever playtesting any of them.
Alas, the awful naval combat
It should come as no surprise that naval combat shuns all notion of spacial scale, as did the maps. Instead of a proper tactical OSR combat system, we get a sophisticated narrative naval combat system, centered on the narrator and forgetting the players.
We will use the ship’s speed, initiative, DEX, STR, CON, ThAC0, AC, hit points – so all investment in the form of add-ons or crew will pay out. However, the only decisions the players can make at this point are: fleeing (possible only having the faster ship or winning initiative in the encounter), approaching for boarding combat, or not. If no party flees the scenery, and at least one party decides to approach for boarding, there will occur three rounds of ranged combat. There is no consideration of speed differences between ships, rigging and points of sail. Spells are taken account of in ranged combat and boarding melee, and there are some creative ideas like casting web to slow projectiles or wizard eye to gain a tactical bonus. However, some standard spells like fireball, which would have a devastating effect under OSE or similar rules, become ridiculously inefficient.
One crew member will die for every 3 points of hull hp damage – good rule! The players are supposed to „weave narratives of how the death unfolded“ for their crew – not so good, storygamer!
In melee, a certain number of d4 will be rolled for damage. The author has some notion stirring in the back of his mind that the players may be bored, as they are denied proper tactical decision making and must endure the narrator’s never-ending prose, so he has solution: Distribute the damage dice equally among the players so that everyone gets to roll dice! No kidding. This is a real instruction on page 94! Had the author playtested his rules, he would have seen where his players would have stuck the damage d4s.
OD&D Book III contains naval combat rules (though somewhat cumbersome and flawed in the points of sail), the AD&D 1E DMG expands and streamlines them, even OSE has some rules elements for naval combat. It is very well possible to create working naval combat rules relying on those rules building blocks.
Example of how Wind Wraith is NOT playedExample of how Wind Wraith is NOT playednot Wind Wraith eitherExample of how Wind Wraith is NOT played
Ship upgrades
We get a double page of exciting ship upgrades, listed with their name, benefits and required building material. For instance, an ice cannon requires a frost giant heart and a sapphire to build. Can anyone build it? Or only a magic-user of say 9th level and above? Or is that exclusive to some NPC guild? At least the weapon is given a range (400′) – which doesn’t matter in naval combat, see above.
Or let’s get a wind orb to increase our ship’s speed! We need a crystal orb and a wind mage „of high level“. What is „high level“, Lazy Litch? Are we supposed to MAKE IT UP as we need for our narration? Perhaps it would be easier to go for rune sails instead. We need magical kraken ink and a rune mage. What is magical about kraken ink and what is a rune mage? The latter is neither a Wind Wraith class nor (as far as I know) an OSE class. So many great ideas, entirely undevelopped.
Ship encounters
A 4-page generator table titled „crew generation“ will actually provide us with ship to be encountered. The first page is a list of 20 ships, the following pages seem to be true generators, the columns to be rolled for independently.
A sample ship and its random crew: The Everwind, flag: circle with an island, is of collosal size and carries 3 windmills, gardens and grazing grounds. Reputation: 5 – barely known (why?). Secret weapon: a set mirrors of mirrors that portal cannon balls. Ship culture: A psychic mastermind captain controls the crew, their individuality is only an illusion. Ship type: crystalline (this column on the 3rd page is often at odds with the description column on the 1st page). Captain: a human fused to the ship! Crew: infected with arcane parasites (these are selected from their own table). Ship upgrades: Acidic cannon balls. Cargo: 10 sheep. Mission: smuggling. Specialist on board: the best navigator on the sea!
We get strange and inspiring results. Not all combinations fit easily, but we can adapt them and build on the ideas we are confronted with. Great! However, rarely the ships correspond to the standard ship templates we saw earlier. It would be nice to have a generator for ordinary ships beside the weird ones.
Also, there is no encounter table for the sea. How often do we encounter ships? What are the chances in dense seas and in sparsely populated areas? Whom will I meet in the trade network areas and whom far-off any island? MAKE. IT. UP. Encounter tables would have been such a reliable and well-known OSR tool, alien only to adherents of narrative games.
Constructs, Monsters, Parasites
The construct generator is accompanied by information on where they are created, how they are repaired and how to program them. Yes, player characters could learn how to program an arcane construct to their use! Strangely, some constructs have armour class above 10 and some below – is it an ascending or a descending AC system? The use of ThAC0 indicates descending class, i.e. Armour class values between 10 and -10. I am truly at loss here.
Sample construct: HP 35, (ascending type?) AC 18, ThAC0 20; fuel type: ground flesh; Attack: Psionic Mind Control Ray; build: silver-coated branches and vines form a large humanoid; programmed function: Capture & Research; deactivation: complete darkness; core: a cursed painting; special functionality: shrink to hand-size.
Monsters are determined either according to the depth layer of the sea or according to landscape type when they inhabit an island. The generator is interesting, except that I would not randomly determine stats like armour class, ThAC0, hit dice, morale and saves randomly. The general description should dictate armour class and hit dice, the HD being linked to a ThAC0 and saves.
Sample bathypelagic (i.e. 3rd sea level) monster: Urchin soldiers, HD 3, AC 9, morale 5; weakness: gold; attack: ray of distortion; fears: the possibility that it is inherently evil; wants: to collect skulls; colour/texture: green exoskeleton; saves: D16 W8 P14 B5 S9; attack style: berserker; ThAC0: 11; personality: manipulative, daring, dramatic, inventive; magical abilities: attack in your dreams once it has learned your name.
You can further variate the monster by adding mutations, variations, behaviours.
One type of monster, the Seaweed Dragon, has its own template. This mutated bastard will use its breath weapon against your ship’s hull to infect it with anaerobic bacteria. Unfortunately, there are no rules for how long it takes the bacteria to immobilise the ship, grow a membrane over it and suffocate the crew.
Arcane parasites, strange spell energy that seeped into this dimension and keeps multiplying, are detailed in a list of 16 entries. You really don’t want to become infected with any of these!
Miscellaneous bits and tools
Underwater locations: a list of 20 ideas for things to discover in the depths.
The People of the Deep: Their description is extremely poetic and I promise you will be shaken by the nature of their disturbing souls. Is this an expression of the artists self-perception? Or a well-aimed jibe at critics unfairly pointing their ghoulish fingers to the flaws in his masterpiece?
Kêtoskrill and the Capillary City: A floating island and the society toiling to keep it afloat. What is capillary about it? For sure, the author seems very fond of the word „capillary“.
Potion recipes (closely guarded secrets).
Random treasure: basic, advanced and rare. Some have a g.p. value, others don’t.
Lots of art.
Conclusion
This ghoul, in a rough and relentless manner, has drawn its readers‘ attention to many flaws and oversights in the design of this setting generator. Did you count how often I wrote MAKE IT UP? Wind Wraith is not the maritime Yoon-Suin it wishes to be. However, the author-artist is gifted, he is creative in a way I could not emulate. Are his visions redeeming his lack of understanding of OSR gaming culture?
If you are a collector of coffee table books, this beautiful piece of art will do greatly beside your Whitehack,Black Hack, Knave, Cairn, Shadowdark, Mörk Borg collection. You could also use it to create a joint artpunk security area between your Zak books and your Pat books (Only, what to do with The Maze of the Blue Medusa? I hid my copy behind a painting). This book is for you!
One Piece manga fans, you too will rejoice, this book is exactly for you!
This book is also for you, if you are a veteran referee who likes to tinker with your own rules and tables anyway, and you just want to find a weird inspirational setting with plenty of brilliant ideas to trigger your follow-up ideas. Yes, this game is definitely for me.
This book is not for you, if you are even slightly afflicted with artpunk intolerance.
I tried very hard to rate this beautiful book 3 out of 5 for inspiration and creativity, but. The design flaws are more than just a few oversights by an inexperienced „aspiring OSR content creator“, instead I detect an utter disregard for rules and a case of sterile non-player authorship. Although I do like the Wind Wraith setting, and I am considering running a campaign, based on gameability considerations, my final verdict on this never playtested gaming supplement can only be:
2 out of 5 tiny undead druids running in a hamster wheel to power an arcane construct.
Ghoultunnel 